Gary National Bank was a national bank headquartered in Gary, Indiana, established on March 4, 1908, at 504 Broadway in the city’s downtown.[1][2] The bank survived the wave of Lake County bank failures during the Great Depression, when it was the only bank in Gary to remain open.[3] In 1983, the institution changed its name to Gainer Bank, National Association, and later became NBD Bank in 1992.[4][3]
Design and History
Documented visual evidence of the Gary National Bank identity is limited. A 1950 postcard published by Cameo Greeting Cards, Inc. depicts the Gary National Bank building, but no detailed description of the bank’s logo or signage from that period has been preserved in the available records.[5]
The bank’s original headquarters at 504 Broadway was a ten-story structure completed in 1927, designed by the Chicago architectural firm Ivar Viehe Naess & Co.[6] The building later became known as the Gainer Bank Building and the Bank One Building before being restored in 2014.[7]
No reliable source confirms the designer, creation date, or visual appearance of a Gary National Bank logo. The claim that James Lienhart designed a logo for the bank in the 1970s cannot be verified through available records. Lienhart was an active corporate designer in Chicago during that period, with work documented in the AIGA Design Archives, but no connection between him and Gary National Bank appears in those archives.[8][9]
Meaning and Symbolism
No documented symbolism, color specifications, or design intent for the Gary National Bank logo has been found in reliable sources. The bank’s name itself reflects its status as a nationally chartered institution, a designation that carried regulatory and reputational weight in the early twentieth century.[2]
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