Peyser Building-Security Savings and Commercial Bank
1518 K St., NW., Washington, DCThe Peyser building/Security Savings and Commercial Bank building is a five-story office/bank building constructed in 1927-1928 on the south side of K Street in the block immediately west of McPherson Square. Designed by notable local architect George N. Ray, the Peyser building reflects a reduced Classical Revival style of architecture that was common for small commercial and bank buildings of the period, particularly as executed by architect George N. Ray. The building is one of a collection of 1920s office buildings and financial institutions surrounding McPherson Square that illustrates the northern limit of the city's financial district, known as "Washington's Wall Street" as it spread north from lower Fifteenth Street near the Treasury building.
Constructed in 1928 on the site of a former dwelling, the Peyser Building was built as a combination branch bank by and for the Security Savings and Commercial Bank of Washington, D.C., and as a speculative office building intended to cater to the growing financial business interests in and around McPherson Square. Established in 1913, the Security Savings and Commercial Bank built its headquarters and main bank at 9" and G Streets, NW, where over the next decade it grew to become the largest savings bank in the city. At its establishment, the bank's Board of Directors consisted of a number of prominent businessmen, including Julius I. Peyser after whom the K Street building was named.
The Peyser building qualifies for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under the Multiple Property Designation, "Banks and Financial Institutions in Washington, D.C., 1790-1960." The building meets Criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places, with Architecture and Community Planning and Development as the Areas of Significance.
The Registration Criteria developed as part of the Multiple Property Document note that, "for properties to be eligible under Criterion A, the building must convey important elements of banking in Washington (ie, information about banking location patterns, information about the development of types of financial institutions, etc.) In consideration of these Registration Criteria, the Peyser building meets Criterion A as an excellent illustration of the rise of branch banking in the decade following the passage of the 1914 Federal Reserve Act, the act which allowed for branch banking in the city. As a branch of the Security Savings and Commercial Bank (headquartered downtown at 9" and G Streets), the 14th and K Street branch was built in the heart of the city's real estate and financial district to capitalize on the city's expanding mortgage market. In addition, the construction of the Peyser building provides an excellent illustration of the city's expanding financial district during the 1920s as it moved north from around the Treasury Building to McPherson Square.
The Registration Criteria state that for properties to be eligible under Criterion C, the building must convey information about banking architecture (including style, form, materials, technology, or aesthetic development) in Washington, or must be the work of a recognized architect, builder, craftsman, sculptor, or artist. The Peyser building meets Criterion C as an excellent example of a combination bank and office building and illustrates the growing trend of banks from the 1920s to combine banking quarters with rentable space. While historically banks tended to be one or two stories in height with a singular function, the 1920s saw a shift toward tall bank buildings with multiple levels of rentable space. Though modest in scale, the five-story Peyser building with its banking hall on the first story and its office spaces on the upper floor provides an example of the banking sub-type as further described in the Multiple Property Document: Banks and Financial Institutions in Washington, D.C., 1790-1960. In addition, the Peyser Building is a good example of the Classical Revival style preferred for bank design in the 1920s in this city and is a fine example of the work of noted architect George N. Ray. As such, the Peyser Building provides an excellent example of a bank building as a building type and meets the Registration Requirements for Banks and Financial Institutions as established in the Multiple Property Document.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.