First National Bank of San Antonio
a.k.a. Old San Antonio National Bank;Brackenridge Bank
213 W. Commerce St., San Antonio, TXThe building was designed in the Saracenic style and is considered the first national bank building in Texas. The building was later taken over by the First National Bank of San Antonio.
The old San Antonio National Bank was the pioneer national bank in Texas. Established by George W. Brackenridge about 1866, the enterprise was immediately successful and became commonly known as "Brackenridge's Bank."
One of San Antonio's outstanding business men and civic leaders, Brackenridge came to Texas at the age of twenty in 1853 with his parents. Brackenridge, because of his Union sympathies during the Civil War, was appointed United States Treasury agent in 1863 and after the War, his Union connections were an asset in receiving the first national bank charter in Texas.
After the Civil War, Brackenridge went to San Antonio and started his fortune from the sale of cotton which his father had taken in lieu of Confederate money. He established the cotton firm of Brackenridge, Bates and Company in San Antonio about the same time he established Texas's pioneer national bank.
The bank building at 213 West Commerce Street was construe during the years 1885-86. Contemporary written accounts indicate that no professional architect or contractor was involved in the design or construction. The building's Victorian-romantic design in the Saracenic style was, apparently, conceived by Brackenridge and carried out by him with the help of "day labor".
The year following the erection of the new banking structure the San Antonio National Bank was considered the leading bank of the city with total resources amounting to about a million and a quarter dollars. "George W. Brackenridge, its president, is one of the foremost men of the city, and one of the most enterprising in the state. His investments in railroads, waterworks and other employments have contributed not a little to the advancement of this section " (Morrison, San Antonio, Her Prosperity and Prospects).
San Antonio National Bank building was later taken over by the First National Bank of San Antonio. The First National Bank of San Antonio, a small community banking house, has since relocated and the property is currently for sale. The Bexar County Historic Survey Committee hopes to purchase the bank structure and use the building as a repository for the archives of various city and county groups.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
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.