The wonderful building on the left now is known as just "The
F&M Building" despite the efforts of the owner to call it "Regency
Tower." It is completely vacant of tenants. Essentially it has been such
since Lockport Savings Bank moved out.When this building opened in 1906 that's what it was called. And that is what it was. Lockportian Jason Collier headed up this enterprise when it first started in a store front at 14 Main Street in Lockport. It moved up to 31 Main and then, in 1906, to what was to become its long-time landmark headquarters at "Number 116." It was Lockport's own bank, headquartered here, and owned by its depositors. It was the Farmers And Mechanics Savings Bank which later went through a name change to Lockport Savings Bank.
The wonderful building on the left now is known as just "The
F&M Building" despite the efforts of the owner to call it "Regency
Tower." It is completely vacant of tenants. Essentially it has been such
since Lockport Savings Bank moved out.
A group gathered in the Bewley Building coffee shop recently, the Lockport Page photographer among them, started talking about Lockport Savings Bank history when someone noted that another one of the bank's top executive officers recently moved out of Lockport to settle in the Yuppie suburbs of Amherst,Williamsville, or Clarence. The bank used to be owned and operated by Lockportians and the building you see vacant today used to be packed with banking business on several floors plus other downtown offices.
At night, the ornamental lighting fixtures you see along the top were lighted, and "Lockport" could be seen for miles around. At Christmas time the white lights were changed to red and green. Back in the 1950's when this building was bustling, there was no need to low-key the celebration of Christ's birth. It was before "Political Correctness." Commercialization of Christmas hadn't yet fully taken over although the bank did have "Christmas Clubs" in which depositors made installments all year long at the rate of as little as 50-cents a week. The payoff came just weeks before Christmas with a check mailed from the bank.
At the Bewley Building coffee table, the Lockport Page photographer excused himself to be on his way but said he was taking a shot of the bank building before leaving the area. Another Pager, known as "Lockport Lou" said he was going to look up more history on this intersection. He came up with the photo reproduced below of which little is known---except---this is the same site (southeast corner of Main at Locust) pictured above before the F&M Bank Building was constructed. Perhaps some of our website visitors can fill us in with more information.
A Close-Up Of The Ornamental Leaf On The Top Of The Bank Building - June 2000
News of Today...Memories Of Yesterday
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THE PICTURE OF LOCKPORT