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Tuesday 9am - 4pm Thursday 12pm - 4pm Sunday 1pm - 4pm

Palatine Historical Society

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Palatine Historical Society

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The Palatine Historical Society is dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of local history of Palatine, Illinois

11/01/2026

Thank you to everyone who came to our Clayson House After Dark event last week. It was a pleasure to share it with you. From everyone at the Palatine Historical Society, wishing you a happy and safe Halloween! 🍭🎃

10/21/2026

This Friday: Clayson House After Dark returns for one night only! Meet some of Palatine's dearly departed as they tell the tales of their tragic and untimely deaths. Tickets are available in advance and at the door. Learn more at palatinehistoricalsociety.com.

10/16/2026

We left off last week with the bandstand being torn down to make way for the First National Bank of Palatine’s new building on the northwest corner of Slade and Brockway Streets. The First National Bank of Palatine formed in 1921 and as a National Bank they were authorized to issue currency. The First National Bank of Palatine issued $5 notes of the large type starting in 1921 and issued $5 notes of the smaller type starting in 1929. Their new building opened in May of 1925 with great excitement and times were good for the rest of the 1920s. However, when the Great Depression hit, the First National Bank fell on the same hard times as the State Bank of Palatine down the street discussed two weeks ago. Most of the bank’s assets were tied up in mortgages on homes and farms and they could not meet the new cash reserve requirements instituted in January of 1932 so the Bank Examiner closed the bank on February 3, 1932. The assets, including the bank building, were ordered to be liquidated to return as much of the depositor’s money as possible. A group of forward-thinking depositors got together and agreed to pool their claims against the bank and use those claims as collateral to buy the bank building with the hope that when conditions improved, they could attract a new bank to Palatine. They successfully bought the building at auction in 1939. With all the assets sold, the depositors eventually received 71 cents for each dollar they had on deposit, a very good rate for a failed bank during the depression. It would be another 5 years before a new bank was formed, this time named The Palatine National Bank. The new bank located here and bought the old bank building from the group of depositors because it already had the infrastructure needed for a bank. The Palatine National Bank remained in the building until 1968 when they moved to the new, now BMO Bank, building. The old bank building survived for a while as various shops but was eventually torn down in 1974 along with the charred remains of the Ben Franklin Store next door.

10/11/2026

Around 1909, Palatine built a band stand on the northwest corner of Brockway and Slade Streets which had been vacant since the Flury Bakery building had been moved further west on Slade (much later becoming The Office Pub). The band stand was built using public funds with the Palatine Village Band pledging to re-pay the funds out of proceeds from giving concerts. In addition to concerts by the Village Band, the band stand was also used for Ice Cream Socials, speeches on Memorial Day and Independence Day, fundraisers, announcements, lectures, etc. In 1921, the newly formed First National Bank of Palatine bought the lot with the intention of eventually building a bank building there, but the band stand remained for several more years. The Boy Scout Band gave concerts there to raise money for Palatine’s first Public Library in 1923. One of the last events to be held at the band stand was the Harry Scott Entertainers in September of 1924 which included trapeze artists, slack rope performers, a clown, food concessions, and more. In October of that year the bank announced plans to build a new $40,000 bank building on the corner. The band stand had to go in order to make room for the new bank building which would open in May of 1925.

10/02/2026

We pick up where we left off last week on the southwest corner of Slade and Bothwell Streets. This week we are interested in the State Bank of Palatine which built its new building on that corner in 1931. Bank failures due to the Great Depression were at their height in 1931 which makes it seem somewhat odd that the State Bank of Palatine would decide to build a new building that year. They must have been confident in their future, because they went all out with a large building veneered with Indiana limestone and an architecture that just screams “Bank” when you look at it. Inside, the floors were Italian marble, and it had a large (for its time) vault with a 15-ton door. It took less than 6 months to complete the building, culminating with a grand opening on June 6, 1931. It didn’t take long though before the confidence in the bank would be tested. In February of 1932, Palatine’s Mayor declared a week-long bank holiday to stem the panic after the Barrington State Bank closed and the Palatine National Bank was already in receivership. The depositors and businessmen of Palatine gave the bank a vote of confidence and it was able to re-open after the bank holiday, but there was still trouble ahead. There was another bank holiday in March of 1933. This bank holiday came with new state banking regulations increasing the amount of cash reserves a bank needed. Most of the State Bank of Palatine’s assets were tied up in mortgages on houses and farms, so they were unable to meet the new cash reserve requirements and could not re-open even after months of effort. The bank was only able to enjoy its new building for about a year and a half before the new regulations closed it in March of 1933 and liquidation of assets started in December of 1933.

Address

224 E. Palatine Road
Palatine, IL
60067

Opening Hours

Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Thursday	12pm - 4pm
Sunday	1pm - 4pm

Telephone

+18479916460

Website

http://palatinehistoricalsociety.com/, https://palatinehistoricalsociety.ticketleap.com/

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