The Home National Bank opened a 15-story "skyscraper", in May of 1929. The name would eventually be changed to The Tower Building on Fountain Square. Its height, at 186 feet, would surpass the watch factory tower, which was at 143 feet.

By the late 1920s, the style of architecture was changing away from the decorative "noodles" of the past, and began to take on a more modern, simplistic style. While the goal of the Elgin Tower was to take on the look of the day, the goal was not to make it too deco for the conservative Elginites. The building is streamlined, but with curves, so as to appease to both new and old alike.

With a lofty price tag of about $800,000, the Home Savings Bank Building would go into receivership in January of 1932. It would be another fatality of The Great Depression. Click here to learn more about Elgin Tower  

Ed Note:  W. C. Fields once said, "It was a woman who drove me to drink!  And I never even had the decency to thank her!"  I roamed  into Keeny's Sporting Good in downtown Elgin one day hoping to buy an Elgin Watch.  Pat Keeny told me that she didn't have any, but she showed me this postcard.  I bought it and have been collecting Elgin postcards ever since.  While I did thank Pat, there is an irony in all of this: Pat doesn't own a computer.  She has never even seen this site!"  JPM