Sunday, April 20, 2014

Banthrico Coin Bank Towers


A few Banthrico coin bank souvenir building are replicas of towers. The Tower Federal Savings coin bank made by Banthrico is not a replica of the bank building, but a miniature of the stone water tower where the bank was located. The Western Springs Water Tower in Western Springs, Illinois is 112.5 feet (34.3 m) tall and 36.5 feet (11.1 m) in diameter. Construction on the tower began in 1892 and finished in 1893.is now a museum and stands 112.5 feet (34.3 m) tall and 36.5 feet (11.1 m) in diameter. Construction on the tower began in 1892 and finished in 1893. The Riverside National Bank is also a Water Tower in Riverside, Illinois. Designed in 1869 by William LeBaron Jenney, the water tower has become the symbol of Riverside that is used as a logo for the village government. A bank named San Joaquin Bank is actually a replica of The Beale Memorial Clock Tower, which was a gift to the City of Bakersfield, California. Dedicated on April 2, 1904, the clock tower originally stood in the center of the intersection at Chester Avenue and 17th Street in downtown Bakersfield. In the summer of 1952, a series of earthquakes shook Kern County causing extensive damage to the clock tower. The clock tower was demolished in the quake’s aftermath. Only the original clock works, bell, iron stairway, balcony railings and arch grillwork were saved.  In 1961, a group of local citizens formed the Beale Memorial Clock Tower Restoration Committee to build a replica of the clock tower. The original pieces of the clock tower were incorporated into the rising masonry. The reconstructed clock tower was dedicated at the Kern County Museum on December 13, 1964. A coin bank labeled UNI is a replica of The Campanile on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This last one is actually made by the company, Toystalgia, which purchased Banthrico molds and is reproducing some of the coin banks. Do you know of other tower coin banks? Collector Steve V. added 3 other towers: Mt. Greylock, Eastern Trust & Banking Clock Tower, and Peoples Trust Bank Clock Tower. 

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