Promotional Advertising Bank"Mid-City Trust& Saving Bank,Chicago"

Hi
Everyone.
I want to share with you another promotional advertising Steel bank. This time from the State of Illinois.On the front brass plate we read"Mid-City Trust and Savings bank,Madison&Halsted Streets,Chicago.Circa 1910

This one has an oval form, suitcase style
Stand 2"1/2by 3"3/4 by 2",serial on the middle handle #2404
Mark on the left side top close to the handle ,W.F.Burns Co,Chicago.
Pat no 721887,913626,913630,other pat's pending

(FORMER) MID-CITY TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK
2 S. Halsted St. / 801 W. Madison St.
DATE: 1911-12
NEIGHBORHOOD BANKING IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY CHICAGO
During the early-twentieth century, the establishment of independent banks played a major role in bolstering the development of Chicago’s neighborhoods. The rapid expansion of the city and its transportation network resulted in a vast series of outlying neighborhoods by the early
1900s, each with its own identity and shopping district. Bustling local commercial centers—typically located near the intersection of street car or elevated rail lines—offered a wide range of venues for shopping and entertainment, featuring clusters of small shops, restaurants, theaters,
office buildings and department stores. These “cities within a city” met the basic needs of residents, who saw no reason to travel downtown regularly.
During the same period, Illinois state law prohibited banks from opening branches. The intention of the law was to encourage the establishment of small, independent banks to serve the many small farm communities scattered throughout the state, and to discourage bank monopolies.
In Chicago the legislation resulted in the large number of independent banks located in the city’s neighborhoods where they offered mortgages, business loans, and checking and savings accounts for middle- and working-class residents. Reflecting their neighborhood focus, banking
institutions were typically organized by prominent local businessmen who served as directors and officers, and their stock was generally owned by local residents and merchants.A national financial panic and recession in 1906 led to the establishment of the Federal Reserve in 1913 which reformed the banking industry. The increased stability further encouraged the growth of banks nationally and in Chicago. A July 28, 1921, advertisement in the Chicago Tribune highlights a contemporary view of
neighborhood banks:The result of the very bigness of Chicago has brought about localized business centers. Step by step with the growth of Chicago has come the establishment of a wonderful array of outlying banks. These financial institutions exert a tremendous influence on the business and civic life of Chicago. They are more than clearing houses of their respective community. In most cases they are the community centers as well. On the evenings in the hours these banks open their doors to the public, hundreds of thousands of people assemble to transact their banking business. Not only are these banks safe, convenient depositories for the funds of the people, they are investment centers. In 1900 there were 11 neighborhood bank buildings in Chicago, with total deposits of $22 million. At the start of World War I in 1914 the number had grown to 66 neighborhood banks with
deposits of $126 million. The greatest proliferation of neighborhood banks, however, occurred during the 1920s, a period of tremendous growth in Chicago and the nation. In 1924, there were 173 neighborhood banks with total deposits of $615 million. Their number peaked at 195 in January 1929, with deposits totaling $769 million. There were more deposits in Chicago’s
outlying neighborhood banks than in all the combined banks of six states—Idaho, New Mexico, Wyoming, Delaware, Montana, and North Dakota.