"F" is for the Farmers' and Exchange Bank (Charleston)

"F" is for the Farmers’ and Exchange Bank (Charleston). The Farmers’ and Exchange Bank is among the finest examples of the Moorish-revival style in the United States. The Moorish-revival style was the most flamboyant of the nineteenth-century exotic architectural revivals. The Farmers’ and Exchange Bank was one of several bank buildings designed by the Charleston architectural firm of Jones and Lee in the mid-1850s.The two-story façade is clad in mottled New Jersey and Connecticut brownstone. Its exuberant ornamentation included rounded horseshoe arches and Eastern-inspired decorative motifs. On the interior a paved vestibule leads to the large main banking room. This opulent space features arcaded walls, elaborate plaster ornamentation, and a coffered ceiling and skylight. In a city known for its traditional architecture, the Farmers’ and Exchange Bank is a bold and striking anomaly.