Greensboro Project Part 3 - Speculation

Since the First Citizens Bank building is right in the middle of town, and it seems fairly evident that the building was originally constructed for that bank, it probably was important to the beginnings of the city. The building itself has a strong presence on that corner, and is very hard to miss. The fact that it managed to claim and save a spot right in the middle of everything leads me to believe that it was a reliable business and was able to stay in business as the city grew up around it, instead of being closed due to other competition moving in later. Although this is just one branch of a large chain of Citizens banks, which are located mainly in the southeast as well as a few on the west coast of America, this particular branch looks specifically designed for the location, instead of an average bank building found anywhere else in America.


The BB&T branch in town was a fairly generic looking branch, especially on the inside. The BB&T banks are a regional chain in the southeast section of the US. They seem to be very prevalent in the south, and it is not surprising that there is one located near the center of the city. The branch was clean, but crowded and working at a quick pace. These banks seem to be very popular, which would make them less oriented towards getting to know specific customers. There was along area to wait in line and everything seemed to be based on a fast and efficient system, instead of a calm relaxed environment. This bank did not seem to be catering specifically to the Greensboro location, but rather just filling the role of any other branch in the chain as a part of southern banking.



While Bank of America is the largest banking system out of the three, it was not nearly as generic of a branch as the BB&T. The inside of the building was very unique, and designed to make customers feel relaxed and at home. The outside of the building had large glass windows that are not on a flat surface. this leads me to believe that this may not have been the original purpose of the building, and that it was probably converted from some other previous occupant. The bank is very close to the center of town though, which may mean that it was an important bank that managed to make it into a prime spot in town due to popularity. This bank would be useful to connect people's money across the nation and overseas. While First Citizens bank is fairly large, there is a large concentration in North and South Carolina in particular. Bank of America has slightly more branches and is more evenly spread out across the country.


All maps generated by Google Maps.