Dante Bank Listed on National Register of Historic Places

Photo of Dante BankThe Security State Bank in Dante was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov. 1, according to the South Dakota State Historical Society.

The Security State Bank is a two-story, rectangular masonry brick commercial building. It was built in 1920 at 320 Main St., which is the southwest corner of Main Street and Haskell Avenue. The bank is the best remaining local example of early 20th century commercial history and architecture in Dante and is the only bank in Dante’s history.

The building is listed in the National Register for its significance to the history of banking and commerce in early Dante to serve the agriculture-dependent community and represents the economic difficulties that plagued South Dakota in the 1920s. Banking in South Dakota was critical in its early years for the prominent industries of real estate and agriculture, but the state also had a high bank failure rate after World War I due to the collapse of ag prices and risky banking investments.

The building is also listed as the best local example of an early 20th century two-part commercial block, as well as demonstrating shifts in commercial bank architecture with its blend of craftsman and neoclassical styles. The exterior of the building has retained original features such as the basket-weave and stretcher bond brick patterns, limestone window sills, square decorative features and its tall brick parapet.

Read the full story in the December SDBanker Magazine.

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