Skip to content
Store Hours: 10am to 4pm, Tuesdays and Thursday-Sunday
The Gamble House Bookstore
(0) Cart
The Gamble House Bookstore
Search
  • Log in
  • Register
Cart (0)
  • 2026 Calendars
  • Apparel & Accessories +Toggle menu
    • Bags
    • Clothing
    • Jewelry
    • Scarves
    • Small Accessories
    • Umbrellas
  • Books & DVDs +Toggle menu
    • Book Accessories
    • Architects & Designers
    • Architecture
    • Art, Design & Photography
    • Arts & Crafts Movement
    • Collector's Shelf
    • Dust Jacket Journeys
    • Fashion & Textiles
    • Furniture & Woodworking
    • Gamble House/Greene & Greene
    • Gardening & Nature
    • Glass & Lighting
    • Local (Authors - Architecture - History - Travel)
    • Pottery & Tiles
    • Reading the 1900's
    • Silver, Metalwork & Jewelry
    • Transportation
  • Games, Puzzles & Stationery +Toggle menu
    • Boxed Notes
    • Calendars
    • Coloring Books
    • Games & Puzzles
    • Gift Wrap
    • Notebooks & Journals
    • Paper Crafts
    • Stickers & Washi Tape
  • Home & Garden +Toggle menu
    • Bath &. Body
    • Clocks
    • Copper
    • Decorative Accents
    • Embroidery Kits
    • Ikebana & Gardens
    • Japanese Folk Art
    • Kitchen & Dining
    • Lamps
    • Ornaments
    • Pet
    • Pottery
    • Prints
    • Tiles
  • Kids +Toggle menu
    • Ages 0-3
    • Ages 4-8
    • 3rd Grade Recommended Reading
    • Ages 9-12
  • Merch
  • Back to the Future
  • On Sale
  • Bookshop
  • Register
  • Log in

Curve of the Arch

Sold Out
$36.00 $40.00
This product is sold out

"Every building tells its story, tells it plainly...it is all there, waiting for you."  - Louis Sullivan, ca 1900

The National Farmers' Bank in Owatonna, Minnesota, perhaps the most famous small-town bank building in the United States, is the first of what came to be known as the "Louis Sullivan banks." Although located on the prairie far from the architectural centers of Chicago and New York, the bank has been recognized internationally as an architectural masterpiece since its opening in 1908.

The story of the bank is also the story of three men whose lives converged in a serendipitous partnership of architect, patron, and draftsman. In 1906 Louis Sullivan, a pioneer designer of the skyscraper, was an out-of-work architect. At that very time, Carl Bennett, a banker in Owatanna, was looking for an architect who could provide a bank design different from the columned Roman style usually designated for banks. He took a chance and hired Sullivan, thereby also acquiring the services of George Elmslie, chief draftsman in Sullivan's office and a masterful ornamentalist. 

In The Curve of the Arch, author Larry Miller weaves a fascinating tapestry that is the most complete history to date of the building and the builders of the National Farmers' Bank. More than seventy photographs - from monumental exterior cube and bold window arches to fantastically ornate interior oranmentation and colors - complement this architectural biography. 

Scuffing on outer cover edges.

Share
  • Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Pinterest Pin the main image
Share
  • Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Pinterest Pin the main image
Current Hours of Operation 10am to 4pm Tuesdays & Thursday-Sunday
626-449-4178
bookstore@gamblehouse.org
4 Westmoreland Place Pasadena, CA 91103
  • SEARCH
Signup for our newsletter
© 2025 The Gamble House Bookstore. Powered by Shopify
American Express Apple Pay Diners Club Discover Google Pay Mastercard Shop Pay Visa