Demolition begins on Bellmead, Texas’s Round Bank – The Architect’s Newspaper

KWTX has published a video of the demolition of the exterior of the American Bank in Bellmead, Texas, also known as the Round Bank.

The bank stands along Interstate 35 in Central Texas. It was designed by then Dallas-based architect Durwood Pickle and was completed in 1979.

The exterior of the building is being demolished because the owner, American Bank, claims that it would be too expensive to rehabilitate the existing building for contemporary use. The exterior will be replaced by a new design, and the new building is scheduled to open next year.

The round building sits on a single-story landscape plinth. The buildings multistory drum-shaped mass doesnt have any visible windows and is crowned by supersize letters spelling out the banks name. Pictures published last year show the building relatively well preserved with retro signage by the buildings entrance and a few topiaries punctuating the buildings base.

The video from KWTX shows machinery removing the buildings facade and distinctive signage.

Preservation Texas reports on its website that the building was designed to be a landmark and was made tall enough that travelers on the nearby interstate could not see down onto its roof. The group also says that the buildings facade is made of 25-foot-tall lightweight fiberglass-reinforced concrete panels.

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Demolition begins on Bellmead, Texas's Round Bank - The Architect's Newspaper