The Farmer's and Manufacturer's Bank building is located at the corner of Market and Cannon streets in downtown Poughkeepsie

Poughkeepsie (city), New York

Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, near the Bardavon

Bardavon 1869 Opera House

The Bardavon 1869 Opera House , in the downtown district of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA, is the oldest continuously-operating theater in New York State. Built in 1869, it served as a venue for various performing arts, community meetings, and celebrations until 1923; it largely resumed this...

 and across from the Dutchess County Court House

Dutchess County Court House

The Dutchess County Courthouse is located at 10 Market Street in downtown Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It is the third county courthouse to stand on that site....

 and Old Poughkeepsie YMCA

Old Poughkeepsie YMCA

The Old Poughkeepsie YMCA is located at the corner of Market and Church streets in Poughkeepsie in New York, United States, across from the New York State Armory...

. It the only non-residential Greek Revival

Greek Revival architecture

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...

 building remaining in the city.

The three-bay

Bay (architecture)

A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...

, -story brick building was opened to the public in 1835, the year after it was built. Signatures of the then-popular Greek Revival style

Architectural style

Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...

 include the wide frieze

Frieze

thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...

 and pilaster

Pilaster

A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....

s on the first story, eyebrow windows, balustrade and cupola

Cupola

In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....

. The brick is complemented by stone trim, particularly around the windows. First-floor ornamentation

Ornament (architecture)

In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...

 includes a stone entablature

Entablature

An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...

 with dentil

Dentil

In classical architecture a dentil is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect Vitruvius In classical architecture a dentil (from Lat. dens, a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect...

 molding

Molding (decorative)

Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...

 and four laurel wreaths.

It would be a landmark of the city's downtown for much of the 19th century. The bank itself would later become Empire National Bank and relocate elsewhere. One of its original trustees and later president was Matthew Vassar

Matthew Vassar

Matthew Vassar was an English-born American brewer and merchant. He founded the eponymous Vassar College in 1861.He was a cousin of John Ellison Vassar.-Background:...

, founder of the eponymous college

Vassar College

Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...

.

Originally it had a front porch

Porch

A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...

, which was removed in 1892. That has been the only significant alteration to the building's exterior. On the inside, the windows were elongated and lengthened. In 1953 the interior was thoroughly modernized.

In 1982 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

, one of three bank buildings on or near Market Street to be added. The now-demolished city hall, a few blocks away, was the only other non-residential Greek Revival building in the city. It is currently home to a small insurance

Insurance

In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

agency.