DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First National Bank of Odessa — and friends, this one's got more layers than a west Texas dust storm. Now, before there were vaults and loan officers and marble floors, banking out here in west Texas was a different animal altogether. We're talkin' handshakes.
Maybe a contract if somebody was feeling formal. That was the state of things before the federal and state regulations came along to tighten things up. Out in Odessa, the first outfit to offer any kind of lending service wasn't even a bank — it was B.
Blankenship and Company, General Merchandise, established in 1897. That's right. You could pick up your dry goods and arrange a little financing all under the same roof.
Odessa National Bank earned the city's first state charter and opened its doors in 1902. It operated for one year. One.
Year. West Texas was not playing around when it came to separating the determined from the rest. Citizens National Bank stepped up in 1906 and stuck around for twenty-seven years, absorbing others along the way — Western National Bank in 1907, and then Odessa National Bank again between 1925 and 1930.
Farming and ranching were expanding out here in the early nineteen hundreds, which meant more people needed more banking. But the Panic of 1907 hit. Then, just when folks thought they'd seen the worst, the stock market crash of 1929 came along and reminded everybody that the worst has a way of outdoing itself.
Banks nationwide took the blow, and Odessa was no exception. Now here's where the story gets interesting. April 2, 1932.
The Great Depression is in full howl. Banks across the country are failing like dominoes in a windstorm. And what does Odessa do?
Opens a brand new bank. The First National Bank of Odessa set up shop and — against what most reasonable people might have predicted — kept its doors open. It offered banking services to the citizens of Odessa right through the thick of the Depression.
That alone is worth a pause. The bank started its life at the corner of Grant and Second Streets. Over time it moved — twice, both times staying along Grant — until in 1949 a permanent home was ready.
Fifteen thousand eight hundred square feet of it. Fifteen individual teller windows. Fourteen hundred safety deposit boxes.
A drive-up window, which in 1949 was still the kind of thing that made people stop and stare. And air conditioning — real, honest-to-goodness air conditioning for the customers, which in west Texas heat is not a luxury, it is a mercy. But the crown jewel of that building?
A sixteen-by-twenty-one-foot mural, painted by the husband and wife team of Michael and Ethel Chomyk. You walk into a bank during hard times and there's art on the wall — big, deliberate art — that tells you something about how the people running that place thought about their community. The Odessa American ran a piece on June 24, 1949, celebrating the grand opening and what the bank meant to the local economy.
And over the decades that followed, the First National Bank of Odessa has thrived and played an important role in the development of the region. From a general merchandise store offering handshake loans in 1897, to a fifteen-thousand-square-foot institution with a mural on the wall — that, right there, is west Texas refusing to quit.
What the marker says
Early banking in west Texas prior to federal and state regulations often consisted of handshakes and few contracts. Lending services were first offered in Odessa by B. Blankenship & Co., General Merchandise (established 1897). The city's first state charter was for Odessa National Bank, opening in 1902 and operating for one year. Citizens National Bank opened in 1906 and served the community for 27 years, merging with several others over the years, including Western National Bank (1907) and Odessa National Bank (1925-1930). Even though farming and ranching activity expanded in the area during the early 1900s, increasing the need for banking, the Panic of 1907 and the stock market crash of 1929 took a toll on banks nationwide and in Odessa. Despite the economic climate, the First National Bank of Odessa opened for business on April 2, 1932. It was able to operate during the Great Depression, offering banking services to the citizens of Odessa. Originally housed at the corner of Grant and 2nd streets, the bank moved to two other locations along Grant until a 15,800-square-foot building was completed in 1949. Boasting many modern conveniences, the bank featured 15 individual teller windows, 1,400 safety deposit boxes, a drive-up bank window and air conditioning for customers. One of the main attractions in the building was the 16-by-21-foot mural painted by the husband and wife team of Michael and Ethel Chomyk. The June 24, 1949, issue of the Odessa American celebrated the grand opening of the bank and its importance to the local economy. Over the decades, the bank has thrived and played an important role in the development of the region. (2018)