2024 12 16
Banks, like churches, used to be built grand to inspire confidence and awe. These days, only publicly-funded sports stadiums are constructed in this manner. As a result, there are many beautiful old banks scattered around the country in towns that have dried up and evaporated around them. I’ve had a long-running vision of converting these old banks into boutique hotels, catering to our new leisure-based economy instead of the population growth and commerce that spurred their initial creation.
Of course, this idea sounds cool in theory, while in practice would likely be unsustainably expensive and challenging. Hard, but not impossible. If you know someone with a bunch of money they are looking to spend on something fun and interesting, send them my way and we’ll talk. I’ve got expensive ideas.
-Clayton
Grand old bank. Holland, Michigan. October, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Banks, like churches, used to be built grand to inspire confidence and awe. These days, only publicly-funded sports stadiums are constructed in this manner. As a result, there are many beautiful old banks scattered around the country in towns that have dried up and evaporated around them. I’ve had a long-running vision of converting these old banks into boutique hotels, catering to our new leisure-based economy instead of the population growth and commerce that spurred their initial creation.
Of course, this idea sounds cool in theory, while in practice would likely be unsustainably expensive and challenging. Hard, but not impossible. If you know someone with a bunch of money they are looking to spend on something fun and interesting, send them my way and we’ll talk. I’ve got expensive ideas, and perhaps a way to make this vision a reality, however, not the time or capital to do so.
-Clayton