Commercial National Bank

• Designed by: Samuel G. Wiener Sr. and associated architects McKim, Mead, and White
• Design year: 1939

The Shreveport Commercial National Bank was organized in 1886. Sam Wiener Jr., who served as a bank director for the majority of his adult life, was but 22 years old when the bank was organized. In 1911, CNB built their first main office building at the corner of Texas at Market streets which was designed by Little Rock architects Mann and Stern. The 10-story Beaux-Arts building is clad in white glazed brick and white glazed terra-cotta. In 1939, CNB decided to replace their main office building with a larger and grander facility (16-stories) at the corner of Texas and Edwards Streets.  The bank contracted with Samuel G. Wiener Sr. and the New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White to execute the work. Working with an associated architect was not unfamiliar to Sam G. Wiener because he had collaborated with his brother William on numerous projects, as well as Seymour Van Os, and/or Theodore Flaxman on other projects. The division of labor between Wiener and the McKim, Mead, and White firm is unknown but Wiener was intimately involved with the design based on sketches housed at the Northwest Louisiana Archives at Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSUS.)

Stylistically, the building is art-deco (though subdued), which was the most popular style for major buildings of the day. The proportions of the building in plan are about 1:2 with the narrow (major) façade facing Texas Street, which helps to accentuate the verticality of the building. The first bids for the structure were significantly over budget, which led to the original design being greatly simplified in terms of detail. Additionally, the principal façade material was changed from face-brick to limestone for cost savings related to labor.

A new glazed office building was built in 1987 to the east of the Wiener/McKim, Mead and White-designed building to serve as the new CNB main office building.