The Ridgefield State Bank, founded in 1910, was an anchor of early commerce in the town.

The Ridgefield State Bank building, built circa 1920, is an L-shaped brick commercial building located at the northwest corner of Pioneer Street (State Route 501) and Third Avenue in the town’s primary commercial area.The vernacular Classical Revival building reflects the maturation of the business to the point of requiring a larger building as the sole formal financial institution in town at the time. For many decades, the Ridgefield State Bank building was the site of many different kinds of financial transactions for a broad segment of the local population. The building has been in use as the Ridgefield City Hall since 1975.

 

The Ridgefield State Bank building is a rare example of formal Classical Revival architecture in Ridgefield. In the state of Washington, the building is one of the rare remaining smaller banks of the era and it has a high level of integrity. The period of significance dates of 1920-1968 represent the time period of construction (1920) and the ownership of the Edward Firstenburg family (1936-1968).

Edward Firstenburg was an early bank cashier and later President and owner of the Ridgefield State Bank, who was responsible for the bank’s continued growth in the county. Firstenburg’s two sons also became President and Vice-President of the bank in the 1980s. The family owned the bank until 2011, making it one of the few banks under family ownership in the nation.

The building is one of the oldest buildings remaining in Ridgefield’s traditional downtown core, is a rare example of formal Classical Revival architecture in Ridgefield, and is one of the most intact of all remaining smaller banks of the era in Washington State.

Ridgefield State Bank Building Nomination

• Listed in the Clark County Heritage Register in 2018