The DeForest Block

The DeForest Block, built in 1887, was Mr. Henry L. DeForest's first brick building in the downtown commercial district. It is one of the oldest brick buildings in Sanford and the only one that survived the disastrous fire of 1887. One of the original occupants was a grocery store. It has also been called the Seminole Bank Building after another of its early occupants., The architectural style is Beaux-Arts Classicism with a rectangular floor plan and a flat roof with parapet. There is an elaborate metal classical cornice at the roof and segmental pediments over the windows. There is also a stringcourse and visible division of bays at the side. The building has been covered with a light coat of stucco but the original details have not been lost., The eastern half of the building underwent some significant alterations in 1917 when it became the Seminole County Bank. These included adding corner brackets on the cornice, covering the recessed panels of the frieze and installing engaged panels on the facade which have since been removed. Additional alterations occurred in 1941., Listed in the National Register of Historic Places - 1976.