Monrovia in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Monrovia Savings Bank Building
Photographed by Craig Baker, March 15, 2021
1. Monrovia Savings Bank Building Marker
Inscription.
Monrovia Savings Bank Building. . The First Presbyterian Church of Monrovia was organized in May of 1888, just as the land boom of the 1880s in Southern California was about to collapse. The congregation struggled financially for ten years before they were able to build their first church building at this location. The land was a gift from J.M. and Mary J. Studebaker of South Bend, Indiana, who had built a winter home in Monrovia. The new church was dedicated in 1898 and served the congregation for twenty-five years. After the present church on Foothill Boulevard was completed in 1923, the original structure was demolished. In its place was constructed a substantial brick building designed to house the Monrovia Savings Bank, a financial institution founded in 1903 and located two blocks south on Myrtle Avenue. Both the Monrovia Savings Bank and the First National Bank of Monrovia were merged into the Security Trust and Savings Bank of Los Angeles in 1924. As the second Monrovia branch, the bank continued to operate here for another ten years before being consolidated with the First Monrovia Branch. The former bank building was then divided into two storefronts. For many years, the corner location was a coffee shop, while the second location housed a number of succeeding businesses. The interior of the building was completely renovated in 2000, but all the historic elements on the exterior were retained. The building appears today much as it did in 1923.
The First Presbyterian Church of Monrovia was organized in May of 1888, just as the land boom of the 1880s in
Southern California was about to collapse. The congregation struggled financially for ten years before they were able
to build their first church building at this location. The land was a gift from J.M. and Mary J. Studebaker of South Bend,
Indiana, who had built a winter home in Monrovia. The new church was dedicated in 1898 and served the congregation
for twenty-five years. After the present church on Foothill Boulevard was completed in 1923, the original structure was
demolished. In its place was constructed a substantial brick building designed to house the Monrovia Savings Bank, a
financial institution founded in 1903 and located two blocks south on Myrtle Avenue. Both the Monrovia Savings Bank
and the First National Bank of Monrovia were merged into the Security Trust and Savings Bank of Los Angeles in 1924.
As the second Monrovia branch, the bank continued to operate here for another ten years before being consolidated with
the First Monrovia Branch. The former bank building was then divided into
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two storefronts. For many years, the corner
location was a coffee shop, while the second location housed a number of succeeding businesses. The interior of the
building was completely renovated in 2000, but all the historic elements on the exterior were retained. The building
appears today much as it did in 1923.
Location. 34° 8.883′ N, 118° 0.052′ W. Marker is in Monrovia, California, in Los Angeles County. It is at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Lime Avenue, on the right when traveling north on Myrtle Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 402 S Myrtle Ave, Monrovia CA 91016, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Los Angeles and in the Transverse Ranges. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and
Photographed by Craig Baker, March 15, 2021
2. Monrovia Savings Bank Building Marker
in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 17, 2021, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 475 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on March 17, 2021, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
