Lee County Bank Drive-In Facility
Ray Jansen with Frizzell Architects
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Built
1972 -
Lee County Bank Drive-In Facility - Ray Jansen/Frizzell Architects. 1972
Like the Johnson Engineering Building, the Lee County Bank Drive-In Facility is an example of late modern brick building.
Historically banks were robust, massive and most often symmetrical structures that embodied strength and security. But this elongated low bank building, while very solid and constructed of heavy masonry, conveys instead the new spirited enthusiasm Americans had for automobiles. This building is raised nearly completely off the ground, giving it a sense of weightlessness. With almost no footprint at the ground level, lanes and lanes of drive-thru tellers are accommodated below.
It was rumored at the time to be "Longest Motorbank in the World."
It appears Ray Jensen, partner at W.R. Frizzell Architects, was heavily influenced by the contemporary work of Paul Rudolph, who by this time had left Florida and whose work was gaining worldwide recognition.
Photo Caption:
The W.R. Frizzell Architects office was located in the Lee County Bank Drive-In Facility for nearly a decade.
