You can argue over the value of remodeling old buildings or tearing them down and starting from scratch, but as our resident historian Mike Jones says, “Every time you bulldoze a building, you lose a connection to the past.” 

At INB, we believe those connections should remain strong and remembered.

We demonstrate that by investing in historic buildings in downtown Springfield – first with our downtown branch, then in the renovations of two buildings on the same block that now house our growing staff and operations. 

Most recently, we spent nearly a year on the remodel of 425 S. 4^th St., located between our conference center at 431 S. 4^th and our main downtown branch.

The building was transformed from a leaky, dingy storage space to a beautiful, modern and state-of-the-art facility.

The history of 425 S. 4^th St.

Mike Jones, ATM analyst for INB, enjoys sharing the history of our buildings.

According to Mike, the current building at 425 S. 4^th was constructed around 1923 or 1924.

Prior to that, there was a mansion on the property built by a family, Christopher and Bettie Stuart Brown, who were related to the Lincolns. After Bettie’s death in 1869, Christopher donated their home and grounds to open a boarding school called The Bettie Stuart Institute, serving the daughters of local well-to-do families.

The building that now stands in this location was first a Chevrolet dealership, Mike says.

“During the renovation, we uncovered duct work where someone had hand-written ‘Chevrolet building’ on it,” Mike shares. “There was a Ford dealership on the corner, Dodge truck was across the street, and down the street was the Cadillac dealership. Today, these INB buildings are the only two buildings remaining from Springfield’s historic automobile row.” 

When the last dealership moved from the area in the 60s, 425 S. 4^th became the Pavilion Club. It was a place for younger people to get together and play pool or pinball machines.

“They painted the walls the funky colors scheme of the 60s that we actually left and just built over,” Mike says. 

The state of Illinois eventually moved in after the Pavilion Club closed, and the central switchboard for the state was located in the back. Finally, INB acquired the building.

INB Invests in Downtown Springfield with Major Renovation 

INB spent nearly a year planning and completing the remodel of the building. We contracted with FWAI Architects and O’Shea Builders for the project. 

“The remodel process went well,” says Danny Seman, INB director of facilities. “In a building this old, there are things you hit and issues you don’t expect. But O’Shea and FWAI were very easy to work with, and it’s turned into a great project.” 

The building was gutted and renovated to include four conference rooms, one of which is for an executive type of group and another that fits more than 50 people and is designed for group training purposes. 

The building also features a beautiful kitchen/dining space and houses our audit, compliance, marketing, human resources, accounting and customer care center departments. 

“Downtown is the place to be. We feel that this is a very important area, and it’s important to improve it as much as we can, especially being right across from the Governor’s Mansion,” Danny explains.

Remembering Our Past, Present and Future 

“This renovation took a lot of effort and a lot of money,” Mike says. “There are not many businesses willing to put money into old buildings, but INB is really proud of its history and we want to preserve the history of downtown.” 

With our rich history in the central Illinois community, INB is invested in preserving our past, present and future. We plan to be here for a long time.