The March of Progress Elevator Doors — 20 Exchange Place, 1931
Industry, Transportation, Progress — The NYC Art Deco Archive
Two stylized female figures in high relief — industrial precision and elegant symbolism in the same surface — representing advances in transportation financed by the Bank's investments: from sailing ships and aerial balloons to ocean liners and modern aircraft.
Nickel silver was chosen by architects Cross & Cross over bronze — a deliberate rejection of colored metal in favor of a unified white finish. The decorative program was executed under the direction of British sculptor David Evans — its visual language aligned with the Art Deco skyline of Lower Manhattan.
Published in FMR Magazine, Winter Solstice 2024.
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20 Exchange Place — City Bank-Farmers Trust Building
20 Exchange Place — City Bank-Farmers Trust Building
At 20 Exchange Place, architects Cross & Cross chose nickel silver deliberately — a copper-nickel-zinc alloy with no actual silver content, prized for its silvery-white luster and resistance to corrosion. Unlike bronze, it does not age to color. The choice was architectural: a unified white finish to complement the building's gray and blue-tinted stone facade. At the time of completion in 1931, it was the world's tallest stone-faced skyscraper.
The iconographic program runs across dozens of entrance and elevator doors, executed under the direction of British sculptor David Evans. Above the doors, nickel-silver grilles carry allegorical figures symbolizing banking and abundance, alongside the caduceus — the symbol of commerce. The central argument is stated in contrasting pairs: sailing ships against ocean liners, aerial balloons against modern aircraft. Old means and new means. Advances in industry and transportation financed by the Bank's investments — the unstoppable march of progress cast in white metal.
The building operated as the City Bank-Farmers Trust Building until it became 20 Exchange Place. The metalwork survived intact. In Lower Manhattan's Art Deco skyline, it remains one of the most ambitious architectural applications of nickel silver ever executed.
Browse the New York City Art Deco Archive
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The Wealth Bearer, Finance — Elevator Panel, Fred French Building, New York, 1927
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Art Deco Allegory of Effort — Gilded Grille, Chanin Building, New York, 1929
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The Symbolic Program — Elevator Doors, Fred French Building, New York
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The Harvester, Industry — Elevator Panel, Fred French Building, New York, 1927
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