First State Bank, Manlius, Illinois, Elevation

Although he died young, Parker Noble Berry was a distinguished architect of the Prairie School who occupied the position of chief draftsman for Louis Sullivan before striking out on his own in 1917. After working on Sullivan’s “jewel box” bank commissions in the Midwest, Berry’s 1914 design for the First State Bank of Manlius, Illinois, further economized on Sullivan’s volumetric structures with a flat, geometric facade and a recessed loggia. The drawings for this project formed part of the library’s important collection of “Sullivaniana”—material related to work by Sullivan and his followers, as well as the legacy of his buildings in Chicago. This legacy includes documents pertaining not only to the original design and construction of Sullivan’s buildings, but also the interests and struggles of many individuals to record and preserve these historical structures.