The Lincoln Bank Tower in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, is an Art Deco highrise building. Construction started in late 1929 with the building's opening in 1930. For decades, it was the tallest building in the state. The building was also known as "Lincoln Bank Tower" to distinguish it from the building at 215 Berry Street, which had been known as the "Lincoln Life Building" from 1912 until 1923. Today, that other building is commonly known by the original Elektron Building name.HistoryLincoln National Bank and Trust was chartered as The German American National Bank in 1905. During World War I, anti-German sentiment was running high because Germany was an enemy of the United States and Allied powers. Britain. On May 31, 1918, the German American National Bank became Lincoln National Bank.The choice of Lincoln as a name was appealing. Not only was there the thriving insurance company, also founded in 1905, down the street, but people were still excited about the Lincoln Highway, (the main street of America) that passed through Fort Wayne to be the first coast-to-coast highway in the United States. In 1928, Lincoln National Bank merged with Lincoln Trust Company (formerly known as Strauss Brothers Commercial Bank) to become Lincoln National Bank and Trust.Shortly after Lincoln National Bank and Trust was formed, President Charles Buesching commissioned a skyscraper to serve as headquarters for the new bank. Buesching considered it to be a monument to the German immigrants who settled the Fort Wayne area at the turn of the 20th century and formed the backbone of his investors, depositors, and customers. Buesching himself was a German immigrant.Alvin M. Strauss of Fort Wayne was architect, while Buesching and Hagerman were contractors for the building. Some design elements were based on the Tribune Tower in Chicago. Ground was broken on August 16, 1929, for the building. Despite the Great Crash of the stock market on October 24, construction continued on the $1.3 million structure.
