German Citizen's National Bank Building
Northeast Corner of Hohman and Sibley - 1912

 

The German Citizen's National Bank Building occupied the northeast corner of Hohman Avenue and Sibley in downtown Hammond. It reflects the strong presence of people with German ancestry who helped build the city of Hammond, Indiana.

  
 

Real Photo taken 1911

According to one historical source,
"The Germans were the earliest ethnic group in Hammond, brought here to demonstrate their skills as butchers in the packinghouse. Six of Hammond's first ten churches were German, as were the first newspapers. In 1910, 59 percent of the population was either from Germany or had German ancestry. Nine German singing societies with 1,200 German-American members in their union were a strong group in Hammond. Their descendants still populate the city."

Source: Hammond, Indiana's American Bicentennial Yearbook, 1976

 
 
 
Something wrong with this picture?
Hohman and Sibley at night, showing safe streets and busy shoppers. The only problem is that the moon appears in the northern sky, out of it's zenith. Many times postcard artists would embellish the image and paint in American flags, clouds, chimney smoke, and even a full moon.

Not so real photo taken 1918