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 of German ancestry who helped build the city of Hammond, Indiana.

  
     
 

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 

  
 

 

 

  A fiscally responsible ethnic group that realized the importance of savings, on the left is a post card from Citizens German National Bank in Hammond, Indiana, that promotes regular savings and then bringing your savings into the bank for deposit. It includes a monthly calendar suggesting that this promotional piece was a regular mailing.

 

  
 

(Notice the $2 bill ? )

      

 

  If you were standing on the corner of Sibley and Hohman Avenue in 1911,  and you were looking northeast, this is what you would see. A busy intersection in downtown Hammond, Indiana, with a mixture of automobiles and horse drawn carriages. People weren't sure about traffic right-of-ways so traffic lights have yet to come onto the scene. This was regarded as one of the busiest intersections in downtown Hammond.    

More Pictures of Hohman & Sibley - What this intersection looked like before the bank was built on the corner.

Visit the German Lutheran Church and view the 1903 membership directory. Note: It is all printed in German.
Find your ancestors and the address where they lived in Hammond.
 
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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