Enframed Block
The enframed block is generally two or three stories high with most of the facade punctuated by columns, pilasters, an arcade or a treatment suggestive of such classical elements. This main section is bracketed by much narrower end bays, more or less equal in height, to form a continuous wall plane. The end bays may contain windows and other openings. Precedents for the type date at least to 18th-century France. It became popular in the United States around 1900, again under the aegis of the academic movement, and enjoyed extensive use through the 1920s. The enframed block can be found most often on public and institutional buildings, but it also is a standard pattern for banks of the period. (Longstreth, 1987, 2000 )