the left bank

The Left Bank, above, is an 1864 High Victorian brick building that served as a bank for almost 150 years. The building has been redeveloped as part of The Fund for North Bennington, Inc.’s programmatic mission to assure preservation of the building’s historic character, to provide community event space and as an incubator for local enterprise.

In 2013, Merchants Bank decided to consolidate offices in southwestern Vermont, and very generously donated its historic building at 5 Bank Street in North Bennington to two non-profit organizations: The Fund for North Bennington, Inc. and Preservation Trust of Vermont, Inc. The Fund became sole owner in 2016 through a new entity – The Left Bank, LLC.

The Fund’s primary goal in redeveloping the property was to encourage lively activity that would contribute to North Bennington’s strong sense of community, and would bring increased vitality to the village’s Main Street. Calling the property “The Left Bank,” the building was converted to office and community uses.

The former banking space — “The Lobby” — is used for community events, conferences, movies, yoga, music and movement classes, art exhibits and poetry readings.

The Left Bank, LLC has completed energy-efficiency upgrades, installed a solar generating array on the roof (with generous assistance from Green Mountain Power), laid a new wooden floor in The Lobby, renovated several office spaces and upgraded temperature control systems. One of the former bank vaults has been re-purposed for archival storage. ATM services continue to be offered by Merchants Bank’s successor, Community Bank, N.A.

For more information about The Left Bank project, including contact information for arranging events, visit the property’s website here (outside link). The Left Bank’s events calendar is here (outside link). Sunset photo courtesy of Mike Rosen.

Above, The Left Bank building as shown on bank stationary c1940s.