Way back last century Model Railroader published an article on building a bank.
In that same century, I built a model based on that article, making some changes to make it easier to build.
Thanks to Richard Smith, I got a copy of that article and set about using it as a basis for a 1:20 model. The prototype is in Hempstead, New York.
I decided that I liked the changes I had made last century when I made my original model. I wanted something that looked like a bank, but the prototype was a little too fancy. So, I ditched the fancy railing on the top, and the massive rectangular columns on either end. I started thinking of how I might want to build this. I really enjoyed building my textile mill with acrylic, so an acrylic based was a given. I first thought about using acrylic columns, but Jean suggested I head over to Michaels and check the cake decoration section. There I found some neat columns that were 7" high and would be just perfect. Not only that, they were cheap - 4 for under $5! I drew up a plan in TurboCAD and used the pictures of the columns to see how they might work.
Pleased with that look, I put in a call to Russ Miller at TAP Plastics. We spent a short time talking about what I needed and spent more time discussing all sorts of issues with railroads outside. 
