There and Gone: Independent Savings, Metropolitan Savings Bank

Question: What was a vacant lot in 1978, and again in 2014?
Answer: 1515 East 260th Street. 

There and gone that quickly. Standing on a corner of cracked asphalt, the building is a perfect, uninspired cube of tan and brown brick. It doesn’t scream "wealth" so much as it whispers "bureaucracy."

Capped in more brown is the top of the building, the roof over what used to be a drive-up window, and the flat, block awning. Two floors of fiscal responsibility also featured a community room.

Announced here in The Cleveland Plain Dealer on June 27, 1978, the opening of the approximately 60x40 finance rectangle that would house the newly organized and chartered Independent Savings Association - the first chartered by the state in nearly two decades. Independent Savings Association was officially established at the beginning of June that year.

Do you remember Independent Savings in Euclid?

Harold Swope was to be president and chairman. Others joining Harold were Louis Drasler, James Conway, Jeffrey Cole, John Kovacic, and Frank Berzin, builder. 

Independent Savings and Loan did open in March 1979. There's Hal Swope, looking pleased about 6% interest! In May 1985, the name was changed to Independent Savings Bank.

Independent Savings Matchbook featuring Palisades Bowling and Lucky Ed's on East 260th

In 1990, Independent Savings Bank was acquired by and then operated as Metropolitan Savings Bank of Cleveland.

1993 Metropolitan Savings at 1515 East 260th Street.

Metropolitan Savings Bank lasted until 2003, when it merged with Sky Bank, which is now Huntington bank. I told you. Exciting.

In 1998 the building changed hands from Owner Dorothy Berzin to Imani church. Imani is located right next door, and they used the building. 

When you let Jesus take the wheel on those vines

While not the worst building standing, it had obviously seen better days despite being under 40 years old. I don't know if the church elected to knock the building down or what the circumstances were, but it is gone, and has been gone 2014.

Here's what their website looked like in late 1999: 

Fun fact: We weathered Y2K so well because of how prepared everyone was. Y2k tends to be looked back upon as a near hysteria, but had many smart people not taken action, things could have gone south quickly.

If you want to go pay your respects to the severe yet somehow dumpy building that used to be, the rock used to adorn the corner still sits near East 260th and Brush Avenue today.

Like it says somewhere else in Cuyahoga county: Long Live Rock.