Sedgwick bank photo restored by Herk Schmidt. Drawing restored by Herk Schmidt.
Within the Wallace Block, the former home of Sedgwick’s Bank remains remarkably intact. Heavy vault doors still stand beneath ornate Victorian trim, silent reminders of a time when farmers, merchants, and businessmen entrusted their earnings to this very room. Exposed brick walls and tall front windows anchor the space firmly in Sandwich’s nineteenth century commercial past.
Over the decades, the room evolved. After the bank era, it housed a jewelry store, where precious metals replaced paper currency, followed by a restaurant and also a business known as the Decorator’s Mart, which sold wallpaper and carpeting. Each chapter altered the furnishings, but the structure endured.
Today, the space serves once again as a gathering place. Owned by former Chicago Bears player Kurt Becker, a member of the 1985 Super Bowl championship team, the old bank now welcomes patrons beneath framed football memorabilia and sepia toned murals that depict nineteenth century storefronts and businessmen. The artwork, though modern, pays quiet tribute to the era when finance and trade defined this stretch of Railroad Street.
From the front windows, one can still see the Hummel Building and the Marcy Block across the way on Main Street. A reminder that the same commercial corridor that sustained Sandwich more than a century ago continues to define it today. The vault doors remain. The brick still stands. Only the purpose has changed.
The Wallace Block Landmark Series
Explore the articles that tell the story of the Wallace Block and the businesses that shaped its history.
- The Wallace Block – Landmark Overview
- Businesses of the Wallace Block
- Sedgwick Bank in the Wallace Block
- Wallace Brothers