Vintage Photos: In 1900, Fifth Avenue Bank Had A Women’s Only Row of Tellers

“In 1900 the Fifth Avenue Bank in New York City featured a special row of tellers’ windows for the ladies.”

The Fifth Avenue Bank was one of the first banks in the United States to cater to its female customers by creating a space dedicated solely to them. In a time when women were just beginning to handle their money in bank accounts, the parlor provided a private environment that would not be flooded by male customers, as seen in this vintage photograph, tweeted by an Untapped Cities contributor Alexis Coe. The idea of an area specifically for women was also appearing in other public spaces at the time, such as post offices. Still, the thought of women handling money was not taken seriously by many and New York would not see its first commercial bank owned by a woman until 1975, when First Women’s Bank opened.

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