Built in 1889 at the northwest corner of Block Avenue and Center Street, the Eason Building, originally known as the Bank of Fayetteville, is a three-story structure with a full basement.
It features Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival influences in its design. The basement and first floor of the building are constructed of rough-faced limestone while the upper two floors are brick.
The building was home to the first Bank of Fayetteville initially, chartered by Lafayette Gregg, who served as president with Dr. W.B. Welch as vice president and Mac Devins as the cashier. In 1908, it merged with the First National Bank and operated under that name until 1931, when it merged with Citizens Bank and moved to Block Avenue.
Alcuin Pitt “Cap” Eason purchased the building for the Eason and Co. insurance business. The building’s facade was dramatically altered in 1960 when a gold anodized metal mesh was bolted to the building in an effort to transform the building into a modern boxy vernacular.
In 1985, an attempted interior renovation gutted most of the original mouldings and detail. Between 1990 and 1993, the mesh was removed and the original facade was restored.
The next year, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 7, 1994.