- Created by
- Bank of Finance, American, 1964 - 1981
- Subject of
- Granville, Onie Burnett, American, 1916 - 1998
- Bradley, Tom, American, 1917 - 1998
- Beal, Perry Weldon, American, 1905 - 1984
- Clarke, Wilton A., American
- Spencer, Lorenzo V., American, 1912 - 1969
- Ballard, Edward Hunter, American, 1899 - 1988
- Date
- 1964
- Medium
- metal
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 27 15/16 × 22 1/16 × 3/8 in. (71 × 56 × 1 cm)
- Caption
- Founded by Onie B. Granville in 1964, the Bank of Finance was the first African American-owned and operated state chartered bank west of Kansas City. Granville, a long time real estate broker in Los Angeles, formed the institution with other prominent African American community leaders in Los Angeles: Los Angeles City Councilman and later mayor Tom Bradley, real estate broker Lorenzo Spencer, businessman Wilton A. Clark, and physicians Dr. Perry Beal and Dr. Edward Ballard. Along with Granville's sister, Bernice Malbrue, the six men named on this plaque became the bank's first board of directors. In the face of discriminatory housing and financial practices, the Bank of Finance played an important role in financing Black homeownership and businesses in the Los Angeles area until it was purchased by another bank in 1984.
- Description
- The bronze cornerstone plaque from the Bank of Finance building in Los Angeles, California, with the names of the bank's organizers. A rectangular metal plaque with six names in raised relief. The names are shined to a dull bronze color while the background is a darker color in a rough texture. Text on the plaque reads [Organizers / ONIE B. GRANVILLE / founder / PERRY W. BEAL, M.D. / WILTON CLARKE / LORENZO V. SPENCER / EDWARD H. BALLARD, M.D. / THOMAS BRADLEY, ATT].
- Place used
- Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
- Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Buildings and Structures
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Natalie Finney Mallard in memory of her Uncle Onie Burnett Granville
- Object number
- 2016.33.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




