The historic Foucart building is home to the Perry Chamber of Commerce. Constructed in 1902, this building originally housed the Noble County Bank, which was later known as First National Bank.
The building’s designer, Joseph Foucart was of French heritage, educated in Belgium and completed formal engineering and architectural studies in 1865. After service in the Franco-Prussian War, Foucart went to Paris and designed several buildings. His memoirs stated that he was chief draftsman on the Paris city hall before migrating to the New World in 1888.
The building’s architecture is castle-like, but still in the traditional Territorial Style, with uncut stone and arched windows. There are also some distinctive characteristics that only this building has. The peaked cupolas, artistic brickwork, the distinct horseshoe window arch and the flame over the door pediment (a favorite design element of the French artist) make this building stand out from the other Territorial style buildings.
Today, you can still see the original embossed tin ceiling, wood and ceramic tile floors, chandeliers, and metal safe used in the Noble County Bank. The total cost of construction at the completion of the building was approximately 7,500 dollars.
The Foucart Building has two floors and a basement covering 2,000 square feet per floor. At the present time, Perry's local TV station, the PIN network, occupies the top floor, Perry Main Street, the basement, and the Chamber on the ground floor. Visitors are welcome to stop by and see this interesting example of early 1900's architecture.
