The 1926 First National Bank, Capitol Tower is Salem’s only skyscraper at 11 stories tall. This building was financed by Thomas A. Livesley, a leading hop grower as well as a Salem politician and entrepreneur. Elaborate ornamentation decorates the exterior of the eleventh floor upward to the parapet: a standing human figure with stylized wings; bearded human faces in relief; statuary of griffins. It stands at one of Salem’s most historic commercial corners at State and Liberty Street. (See 1935 photograph taken at Ferry and Liberty.) The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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