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36 WINNETKA TALK June 25, 1927 Vaults Housed Safety Vault Users Are Afforded Every Safeguard From Loss Perhaps the best way to explain the advantages of the Safe Deposit depart- ment is to follow a customer through on his visit to the vaults. The department is reached through elevator service or by a broad marble stair leading to a spacious lobby. Adjoining the lobby are a ladies' room, a large community room and public telephone booths. The community room is available for committee meetings and gatherings of various kinds. Arrangements may be made with the officers, and the public is invited to make use of its facilities. The customer desiring access to the vault enters the vault lobby. An at- tendant hands him a signature slip which he signs, writing the number of his box. On this is stamped the date and time of day by a time-stamp clock. This signature is checked with the one in the files and if correct the safe is opened, and the keys returned to the owner, Guard Against Lost Articles The customer entering the coupon room closes the door which auto- matically lights the room. When leav- ing the door locks itself slightly ajar and can then be opened only by an attendant who carefully examines the room for any valuables carelessly left behind. This examination is made after each customer and the owner of lost articles can thus easily be located. There are twenty-three of these rooms of various sizes accommodating | P | from one to twenty persons. They are | beautifully finished in American wal- nut. Returning to the vault the attendant locks the safe and returns the keys. At no time are any customer's keys in possession of an attendant except in the presence of the owner. File Signature Slips The signature slips are filed numer- ically and are available for reference at any time. These records are fre- quently submitted as evidence in va- rious courts. The customer when examining his securities has the protection of three bronze and steel doors, each guarded. The affiliation of the bank with the Protective Department of the Illino's Bankers' Association, which cooper- ates with all police departments, means added protection. Leading from the main lobby is a large storage room. The construction is of a type similar to that of the safe deposit vault and is equally secure. This has a capacity of 500 trunks and 2,000 smaller packages. A small room with convenient shelves located near the door of the vault is for the use of the customer desiring to open or ex- amine packages or trunks. BANK OF ENGLAND CHAIRS Bank of England chairs, connected with which bankers always feel senti- ment, will be used in the directors' room and in some of the other offices of the new State Bank and Trust com- pany building. in Ponderous Cube of Steel, Concrete Walls and ceiling of gleaming steel distinguish the main vault room to the left. which line the passage way. when swung open. All the latest patents and vault construction are empl be automatically given at To the right is the view from the vault into the coupon rooms Below is the 46,000 pound door as it looks Photos by ILehle Thick Walls of Polished Metal Concrete and Electric Wires Defy Burglars, Fire and Rust A 46,000 pound door and 23-inch thick walls guard the bank and safety deposit vaults of the State Bank and Trust company. devices known in the art of modern oyed in making these vaults as nearly fireproof and burglar-proof as possible. Electrical protection w floors and ceiling of the vaults are such that if an attempt were made to cut into it at any point, a large alarm gong would sound at the outside of the building and simultaneously an alarm would ires embedded in the concrete walls, the police station. The vault is divided into two parts, one for the bank or cash deposits and the other, for the safe deposit boxes of bank patrons. They are separated by a heavy steel artition. Has Handsome Interior Despite the care taken to provide protection, the construction has not sacrificed appearance. The interior of the vault is finished handsomely. The entire ceiling is laid off in panels of polished steel plates, separated by bronze. The floor is rubber tile with a black Belgian marble base. The doors of the safe deposit boxes, which number over 5300, are finished in polished steel of ascoloy metal, which is rust-proof. This special alloy resists rust from atmospheric condi- tions and acids. The entrance to the vault is protect- ed by grilles and gates of massive pro- portions. These give access to the vault during the day and make it un- necessary to lock and unlock the main vault doors. These day gates close automatically and are provided with strong key locks, operated by means of a key from either side of the gate. There is an alarm bell attachment to prevent unauthorized persons from en- tering the vault. Circular Door 16 Inches Thick Immediately ahead of the grille gates is the entrance to the safe deposit vault. The door is a massive circular one, sixteen inches thick and weighing approximately 46,000 pounds. Including the door and the frame into which it fits, the entrance weighs about thirty- three tons. The door into the cash bank vault is a sixteen inch rectangular door weigh- ing about 28,600 pounds. These doors have in them plates of open-hearth steel, chrome steel and burn-resisting metal which, together, resist drills, explosives and acetylene torch. They are provided with the most modern appurtenances such as twenty-four massive bolts, each having beveled ends to take bearing on wedge blocks so that when the bolts are thrown into a locked position. the en- tire structure becomes one rigid mass of steel of uniform strength through- out. Light Touch Moves Tons of Steel Each door has a seventy-two hour time lock, two combination locks, heavy crane hinges and a modern pres- sure bar system, operated by means of a large hand wheel for equalizing the pressure properly to seat these massive doors in the surrounding jamb frames before the mechanism becomes opera- tive. The ball bearing crane hinges are adjusted in such a delicate manner that a slight touch will move the doors. Concrete walls, twenty-three inches thick, form the vault. They are rein- forced with "H" beam construction and are lined with quarter-inch steel lin- ing, making a steel box of inside dimensions of 39x25x9 feet. This con- struction is similar to that used by a number of Federal Reserve banks. Safe deposit boxes are of various sizes, to suit the needs of the cus- tomers. The doors of the box are one- half-inch thick and are equipped with a lock certified by the Underwriter's laboratories as absolutely non-pickable. Two sets of keys are provided for each box, one for-the customer and one for custodian of the vault, so that access cannot be gained to any box without the insertion of two different keys. & .