Not all modernizations are regrettable - it depends on when it's done. An old commercial building was given this facelift in the late 30s. The horizontal stripes were quite a la mode - all the smart humorless German drafting houses were working in this style, don't you know.

The company was famous for its portentous slogan: Widows and Orphans Protected. Meaning, if Dad died in one war or another, the company wouldn't send the family to the poorhouse over the rest of the payments.

Not much else to say about this building, other than it's too bad it's not still around, and it's too bad that the modernizations of the 50s and 60s weren't this elegant.

But what about that little bar in the lower left hand corner? We'll get to that in a second.