In September 1899, Citizens Savings and Trust purchased a lot and two-story building located at 850 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio.

[1] Five months later, Citizens announced the selection of the local architectural firm of Hubbell & Benes as the architect of their new headquarters building.

On the left (east) of the bank entrance was a door leading to a foyer and access to the offices on the third through thirteenth floors.

[6][b] To the right (west) of the lobby was the a women's banking parlor; to the left (east), a foyer which provided elevator and staircase access to the upper floors.

[9] Variety Iron Works of Cleveland was hired to erect the steel frame of the building,[10] and razing of the existing structure was scheduled to begin April 1, 1901.

[11] In the late fall of 1901, a major dispute occurred between Citizens Savings and architect Levi Scofield, who was erecting the Schofield Building on the property adjacent to the east side of the new bank high-rise.

[13] To accommodate the thick wall, the bank allowed Scofield to encroach onto their property by 10.5 inches (270 mm).

The written agreement the two sides had signed was in conflict in several places, and the parties turned to the local Court of Common Pleas to resolve their dispute.

[13] Despite several attempts to reach an out-of-court settlement and a visual inspection of the partially-completed Citizens Building,[15] the court was unable to find any law or precedent with which to guide its decision.

In return, Scofield would move his non-shared wall back 4 inches (100 mm), and enlarge his pilasters so they more closely mimicked those on the front of the Citizens Building.

More than $1 million in bonds, fur clothing, rugs, household silver, stocks, and other items were moved to the new bank.

[24] The tympanum supported by the columns was designed and sculpted by Joseph Carabelli, a prominent granite sculptor in Cleveland.

[27] Left (east) of the portico was a door leading to a foyer which provided elevator and stairway access to the offices on the third through thirteenth floors.

[27] A second door in the west side of the lobby led to an elevator and staircase that provided access to the second floor above, but the bank's offices and special departments were located.

[4] The lobby features two allegorical lunette murals, one by Edwin H. Blashfield on the left (east) and one by Kenyon Cox on the right (west).

[27] The two artists knew one another well, having worked on projects for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and for the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., in 1896 and 1897.

Scattered around her seat are a military helmet, shield, and sword, implying that wealth protects life and property.

On the opposite side of the mural are three figures depicting the arts and sciences: A male chemist wearing an apron, with a retort and other chemistry glassware; a kneeling female musician, flowers falling from her lap and holding a lyre; and a poet, clad in academic regalia, holding a scroll.

In front of the arts and sciences is a nude cherub, the lit torch in its hand a symbol of opportunity.

Hovering in the center of the mural is another cherub, swathed in flowing red robes, holding a tablet on which the title of the work is inscribed in Latin.

[5] Cox's mural, "The Sources of Wealth", depicted on its left side Prudence (a woman, clad a gold-embroidered gown and red velvet cape) seated in front of a small temple.

[28] On the right side of the mural are three female figures representing sources of wealth: A nude fisherwoman, holding aloft a fish; a farmer, clad in a rough dress and apron and holding a scythe and sheaf of wheat; and a kneeling weaver in rich robes, unrolling a carpet.

[5] In some ways, Cox's mural resembled the lunette he created for the Library of Congress, but the Cleveland work was more subtle in its use of allegory and symbol.

The walls and pilasters of the main banking room were covered in Italian marble,[27] inlaid with glass and gold motifs designed and executed by Tiffany & Co.

These were depicted in glass mosaics, also designed by Tiffany & Co. At the south end of the main banking room was a large clock with illuminated numbers.

The second floor of the building was occupied by various offices and departments of Citizens Savings and Trust, such as offices for the president, treasurer, vice president, secretary, assistant secretaries, and assistant treasurers; meeting room of the board of directors; and the bank's trust and other departments.

Hughes also oversaw the renovation of the main building's basement and removal of a mezzanine (which was replaced by a new second story).

[36] In 1998, the City Club initiated a $1 million ($1,900,000 in 2023 dollars) capital fundraising campaign to renovate its part of the Citizens Building.

[37][f] The renovation, which ended up costing $2.5 million ($4,600,000 in 2023 dollars) increased the auditorium's seating capacity by 5 percent, reconfigured the lobby into a much larger space, and installed advanced telecommunications and computer networking equipment.

Large letters spelling "The City Club" were installed vertically on the E. 8th Street side of the structure at a cost of $30,000.