Built in 1907 for the Mechanics' Bank and Trust Company, the building now houses offices for several law firms and financial agencies.

The building's facade was constructed with locally quarried marble, and is designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style.

[1] The Mechanics' National Bank was chartered in 1882, and moved into a building at what is now 612 South Gay that same year.

Within a few months of opening, the bank's president, Thomas O'Connor, was killed in a notorious shootout.

[1]The design of the Mechanics' Bank building is derived from the Second Renaissance Revival style.

[1] Nine columns border the two-story lobby of the first floor suite with crown molding and a large mezzanine above the original bank vault that has been remodeled and now serves the purpose of a kitchen.The land on which the Mechanics' Bank building is now situated (612 South Gay Street) was originally part of the property set aside by James White and Charles McClung for Blount College (now the University of Tennessee) in the early 1790s.

[4] In October 1882, O'Connor was killed in a shootout with Knoxville entrepreneur Joseph Mabry that took place in front of the bank.

The shootout, in which Mabry and his son were also killed, made national headlines, and was mentioned in Mark Twain's book, Life on the Mississippi.

[3] In 1900, the book, Standard History of Knoxville, reported that the bank had assets of $100,000 in capital, $110,000 in surplus, $500,000 in deposits, and $425,000 in loans and discounts.