Yesterday we took a little trip down to Owatonna, MN, to visit a Wells Fargo Bank branch.
Source: Public Domain, Link
Yeah, more than an hour’s drive.
The trick? The building it’s housed in is the first of the “jewel box” buildings built by the architect Louis Sullivan, originally constructed to house a branch of National Farmer’s Bank. To the right is the pic of the outside from Wikipedia. It’s certainly an unusual structure; decorated to convince its depositors that their treasure was safe inside this ornate chest.
A walk north up the street (a cold, windy walk) revealed a couple of other buildings with pretty awesome art deco detailing as well. We saw the same art deco fruit and nut border motif on the Federated Insurance HQ building across the street from the bank, albeit the borders were not of the same quality as those they were imitating.
As spectacular as the outside of the box is, it’s the inside of the building that really sparkles. The Wikipedia page is quite correct: Wells Fargo welcomes visitors who simply come to gawk.
If your visit happens to be during a quiet period, one of the employees will come and discuss the structure with you. In our case, I think it was the assistant manager, although I could never quite get a look at his name badge. He seemed to know just about anything – but, he admitted, he’d never tracked down the cost, in 1908 dollars, of putting the structure up. (Our research indicates that Sullivan and his team of craftsmen built the National Farmers’ Bank of Owatonna building in 1908 for $125,000 — more than $3 million in today’s dollars.) Otherwise, our guide had dates, construction and material details, symbology, past and future restoration projects and plans, and an appreciation of this part of his job: he clearly enjoyed the interaction. Better yet, there’s a balcony, positioned directly over the tellers’ station, which provides an excellent view.
All of our pictures were taken of the inside of the bank, and, sadly, some didn’t come out well, so I post those that did only to give a reason for having taken them. This first one shows the medallion over the entrance to the bank, and while the picture is of not good quality, it does indicate the decorations of the bank are on an intricate agricultural theme: nuts and berries figure prominently.
These next four photos document the lighting strategy of 1908: Electroliers. Four massive, cast iron, all-electric chandeliers holding numerous lights are suspended from the ceiling, each fixture weighing over two tons. 
The detail on these fixtures is amazing, and it continues the agricultural theme (even if I pattern-matched it to sea horses and dragons). The final pictures’ background also provides some feeling for the detail in the decoration of the bank. The borders on the curved arch surfaces are not just paint over plaster; they’re molded, colored terra cotta clay.
These pictures below concentrate on some better views of the accents:
These next photos hint at the two large murals which also decorate the room, which continue the agricultural theme. These are from the Wells Fargo web site.
I’ll leave off trying to elaborate on the content of these pictures, lacking the skill to do so. There’s also some beautiful bronze work at some of the tellers’ stations and on the face of the clock.
While it’s possible to get caught up in the overwhelming detail of the borders and friezes, not all of the inside is this intricate. A substantial portion is simple brick work, and this is important because it gives the eye a place to rest.
If you’re in the area, it’s worth dropping in to see this masterwork of one of America’s first modernist architects.
(A substantial portion of this post was added by my Arts Editor, Deb White.)
