Banker Carl Bennett wanted more than a prominent new building to house his family's business. He wanted a work of art. Bennett's search for an architect led him in 1906 to Louis Sullivan, one of the country' most inventive designers. Together they created a magnificent home for the National Farmers' Bank in the heart of downtown Owatonna. This brilliant collaboration of patron and architect produced what many consider the finest small-town bank in America.
After helping to make Chicago the country's architectural capital in the 1890's. Sullivan came through with a bank design for Owatonna unlike any other. Believing that function and form of a building should complement one another, he conceived a structure resembling a treasure chest, a fitting image for a bank that housed people's savings.
Sullivan chose for his bank a theme he used often - an arch within a square - then attached to it a rectangular office building. He combined those simple, monumental shapes with complex ornamental details that bring the building to life. Set in sandstone-and-brick walls are two huge stained-glass windows, each framed by a wide band of terra cotta- a hard, molded clay-accented by a narrow band of glass mosaic.
The architect did not create this masterpiece alone. His sketches were completed by his draftsmen, George Elmslie, who designed much of the ornamentation and went on to become a noted Minnesota architect. Joining them were a team of skilled craftsmen who created the ornate interior- "color symphony" of painted plaster, stained glass, and huge cast-iron chandeliers. The finished bank was dedicated in 1908.
Remodelings have altering some of the interior features. But much of the original splendor of Louis Sullivan's bank remains. In 1976 it was designated a National Historic Landmark.
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