Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank (1942)

Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The main entrance of the Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank in Minneapolis, complete with sculptures of a farmer and a mechanic on either side of the door.
Location	Minneapolis, MN
Coordinates	44°58′39.35″N 93°16′11.59″W / 44.9775972°N 93.2698861°WCoordinates: 44°58′39.35″N 93°16′11.59″W / 44.9775972°N 93.2698861°W
Built	1942
Architect	McEnary, Dale; Krafft, Edwin
Architectural style	Moderne, International Style
NRHP Reference #	06000094 [1]
Added to NRHP	March 2, 2006

The 1942 Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank building in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, is a former bank building that is now the home of a Westin Hotel. The building is an example of the Streamline Moderne phase of the Art Deco movement and is notable for its bold relief sculptures of a farmer and a mechanic framing the main entrance. The sculptures were designed by Warren T. Mosman, who headed the sculpture department at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.^[2] The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

The previous Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank headquarters was built in 1891 on 115 S. 4th St. It is now home to The Downtown Cabaret, a strip club.

The walnut-paneled main banking hall of the building is now the lobby of the hotel. The taller wings of the building once held offices, but now house 214 hotel rooms.^[2] The hotel conversion preserved several historic features of the bank building. The main banking lobby with a 34-foot (10 m) high ceiling, marble staircase, and carved wood emblems have been retained. The bank's boardroom on the 10th floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows, is now a conference room. The original bank vault on the lower level is also a conference room, while the former safety deposit vault is now a wine vault and the entire bank has been made into a restaurant, called B.A.N.K. The restaurant kept as much of the original woodworking from the actual bank as possible. Former offices now serve as private dining rooms and the teller counter now serves as a bar.^[3][4]

References

1. Staff (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. Millett, Larry (2007). AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 0-87351-540-4.
3. "Westin Minneapolis Hotels: The Westin Minneapolis". Retrieved 2007-09-02.
4. Vomhof Jr, John (2007-04-30). "Westin opens in old Farmers & Mechanics bank". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Retrieved 2007-09-02.