First National Soo Line Building — This building, completed early in 1915, is regarded as the most modern and best equipped office building in the Northwest. The building, including the ground lease, is valued at $1,750,000. It is 19 stories above the street line and has three basements, and fronts 165 feet on Fifth St. and 99 feet on Marquette Av. The exterior of the structure is of granite and terra cotta, and the interior is finished in steel and white marble and bronze.
The First and Security National Bank occupies the main floor and parts of other floors and the “Soo” Line the upper seven stories.The remainder of the building is leased to other office tenants. The banking room, which is the largest and most complete in the west, is reached by a beautiful staircase, 30 feet wide, constructed of white Alabama marble. The bank floor is 175 by 100. feet and there are in addition two large galleries to be used for clerical purposes and the directors’ room. The number “of square feet of floor space in the bank and galleries is about 32,000.
The bank screen is made of solid ornamental bronze with Alabama marble panels, and the cage work is modeled after the best construction used in the most modern equipment for banks today. Daylight enters from four sides and in addition to the side lighting there is an immense light-well. The general scheme is a severe classic style, plain, dignified and pleasing. The walls of the entire bank and galleries are lined with imported Tavernelle marble and the ceiling is ornamental, handsomely decorated in warm tones and highlighted in gold. The color scheme for the walls and ceiling is of a soft yellow. The floor of the public lobby is tiled with Alabama marble of the Belgian block dot design with an ornamental Greek fret border.
The officers’ quarters are on the side nearest Second Av. and are separated from the public lobby by a bronze and marble rail. The directors’ room is in the gallery, easily reached by a private elevator or private stairs, and is finished in mahogany. The ladies’ department is on the Marquette Av. side of the banking room, and is connected with the main bank lobby by a private hallway. The large space on the ground floor at the left of the main lobby is used by the clearing house, and the savings and foreign exchange departments. The desks throughout the clerical department are of solid steel.
Hudson’s Dictionary of Minneapolis and Vicinity, 1919
