National Register of Historic Places

Lincoln Bank Building

Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota
Listed
October 14, 2012
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
12000846

About this property

The Lincoln Bank Building is a building on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 2012. Lincoln National Bank was established in 1917 by Harry Pence, a local automobile magnate, and a number of other backers. They had planned to name it the "Second National Bank", but the Treasury Department refused that name since they were not actually the second bank organized. Pence adopted the name of Abraham Lincoln because, "it carries with it his well-known characteristics of strength, ability, fidelity, firmness, faithfulness, loyalty, conservatism, etc., attributes very desirable in a national bank." The bank's location was chosen to provide service to the automobile trade and similar businesses along Hennepin Avenue at the time, along with the nearby warehouse district and the markets along Second Avenue North. The established financial district in Minneapolis was along Marquette Avenue, two blocks to the east, but Pence saw the value in providing a bank with its mission "to take care of the automobile business and, in general, to serve downtown Hennepin Avenue business interests." The original home for the bank was at 809 Hennepin Avenue, but the bank's business grew so well that larger quarters were needed. Lincoln National Bank had also established an affiliate, Lincoln Trust and Savings Bank. In 1919, Harry Pence announced plans to build a new bank building at 730 Hennepin Avenue, directly across 8th Street from his Pence Automobile Company Building. The new building was designed by Long, Lamoreaux & Long, the same architects as the earlier building, and was completed for a cost of about $1 million. The eight-story building opened on August 9, 1921, and housed both the Lincoln National Bank and the Lincoln Trust and Savings Bank. The seven upper floors of the building were leased out for offices. In 1921, Daniel Richard Crissinger was appointed as the Comptroller of the Currency and shifted the regulatory stance on national banks. Previous comptrollers did not allow national banks to establish branch offices, but the new comptroller decided that, "there was no restriction on the number of branch offices a bank could establish as long as they were within the city limits mentioned in its charter." As a result, the two largest banks, Northwestern National Bank (now Wells Fargo) and First National Bank (now U.S. Bank) started acquiring smaller banks and turning them into branch offices. The Lincoln National Bank and Lincoln Trust and Savings Bank were acquired by Northwestern National Bank, in a move that promised customers business "as usual and with practically the same people, but with the added advantages of doing business with the Northwestern National Bank and its entire facilities, both as to domestic and foreign business."

Location

730 Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota
44.97943, -93.27621

Categories

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Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Masonic Temple
Industrial
0.1 mi
Shubert, Sam S., Theatre
Industrial
0.1 mi
Pence Automobile Company Building
Industrial
0.2 mi
Plymouth Building
Industrial
0.2 mi
Rand Tower
Industrial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Lincoln Bank Building listed on the National Register?

Lincoln Bank Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 2012.

What type of historic resource is Lincoln Bank Building?

Lincoln Bank Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Lincoln Bank Building?

The period of significance for Lincoln Bank Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Lincoln Bank Building?

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