First National Bank (Grand Forks, North Dakota)

First National Bank (Grand Forks, North Dakota)

Company type	Bank (historical)
Industry	Banking
Founded	July 1914 (1914-)
Fate	Failed during the Great Depression in 1933; successor evolved into Alerus Financial by 2000
Headquarters	Grand Forks , United States
Products	Banking services

The First National Bank edifice located in Grand Forks, North Dakota, erected between 1914 and 1915, was initially designed for the Scandinavian-American Bank. Since 1929, it has carried the name First National Bank building and was officially recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

History

Originally operating out of the Metropolitan Opera House, the Scandinavian-American Bank relocated to this newly completed structure in 1915. Following the acquisition of a national charter, the institution was renamed Northwestern National Bank. In 1929, it merged with First National Bank, centralizing its activities within this building. Despite First National Bank’s failure amid the Great Depression in 1933, a successor organization emerged, ultimately developing into Alerus Financial by the year 2000.

Positioned on a notable corner parcel measuring approximately , the building is an example of Classical Revival architecture adapted for commercial purposes. Its exterior displays rusticated ashlar piers resting on polished granite bases across the first two floors, with red brick cladding above and a decorative stone cornice adorning the top.

The structure was part of a 1981 inventory of historic assets in downtown Grand Forks and notably endured extensive flooding and fire damage during the 1997 Red River flood. It remains the only building on its block that was not demolished following that event.

Related reading

• Ashley Shelby (2008) Red River Rising: The Anatomy of a Flood and the Survival of an American City (Minnesota Historical Society)