a closer look at purcell and elmslie's first national bank (1920) in adams, minnesota

exterior photographic survey of purcell and elmslie’s first national bank (1920), located at 322 west main street, adams, mn.

first national was not only the last of three mower county (southern minnesota) bank buildings – the other two being the exchange bank (1910) in grand meadows, and the first state bank of leroy (1914), located just west of adams, but was built shortly before purcell and elmslie (p & e) ended their partnership in 1921.

the two-story bank building’s façade is faced with tapestry brick, accentuated with richly colored polychromatic ornamental terra cotta executed by the american terra cotta and ceramic company, crystal lake, ills.

the centrally located, single door entrance is flanked by multipane painted wood casement windows, surrounded by brick frames with polychromatic terra cotta corner blocks. while the two opposed brick piers with terra cotta pier caps are original and largely intact, the spandrel or lintel over the front entrance was removed during prior alterations. the freestanding exterior art glass and iron sconces appear to be faithfully produced recasts. the elsmlie-designed leaded glass transom window shares same border treatment with first-story casement windows.

the 4^th street façade is comprised largely of tapestry brick with large rectangular-shaped expanse of repeating stained glass windows above, and multi-paned wood glass windows below. two sets of vertical brick piers -with the larger of the two featuring oversized polychromed pier caps accentuated with bright yellow berries and sky blue recessed regions – project from the large glass opening punctuated with terra cotta corner blocks. the art glass windows feature elmslie’s distinctive centralized v-shaped motif, representing a stylized form of the sepals of a flower.

while the interior remains largely intact, the exterior cornice and terra cotta cartouche above the entrance were removed.

images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2023.