Fort Collins is well known for its historic downtown commercial district and beautiful nineteenth-century residences, but our city is also home to sleek, modernist-style buildings that tell an important part of our city’s more recent past. At the corner of South College and West Magnolia Streets stands an iconic mid-century, architect-designed building, known to us now as the Wells Fargo building. Although subject to some changes over the past fifty years, the building remains an excellent example of post-World War II architectural design.
Known to us now as the Wells Fargo Bank building, the building at 401 South College was originally constructed for the Poudre Valley National Bank in 1966. The bank was designed by James M. Hunter, a prominent architect based out of Boulder, Colorado, and constructed by Frank Johnson Construction Company of Fort Collins. For several years, Hunter had served as a planner and architect for Colorado A & M College (now Colorado State University) where he designed Allison Hall, Danforth Chapel, and the Lory Student Center; another notable Hunter design in Fort Collins is the First National Bank at West Oak and South Mason Streets.
Coloradoan, April 28, 1967
On April 28th, 1967, a large 8-page supplement to the Fort Collins Coloradoan introduced the new $1.8 million bank to city residents. The insert featured an invitation to the bank’s grand opening on April 29-30th, articles penned by the bank’s chairman and president, and a two-page history detailing the institution’s 89 years of service. Described as Fort Collins’, “finest and most modern banking facilities”, the newly constructed bank was three stories tall and relied on four steel pylons and a series of hidden cables to support the mostly glass structure. With the top story cantilevered over the lower two stories and the wide ribbons of windows, the building seemed to almost float above the ground. The pylons not only
supported the structure, they also provided space for conference rooms and stairwells and were reportedly strong enough to carry an additional seven stories, if expansion was ever needed. A bronze solar screen installed over the windows of the top story protected the offices from the sun’s harsh light and intense heat.
Inside, the centered teller area on the main floor opened to a skylight dome, two stories above. The main floor also provided office space for banking departments and the President’s office along the outer edges. The second and third floors housed the Board Room, telephone switchboard, and office space for both bank employees and other professional renters. Safe deposit facilities and the vault were located in the basement along with a community room which would be available for use by Fort Collins organizations.
Coloradoan, April 28, 1967
Coloradoan, April 28, 1967
Coloradoan, April 28, 1967
Although the new building was modern in design, it was also practical, meeting the changing needs of post-WWII customers. A parking lot at the rear of the building could accommodate space for up to 81 automobiles. Six drive-up windows and a walk-through teller lane along the west wing (now demolished) could be easily accessed from three sides of the building and allowed tellers to assist customers with their banking needs at the car window level.
In 1970, Poudre Valley National Bank rebranded as the United Bank of Fort Collins to reflect their new affiliation with the United Banks of Colorado. By 1990, the building housed Norwest Bank and by 2004, Wells Fargo. In 2022, Wells Fargo dispersed several departments from their downtown location to other locations in Fort Collins, including a new location across College Avenue near the newly opened Target. As of this writing, it is unknown whether Wells Fargo will move completely out of their historic downtown space.
I have mixed feelings about this building. Poudre Valley Bank is historic but the location at Mountain and College would be the historic location. I remember when this building was built. If someone came with the idea of a new building there, I probably wouldn’t fight it.
It all kind of depends on what you consider to be the historic location. For this building, it’s the corner it’s on. But if you’re looking for the location where the bank first started, that was somewhere on Jefferson. (Then it moved mid-way between Walnut and Jefferson on Linden, then they built what we now call the Linden Hotel and the bank was there, then it moved to the corner of Mountain and College (in a building formerly used as a drug store, and before that it was a hardware store), then it moved it College and Magnolia. … then somewhere along the way it got bought by Wells Fargo.)