Hvistendahl, Moersch, Dorsey & Hahn was
founded in 1980 by David Hvistendahl and Ronald L. Moersch. Hvistendahl,
Moersch, Dorsey & Hahn is located at 301 South Water Street, in
Northfield, Minnesota, the site of the historic State Bank Building.
The Historic State Bank building & Offices of
Hvistendahl, Moersch, Dorsey & Hahn at Dusk
The State Bank building was designed in an "Egyptian" style, by
architect Harry W. Jones and constructed in 1910 along the west bank of
the Cannon River. The building was built of hollow bricks and covered
with cement. The stained- glass dome added light to the building's
interior, as well a sense of distinction to the building. In 1981,
attorneys Hvistendahl and Moersch purchased the building and have made
considerable repairs and renovations to its interior and exterior.
The State Bank of Northfield was founded April 16,
1910, by its officers, W.W. Pye, president; A.O. Netland, vice
president; and S.A. Netland, cashier. The State Bank moved into its
quarters on the site of the old Gem Theater at 311 S. Water Street on
Saturday, August 27, 1910, according to the Northfield News. The
officers of the bank had engaged Harry W. Jones, a Minneapolis
architect, to design the building. Jones said, “Another building just
like it cannot be found in this country.”
Sketch of Historic State Bank Building - Current logo for Hvistendahl,
Moersch, Dorsey & Hahn
Robert Pye, son of the President, wrote in 1980,
“Dad made a rough sketch of the way he wanted the bank to be built and
turned it over to Harry Jones, who, I believe, was the architect who
designed our home at 613 East Fourth a few years before.”
During his career, Jones designed several other
local buildings including the former Odd Fellows Hall, Hill House, which
sits north of Central Park and is now a Carleton dormitory, the
Methodist-Episcopal Church, which sat for many years at Third and
Winona, the Bishop Whipple Church and City Hall in Faribault, and Butler
Square in Minneapolis. His work can be reviewed in “Harry Wild Jones:
American Architect,” by Elizabeth A. Vandem, published in 2008 by Nodin
Press, Minneapolis.
The contractor for the building was the firm of
William O’Neil and Sons of Faribault. The cost of the building was
about $10,000.
The architectural style of the building is
Egyptian revival, typified by the angular columns surrounding the front
door, and adapted to the peculiarities of the pie-shaped lot. The News
said, “It’s odd shape gives it a frontage of 60 feet and also serves to
make it one of the best-lighted office structures in the city. Both
outside and inside it is evident that simplicity and harmony have been
the principles which have guided the architect in designing it.”
Bronze-plated doors opened onto the circular lobby
with the terrazzo floor under the colored-glass ceiling in the dome.
To the right were the cashier’s office and three service windows. Along
the street side were a customer work alcove and desk, chairs and a seat
set into the wall, as well as the elegant board room and a private
consultation room.
From the rotunda was suspended a bronze chandelier
and beneath it stood a tall circular mahogany customer-service table
which was designed by S.S. Netland and H.W. Jones to be used for a
signing table. The original signing table remains in the center of the
rotunda.
Stained Glass Dome of the Rotunda
The rotunda was defined by eight pillars holding
up wooden beams. The office fixtures were mahogany finish, and all the
furniture was mahogany. The counters were marble and the teller cage
grills were brass.
The rotunda woodwork was formed by bending 1 ½"
birch in a steam press, which created the round layered wood band at the
base of the dome.
Across from the directors’ room was the vault,
built of steel and concrete. The News reported, “It has steel girders
being laid an inch apart in the floor and ceiling and then filled with
concrete. The side walls consist of 18-inch thickness of concrete and,
in addition, a thickness of brick.” The steel door to the vault weighs
2000 pounds and inside the vault stands a solid steel 5000-pound double
time-lock safe. The vault extends into the basement for storage of
records and papers.
In 1929 the State Bank was bought by
Bancorporation, the holding company for Northwestern Bank. Northwestern
State Bank remained in the original building until 1962, when it moved
to 500 S. Water Street.
Lyle Severson filed a request for a building
permit in 1962 to remodel the building for Sawyer & Lampe,
attorneys. Burton R. Sawyer had purchased the property from the bank on
November 8, 1962. Robert G. Lampe purchased the building from Sawyer
in 1969. In November 1971 Lampe & Fossum requested a building
permit to remodel two offices within the building, by only changing the
inside walls on the west side of the building. A wall was added to make
room for another attorney, Bernard Borene, presently a Rice County
judge. Lance Jacobsen reported that the wall had a hole in it for two
file cabinets, one opening into each office.
Still missing, however, are Jones’ blueprints of
the building which were in the basement at least until 1962, according
to Bob Lampe.
The February 19, 1976, News reported, “The present
home of Judd Jacobsen’s Travel Headquarters, Inc., has been sold by
Robert Lampe to Tudor Music.” Tudor moved in on March 1 and remained
there until the business was dissolved in 1980.
The building was purchased from First
Bank-Northfield, which had foreclosed on the building, by J.K. and
Marion Hvistendahl on October 9, 1981, the day after the redemption
period expired. After some of the renovations began, the building was
occupied by the law office of Hvistendahl & Moersch in December,
1981.
The new owners and the tenant attorneys renovated
the building. The street face was sandblasted, recemented and painted,
and the outside of the dome was changed from silver to gold. It has
been repainted four times since 1981.
Original terrazzo floor
Inside, the terrazzo floor was stripped of orange
carpeting, which had briefly occupied the Great Hall at Carleton, and a
layer of brown linoleum tiles, was cleaned with industrial solvents, and
repaired by Harry Vohs of Faribault. The tacky imitation wood-grain
paneling in the offices and the blond paneling in the rotunda were
replaced with sheetrock walls. The original vault door was repainted by
a Carleton art major. New copies of Victorian brass two-and four -arm
light fixtures were purchased from Heirloom Brass of Dundas for the
entry, small office and back-room entry. Antique light fixtures with
Hollophane shades were purchased from antique lighting dealers and hung
in all other rooms.
Original Customer Service Table
The original customer service table, which had
been in the custody of the Northfield Historical Society, was traded
back to the building in exchange for oak display cabinets which had been
left by Tudor Music.
Much of the woodwork that had been removed in
remodelings done after 1962 has been replaced with new, matching,
custom-milled wood. The new walls were completed with matching
woodwork, stained walnut by mixing three colors of stain. Don Hansen of
Hansen Woodwork in Nerstrand duplicated the curved arch from which the
tellers’ cages were suspended. Hansen also milled the woodwork for the
basement addition, which was completed in 1986.
Prairie Creek Bigwoods by David Kjerland
Stained Glass by David Kjerland
David Kjerland, stained glass master, restored the
stained glass ceiling during the winter of 1990-1991, and after the
hail storm in 2006. New wooden interlocking and self supporting frames
were made by Don Hansen, Nerstrand Woodcraft, and fitted with the help
of Kjerland and Alan Cupp. Kjerland also created the stained glass
windows facing the street. The windows have local themes - The Cannon
River, The Colleges, and Prairie Creek Bigwoods.
Original Bank Vault
The massive vault is still intact and in use for
storing client files. We tracked down the safe, but too late– it had
been sold for salvage to Viking Auto Salvage, who after much work were
able to cut in half. It had been shipped a month before we found out
that Viking had been the recipient of the heavy duty safe.
While the City of Northfield was attaching the
limestone flood wall to the building in 1986, the building had an
opportunity to renovate the lower level of the building, which is well
below the 100 year flood level. The floor had to be lowered two feet to
allow for adequate headroom. Since there is only one entrance to the
building, all of the concrete and dirt had to be removed through the
window and dumped on a construction road in the river bed which had been
built by the city. The lower level was constructed by Olson Brothers
(Steve and Mark) Construction of Northfield.
After searching for an appropriate chandelier for
more than 10 years, David Hvistendahl located an appropriate piece in
New York City. The chandelier was purchased in November, 1993, from
Irreplaceable Artifacts of North America at a cost of $5,000. Greek
revival in design- from bank on east coast with a history of flooding -
1966, 1991.
Restoration Plaque
David Hvistendahl purchased the building on a
contract for deed from his parents on January 1, 1994. His mother
Marion joined him in purchasing 305-309 S. Water Street from the Gene
Jasnoch in August, 1998, bringing 305-311 S. Water Street in common
ownership. David bought out Marion’s interest in 2006.
