The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Monday, February 1, 2021 at 4:06AMArticle by Michael Rainville, Jr.
The United States Federal Reserve System was created on December 23rd, 1913 when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. The System is responsible for managing the country's money supply, making loans and providing oversight to banks, as well as serving as a lender of last resort. All of these responsibilities and more are entrusted to twelve regional banks that have their own districts, with the Minneapolis bank overseeing the 9th District.
9th District map
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis was officially incorporated on May 18th, 1914. Once John H. Rich and Theodore Wold were appointed as the bank’s first agent and governor, they attended a convention in Washington D.C. where a decision was agreed on to open the twelve banks the following April. However, with World War I escalating, the start date was moved up to November 16th, 1914 in an effort to keep the U.S. economy as stable as possible. During the bank’s first two months, they had offices and vaults in many different buildings in downtown Minneapolis, such as the Minnesota Loan & Trust Company and the Lumber Exchange. In January of 1915, they moved to the New York Life Insurance Building on Fifth Street S and Second Avenue.
The first decade of the Minneapolis bank had many ups and downs. Farmers were increasing their income during WWI since importing food had drastically decreased, but once the war ended, crop prices reverted back to where they were before the war, and trust was lost in the banking system across the United States. Banks were closing left and right, but the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis was quickly outgrowing their space. In 1921, the Federal Reserve System approved the creation of eighteen branch banks with the 9th district receiving none. Minneapolis still needed the help, so Norman B. Holter, a businessman from Helena, Montana and a member of the Minneapolis Board of Directors, successfully lobbied to put a branch in his hometown. To this day, Helena is the only other branch in the 9th district.
510 Marquette Building, 1926
To help alleviate even more pressure on the Minneapolis offices, the bank purchased property on 5th Street S and Marquette Avenue with the intent of building their first permanent home. They hired the famous architect Cass Gilbert, known for designing the Capitols of Minnesota and West Virginia, the United States Supreme Court Building, and the St. Paul Seminary. Opening in 1925, the bank’s new neoclassical home was four stories with a large sub-basement, and the façade was adorned with giant granite Roman columns. The building expanded in 1956 when an additional nine stories were added to the original structure.
With the bank settled into their new home in 1925, the stock market would soon crash a few years later and plummet the U.S. into the Great Depression. With all the work that went into creating programs that would eventually help the nation rebound, the Federal Reserve System was also altered to better handle another economic disaster. One of the more major changes came with the Banking Act of 1935 that combined the roles of agent and governor into one role, the president. The Board of Directors of each of the twelve banks would elect a president who would then have to be approved by the Board of Governors before they would take on their new role.
1964
Just as the world was experiencing rapid technological growth in the middle of the 20th century, so was the Federal Reserve System. In 1947, IBM created their Proof Machines that completely changed the check collection process. The machine automatically sorted and placed checks in their appropriate compartment then computed the totals, and was a huge time-saver compared to non-mechanical models. The booming post-war economy in the 40s and 50s meant that the bank would soon outgrow their current home even after the addition of nine floors. From the 1950s to 1973, the bank rented out more office space next door in the Syndicate Building on Nicollet Mall, which later housed Penny’s and was demolished in 1989.
Eager to expand, the bank purchased land at 250 Marquette and wanted a modern building for their new headquarters. The building was completed in 1973 and became the first and only building in the world to utilize catenary cables for suspension to keep it standing. The architect even designed the building so it would be able to expand and double its height if need be. The catenary cables used for the expansion would be inverted, which would create an oval shape on the two main sides of the building. Unfortunately, window leaks and an asbestos problem ixnayed the expansion, and were big enough problems that the bank looked to build a new campus.
1975
The bank conducted a thorough search in 1994 for their new home, looking at the Nicollet Hotel, the Warehouse District, the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company Steam Power Plant, the Main Street Hydro Electric Station, and the Berman Buckskin Building, among other sites. They eventually decided on a large swath of land just a few blocks away on 1st Street N and Hennepin Avenue. Prior to the bank purchasing the land, that site had many other uses. The Pacific Lumber Mill, owned by T.B. Walker, the Northrup King Seed Company, and James J. Hill’s Great Northern Depot were the main tenants of the site until 1978 when the depot was razed.
The new, state-of-the-art campus was completed in 1997 and features an eight-story office tower and a four-story operations building. The address the bank chose for their new home is 90 Hennepin Avenue, to match their designation as the 9th District. Prior to the pandemic, the bank was offering free tours of their facilities and at the end of the tour, all the guests receive their own bag of shredded money!
To no one’s surprise, my favorite part about the bank’s campus is how they preserved local history. Located along a walkway between the office tower and the Hennepin Avenue Bridge are five 3D bronze interpretive exhibits that show the chronological growth of Minneapolis from 1805 to 1995. With help from the Minnesota Historical Society, these were designed and installed by HOK, the architect firm that also designed the buildings on the new campus.
With Akron, Ohio-native Neel Kashkari serving as president since 2016, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis looks to continue its positive economic impact on not just the 9th District, but the entire U.S. Now that this article has come to an end, take a look at the bills in your wallet. If they have an “I” or “I9” on them, it was printed in Minneapolis; we are the 9th District and “I” is the ninth letter in the alphabet. If there is a star symbol at the end of the serial number, if the serial number is below 100, and if the bill is in mint condition, the bill is worth way more than you think!
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About Michael Rainville, Jr.
A 6th generation Minneapolitan, Michael Rainville Jr. received his B.A. in History from the University of St. Thomas, and is currently enrolled in their M.A. in Art History and Certificate in Museum Studies programs. Michael is also a historic interpreter and guide at Historic Fort Snelling at Bdote and a lead guide at Mobile Entertainment LLC, giving Segway tours of the Minneapolis riverfront for 7+ years. Contact: mrainvillejr@comcast.net. Click here for an interactive map of Michael's past articles.
