Two Cans and a String April 2014 | Page 9

then & now 2014 On January 1, 1928, the bank changed its name to the First National Bank and Trust Company of Fargo. In January of 1929, the bank became a charter member of the Northwest Bancorporation (BANCO). Some changes took place to the bank building in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1953 the bank installed a prominent landmark weather sign that signaled rising and falling temperatures, as well as other weather conditions. Between 1959 and 1962, the bank underwent a facelift and remodeling that included purchase of neighboring property and a drive-in service bay. In 1981, the bank built a branch facility on the west side of town, located at 2501 13th Avenue South. In 1981-1982, the bank built a new four story building at the southwest corner of Main Avenue and 4th Street South. Not long after that the bank was bought out by Norwest Bank, and Norwest was in turn bought out by Wells Fargo Bank in 1998. Taken from http://library.ndsu.edu/fargo-history/?q=content/first-national-bank Sources: First National Bank of Fargo, 1878-1978 : a century of service to the community Polk’s Fargo and Moorhead City Directories. St. Paul, MN: R.L. Polk and Company. “First National Bank of Fargo opens bids on new Main Avenue Building Sept. 23” Howard Binford’s Guide. Moorhead: Howard Binford, Vol. 13, No. 3 (September 1980), p. 33.