In the early 20th century, Owatonna and Steele County were quite rich. It was the “Butter Capital of the World,” and lots of butter was shipped out of the region every day. It was around that time that the county spent $150,000 to build a bank, which would be the equivalent of about $3 million today. That building is the National Farmer’s Bank, designed at the time by a man that local tour guide Steve Jessop calls a “ prickly, angry architect” out of Chicago named Louis Sullivan, long considered the “ father of the skyscraper,” and famous for being Frank Lloyd Wright’s mentor.

The building is one of Sullivan’s most pure examples of American-style architecture, recognized for its unique design of stained glass windows, terra cotta material and gold-leaf arches. It includes trademark design elements Sullivan championed during the period including cubes, squares and lots of ornamentation. Jessop leads 30-minute tours of the building, which operates as a Wells Fargo today. He enters the bank from a back door when he leads guests inside, taking them up to a balcony above the teller cages. “ I get up there and I stand and watch them and their expressions. They are left speechless,” he says. “ You can’t anticipate the sensation of walking into this room. The big stained-glass windows are the main source of light in there, and the stenciling and details combine so that there’s a greenish cast to the light. It’s ever so slight and ever so subtle, and it has a psychological effect. It’s calming,” he says. There’s no admission fee for guests who wish to go on a self-guided tour around the vicinity.