First National Bank Building, Early 20th-century bank building in Downtown Denver, US
The First National Bank Building is a 13-story high-rise at the corner of 17th and Stout Streets in downtown Denver, completed in 1911 as the first high-rise on 17th Street. Chicago architect Harry W. J. Edbrooke gave its front facade terra cotta and stone ornamentation; the decorative concrete added in the 1960s was removed in the 1990s renovation.
The First National Bank of Denver, founded in 1865, occupied the building from its completion in 1911 until 1958. John Evans, grandson of Territorial Governor John Evans, became president in 1928 and merged the bank with the International Trust Company in 1958. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 and became part of the Downtown Denver Historic District in 2000.
The building displays Chicago School features with terra cotta and stone decorations that were typical of early American bank design. These ornaments still shape the facade today and show how banks once used grand architecture to display their importance and stability.
The building now houses a hotel and retail spaces, so visitors can enter the interior or stay overnight to experience the space. Its central location at a major intersection makes the facade easy to see from the street and explore the architectural details.
The 1990s renovation that turned the building into a hotel removed the decorative concrete added in the 1960s and restored the original terra cotta and stone facade. The $19.5 million project, financed after the building joined the Downtown Urban Renewal Area in 1993, reopened it in August 1995 as the Holtze Executive Place with 246 rooms.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,262 contributors worldwide.
