First National Tower is a masterpiece admired by many, yet forgotten by all. Boatman’s Bank, now just another forgotten acquisition in the Bank of America empire, gets the blame for abandoning the space back in 1993. But the path to its current despair began years earlier. I’m not going to recount First National Bank’s history in this post. That’s another story well researched and written by our fellow history blogger Doug Loudenback at http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/2007/05/first-national-center.html.
Instead, we go back to a tower that came close to becoming a reality at the corner of Park and Hudson before Boatman’s bank ever came to town. The neglect and lack of improvements that still plague First National Center date back to the bank’s demise. Back during the boom days of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the mammoth tower and adjoining buildings were fully occupied. Cash was flowing freely, but the Voss family did not make significant investments in replacing old windows, outdated floor plans or aging electrical and mechanical systems.
They didn’t bother moving restrooms so that they would no longer be between each floor (the building remains horribly out of step with the Americans with Disabilities Act). Texas-based First Interstate Bank assumed control of the property when First National failed in 1986. Within four years, First Interstate was ready to bolt from the landmark tower and build a new home at the corner of Park and Hudson. The design by Los Angeles-based Dworsky Associates called for a 10-story building with connection to the Conncourse (now known as The Underground) and a pocket park. The northeast corner was to accentuated with a tower element enhanced with granite cladding. Canopies along the base would have created a human scale to define entrances and encourage pedestrian movement. The balance of the exterior was to be clad in precast concrete panels similar in color to the courthouse across the street.
The overall design was to reflect the style of First National Center. Today, the corner is home to the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library. So what happened?
We know, as recounted in Doug’s post, that First Interstate itself became history when it was acquired by Boatmen’s Bank in 1991. Two years later, the bank made the jump to Leadership Square across the street. It wasn’t a surprise move to most. Way back in 1986, just a couple of months after First National’s failure, First Interstate looked at the shiny new glass tower as a new home. The tower was more than half empty – but was already home to the much smaller Leadership Bank. Fast forward, and by 1992 Leadership Bank was about the join a long list of now forgotten financial institutions.
A new tower would no longer be necessary – Boatmen’s Bank could simply make the move first pondered six years earlier. Some say the Great Banking Hall will never again be home to tellers and loan officers. But during a recent visit with Arvest Bank’s Oklahoma president Brad Kreiger, we learned the one-time First National Bank officer has a soft spot for the space, and tried to make the landmark home to the banking giant’s downtown branch in the late 1990s, but owners at the time made demands unacceptable to Arvest. Kreiger insists the Great Banking Hall could still be home to a bank – if the right accommodations could be provided.