A remarkably modern building for 1887 - it seems to be made mostly of glass. Experts posit that it’s one of the first US office buildings to turn the new metal frames to aesthetic advantage; you can tell that it’s a steel cage. Crisp, efficient, sunny, light: it must have seemed a remarkable change from the big ponderous piles or gimcracky structures to which people were accustomed. According to Larry Millett's invaluable "Lost Twin Cities," the second-floor panes - 14 feet wide, ten feet tall - could be tilted out for ventilation. In the days of scant baths and cigars, this must have been a boon.

By the time this picture was taken, the bank had already decamped; Lincoln Clothing took two floors. Coming up: details and views from its final years.