demolished: First National Bank

1800 Broadway Street/ Hobart D. Wagener architect/ Rationalist style/ opened in 1958

This building is on the tour even though it was demolished in the late 1990s. It was one of the most significant MCM buildings to be built in Boulder. Its radical design signaled that even the conservative banking industry had bought into the progressive ethos of Modernism.

Key design elements were the gridded sun shades on the southern façade, arched concrete canopies over the drive-through lanes, the use of local sandstone, and almost no ornament.

About Boulder's historic preservation program: This building was less than 50 years old at the time of demolition therefore the demolition application was not required to undergo preservation review.