Consolidation of Wells Fargo’s Des Moines operations brings to mind the history of its downtown buildings and their location at Eighth and Walnut streets, where one of early Des Moines’ most storied buildings stood for more than 100 years. 

Built in 1876, the three-story Iowa Exposition Building covered one-quarter of a city block. The spacious second-floor atrium was topped with skylights and a two-story tower. Exhibition space featured everything from artwork and jewelry to farm produce, building materials, carriages and manufactured goods. 

The building was converted to the Iliad Hotel in 1891, when two floors were added with balconies overlooking the central atrium. Around 1910, it became the Grand Department Store. Still later, the ground floor was converted to storefronts and the site was rebranded as the Shops Building. Pella’s Central College owned it as an investment property from 1941 until 1969, when it was sold to private investors. 

Moran’s Restaurant was a ground-floor attraction for employees of nearby businesses, including Younkers department store and Iowa Power and Light Co.  

In 1987, the investors sold it to Norwest Bank, which a year earlier had acquired Dial Finance, a nationwide consumer finance business that operated on the same block as the Shops Building. Dial Finance leaders became key players in Norwest’s home mortgage and consumer finance operations and for Wells Fargo following a 1998 merger. 

By 2000, both businesses had grown exponentially and new facilities were needed. Wells Fargo Mortgage moved to a new campus in West Des Moines, and Wells Fargo Financial opted for new space downtown near the old Dial headquarters

The Shops Building was demolished and two distinctive office buildings were erected on each side of Walnut Street at roughly the same time that Western Gateway Park with its John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park was being created.

The first Wells Fargo building at 800 Walnut St. opened in 2003 and was called Skyview. It is nine stories tall and occupies the original site of the 19th-century Exposition Building. 

A distinguishing feature is an eight-story skywalk hall that runs east-west through the building that was designed by the now-defunct Des Moines architectural firm of HLKB. Five sky bridges on upper floors connect to an older Dial Finance building. At Eighth Street, where the skywalk links to Employer Mutual Casualty Co., 70 vertical feet of windows frame EMC’s 20-story tower.

Another unique aspect is a two-story, cylindrical glass “lantern” on the roof that is used for meetings and special events. Viewed from the south, the glass enclosure has been whimsically compared to a cocktail glass tumbler and paired with EMC’s adjacent tower, which some say resembles a giant vodka bottle.

Wells Fargo plans to sell the Skyview building, which cost $90 million to construct and is currently valued for tax purposes at $44.5 million. 

Wells Fargo’s Northstar Building, directly across the street at 801 Walnut, also cost $90 million to build in 2007 and is valued for tax purposes at $43.8 million. It is where the bank plans to consolidate downtown operations with employees from legal, corporate and investment banking. 

At night, Northstar stands out among downtown buildings because of the tens of thousands of LED lights that are spaced one-inch apart on its steel and glass exterior.

The 10-story Northstar building is the work of Jon Pickard, a Des Moines native whose New Haven, Conn., firm, Pickard Chilton, has designed buildings all over the world. He once explained his involvement by saying his mother, Toni Pickard, always wanted him to design a building in his hometown.

Pickard added that Northstar was designed to be the most energy-efficient office building in Des Moines. Three sides are encased in glass, reducing the need for artificial light, while recessed sun screens protect workers from ultraviolet rays.

A three-story, central atrium includes bamboo trees and a water feature, which Pickard said could reduce stress among workers, while a nine-story atrium on the north side brings light into a central core, and is reminiscent of the Exposition Building.

The late Cal Lewis, who at the time was chairman of the architecture department at Iowa State University, described Northstar as “a jewel box … that has an intelligence and character, even in its simplicity.”