The Helena branch of the Federal Reserve Bank opened in 1921, the result of lobbying by Norman B. Holter and other farsighted local businessmen. It distinguished Helena as the smallest town in the country to host such a bank. When the 1935 earthquakes destroyed the first structure, Montana architect George Shanley was commissioned to design a new facility. Completed in 1938 and expanded to two stories in 1945, the Art Moderne style building reflects Helena’s prominence as the financial heart of the state.
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