If These Walls Could Talk: Charley Miles built 鈥榯he most elegant building in town鈥�

Northwest Minnesota Foundation Photo.jpg — The Northwest Minnesota Foundation is located on the northwest corner of Third Street and Beltrami Avenue.

By Cecelia Wattles McKeig

August 26, 2023 at 3:50 AM

Editor's note: This is part of a 15-story series titled "If These Walls Could Talk" completed by Pioneer reporters with help from the Beltrami County Historical Society for our 2023 Annual Report.

One can only wonder what Charley Miles would think of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation building these days 鈥� one of the oldest buildings in town.

J.W. White had a grocery store on this prime corner. Miles bought the property in 1901 for an exorbitant $6,000, tore down the old building in July, and set out immediately to build the most elegant building in town.

The building was constructed of solid brick, 50 by 80 feet, two stories, with a rubble-style basement. The front was Menominee-pressed brick. The corner room of the street level became a first-class saloon, which he named the Golden Saloon. The adjoining room was for rent and the second story was fitted up for offices.

Miles wanted only the best. According to an old History Circle interview with Walter Brooks, the first president of the Lumbermen鈥檚 Bank and then Northern National, Miles was a nice appearing fellow, a very good dresser and courteous man. He could sign only his own name and that is all he knew.

He made quite a success of his business. He had all kinds of roulette machines, slot machines and poker tables, all wide open, and he couldn鈥檛 help but make money.

Miles also had the first automobile in Bemidji. It was a two-door Ford painted a brilliant red. It was quite a car, but the trouble was that when one wanted to start it, the sand on Beltrami Avenue was so deep that the wheels spun, and his friends always had to give it a push.

Miles gave the ladies of the Spiritualist Church the privilege of opening his new brick block, and the ladies set about planning a social for Oct. 15 which included a dance, a supper and a second repast at midnight.

Northern National Bank Patnode.jpg — In 1909, the Lumbermen鈥檚 Bank changed its name to Northern National Bank, which remained until 1996 when it merged with Norwest Bank.

Of course, Cora Kincannon Smith, the minister of the Spiritualist Church in Bemidji, was the wife of Ted Smith, owner of the Three Guardsmen Saloon on Second Street, where the Spiritualists often held their meetings on the second floor.

L.H. Bailey and H.J. Loud moved into the two front office rooms upstairs and secured an adjoining room for their law library. The quarters were described by a local reporter:

鈥淭he upstairs rooms in the new Miles block have been completed and finished up in elegant shape, and they are simply perfection in finish, heating, ventilation and lighting facilities, and the occupants may well feel proud of their new quarters. The walls are plastered, with hardwood wainscoting and floors. The hallway is wide, adding to the general appearance of the interior.鈥�

A month later Dr. Morrison had two rooms in the building, one to be used as an operating room and the second as a reception room. The telephone company moved into two of the rooms.

Other tenants soon followed, including a land agent and a dentist. A new physician, Dr. Roland Gilmore, engaged a suite of office rooms in the Miles block in 1902. Lee Scotland purchased the practice of Dr. James in 1977 and moved his dental practice into rooms on the second floor and stayed there for decades.

Changing course

James L. George and Edwin Gearlds purchased Miles' saloon business in September 1908, and Clyde Bacon purchased the entire block a month later. Bacon was accompanied by A.P. White, president of the Lumbermen's National Bank, who acted as financial agent.

The rentals from the tenants of the building brought in a consistent income and the purchase was considered a splendid investment. The price tag was reportedly $35,000, which is roughly the equivalent buying power of $8 million today.

Gearlds vacated the building after a year, and the Lumbermen鈥檚 National Bank of this city moved into the corner rooms of the building in January 1910. At about the same time, the bank received permission from Washington to change its name. As of Dec. 29, 1909, the Lumbermen鈥檚 Bank converted its name to Northern National Bank.

Northern National Bank 1915.jpg — In this 1915 photo looking west on Third Street, the Northern National Bank can be seen in the background.

While Miles owned the building, the entrance to his Golden Saloon was at 301 Beltrami Avenue. The entrance was obviously changed after the corner rooms were converted into a bank.

Thanks to the elegant taste of Miles, the new quarters were 鈥渟pecially fitted for the reception of the most pretentious and elegant banking furniture and fixtures ever placed in a financial institution in Minnesota outside the twin cities.鈥�

A description of the building, when it was Northern National Bank, emphasized the elegance of the interior. The lobby was constructed of glazed brick and oak-finished wood. Fixtures and furnishings were of beautiful Italian and white marble, and much of the wood used in the buildings was heavy mahogany.

There were two large vaults, one on the main floor and a second one in the basement. These two are still in the building for obvious reasons. Although unused, how would you remove them?

Northern National Bank Aunt Jemima Pancake Run.jpg — With Northern National Bank as a backdrop, contestants in a pancake race head east on Third Street in this undated photo.

The front windows of the bank housed many displays of interest over the years supporting current interests ranging from patriotism to holidays. Northern National Bank merged with Norwest Bank in 1996 and evolved into Well Fargo until it moved about 2011.

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation bought the building and remodeled the two floors for its purposes. Bethany Wesley, the communications director of NMF, hosted a tour of the building as it now exists.

Immediately upon entering the lobby, one鈥檚 eyes go to the elegant mosaic tiles on the floor which represent the areas that the foundation serves. The mosaics were designed by Darci Thabes, an area artist. Farming, wild rice harvesting, snow-capped pine trees, and snowshoeing are all included.

The workspace is divided into meeting rooms and offices and each of the six areas are named for regional state parks: Hayes Lake, Itasca, Lake Bemidji, Lake Bronson, Old Mill and Zippel Bay. The art displayed in each area was carefully chosen by an art committee to fit with the theme.

The intrigue for a historian, however, is a tour of the basement. Stairs and a door that goes nowhere, openings for coal chutes, and multiple facades of the walls show the changes over time. Massive beams and supports confirm the quality of the early construction.

A piece of floral fresco above one door makes one wonder what possibly was in that room to deserve so much elegance. Did Miles have a dining room down there? Was it possibly a meeting room at one time? Why do we wait so long to gather history?