Bank branch as old as the Western Mall closes for renovations

Driving through Sioux Falls today, it’s hard to imagine that the Western Mall was built — at the time — on the edge of town.

The mall opened in 1968 as one of the first of its kind in South Dakota, according to Keloland.

That same year, we built our first standalone branch northwest of the new mall.

First National Bank's Western Mall branch in the 1970s.

“I can remember going to the ‘big’ mall to shop at Montgomery Ward, Bostwicks, and Tempo, plus the candy store, Hubbard’s Kupboard, and a two-screen movie theater,” said Facilities Experience Manager Kae Klinkenborg. “There was also a First National Bank in the parking lot!”

After 58 years, we’re temporarily closing our oldest branch for a much-needed remodel.

A historic bank branch

Conveniently located in front of Best Buy along 41^st Street, the Western Mall branch continues to be one of our busiest locations.

“The location is great, and our customers enjoy being able to park right outside the door and walk in,” Kae said.

It’s also one of our most historic branches. At the time it was built, Curt Kuehn was the branch manager and Robert S. Baker the assistant branch manager.

Both Kuehn and Baker would go on to serve as president of First National Bank.

A photo from the 1960s showing two men sitting behind a desk with the frame of an unconstructed building in the background.

Curt Kuehn (left) and Robert S. Baker (right) during construction of the Western Mall branch.

The location was so successful that in 1976 we added on to the building, constructing the offices currently located on the north end.

The lobby of First National Bank's Western Mall branch.

“Over the last 20 years, we’ve seriously considered remodeling about three different times,” Kae said. “The time was finally right.”

Plans for the Western Mall branch remodel

We closed the branch on December 31, 2025, to begin a months-long remodel.

Some of the updates will be cosmetic, while others are necessary for the branch to continue functioning.

“We need to replace the sewer pipe because it’s eroding,” Kae said. “That will require us to dig up the floor from the restrooms all the way through the current teller line.”

We’re using this opportunity to relocate the restrooms and make them handicap accessible.

Meanwhile, we will replace all of the tile and dark granite flooring in front of the teller line and update the layout of the branch.

The lobby of First National Bank's Western Mall branch.

The color scheme will be similar to our other recent remodels at the Downtown and Benson Road branch locations.

A meeting space in First National Bank's downtown Sioux Falls branch.

The former bank vault at our Downtown location, which was converted to a meeting space in 2023.

The lobby of First National Bank's Benson Road branch.

We completed our last remodel in 2024 at the Benson Road branch.

“We’ll put a little twist on the look, making a nod to the mid-century style of the branch,” Kae said.

A few changes will be made to the exterior, including adjusting the number of drive-up lanes.

“That’s just a sign of the changes in banking,” Kae said. “But we want to maintain the mid-century charm of the exterior as well, which fits well with the neighborhood.”

First National Bank's Western Mall branch.