Grinnell, IA, an artistic college town of 9,500 people situated along I-80 between Des Moines and Iowa City, may not be on your radar for a weekend road trip or romantic getaway, but it should be. Brimming with history (it was a stop on the Underground Railroad) and filled with buildings and residences on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s nicknamed the “Jewel of the Prairie” because its downtown is home to a Louis Sullivan “jewel box” bank.

Officially called the Merchants National Bank, 833 Fourth Ave., it was built in 1914 at a cost of $60,000. Sullivan, known as a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, is regarded as the “father of skyscrapers” and the “father of modernism.” He was the most influential architect of the Chicago School. He came to Grinnell in 1913 to sketch a design for the bank, which opened New Year’s Day 1915. It is one of eight “jewel-box” banks Sullivan designed in the Midwest during the last decade of his career.

My husband Andy and I toured the bank on Valentine’s Day while we were in town for the weekend.

The jewel box was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and, after operating as a bank until 1999, houses the Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. It is owned by Wells Fargo, which occupies the 12,000-square foot addition put on the building in the ‘70s.

Jessica Trivedi, a volunteer docent who hails from Chicago, where Sullivan’s work is legendary, said Iowa is fortunate to have examples of his work still standing.

B.J. Ricker was part owner of the local glove factory in town. Allegedly, his wife Mabel was in the same social circles as Frank Lloyd Wright’s first wife Catherine. Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin, colleagues of both Sullivan and Wright, designed the Rickers’ home at 1510 Broad St. in Grinnell, which is still standing. And, small world, Mabel Ricker attended high school in Oak Park with Walter Burley Griffin.

“Based on the history I’ve been shared, Mabel Ricker originally wanted Frank Lloyd Wright to build her new house, but he was unavailable,” Trivedi notes. “Since the Griffins worked in Wright’s office and managed certain commissions while he was in Europe, the Rickers developed a strong working relationship with them. When it came time to build the bank, B.J. Ricker recommended the Griffins to the board. However, they were in Australia at the time building the capital (Canberra) and recommended Louis Sullivan instead.”