First National Bank of Mason City

Iowa, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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The First National Bank of Mason City is a 6½-story Early Commercial structure completed in 1911 in Mason City, Iowa, designed by the Des Moines firm Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen. The brick building features modestly decorated main floor and attic levels with five plainer floors between, and originally housed the bank on the first floor alongside professional offices above. The edifice gained notoriety on March 13, 1934, when John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, John Hamilton, and Tommy Carroll robbed the bank of approximately $50,000, with Dillinger sustaining a wound during the gunfight. Listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and contributing to the Mason City Downtown Historic District in 2005, the building was remodeled into apartments and offices by City Center of Mason City Inc. following its 1995 acquisition.