Utah's Far West Bank, which was acquired earlier this year by the Seattle-based AmericanWest Bancorp, will open its new headquarters on the ground floor of the historic Main Street building this morning.

"We will be the only community bank operating in downtown Salt Lake City, and this location will give us the opportunity to compete with the large regional and national banks in the area," said Robert Daugherty, chief executive of AmericanWest, a holding company that also owns another community bank, AmericanWest Bank.

Originally constructed in 1911 at a time when horse-drawn wagons were needed to bring the girders for the building into town, the Walker Center originally served as the new home for the pioneer Walker Brothers Bank.

It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Yet for awhile, time wasn't kind to the skyscraper that once could boast of being the tallest building west of St. Louis. The Walker Brothers Bank, which in 1931 became Walker Bank and Trust, was acquired by First Interstate Bancorp in 1981. Shortly afterward, First Interstate moved its Utah banking operations into a newly constructed building directly across the street to the west.

Despite its enviable location on the northwest corner of 200 South and Main Street, the property gradually became just another aging downtown structure that was struggling to attract and retain tenants.

Last year, though, the New York-based Vectra Management Group purchased the building and vowed to return the 95-year-old structure to its former glory.

As he led visitors through the newly refurbished building on Thursday afternoon, Vectra's managing director, W. James Tozer, said his organization invested between $12 million and $15 million in renovating the 16-story structure.

"There is now no better location in downtown Salt Lake City, and the only difference between our property and other Class A buildings in the area is that our tenants can open their windows," Tozer said.

While the Walker Center's stone, terra cotta and granite facade retains its historic look, the building's interior - including its mechanical and electrical systems - have been completely revamped, said Mike Richmond, an associate broker with Commerce CRG, which is handling the leasing of the property.

He estimates the building is now about 80 percent leased.

"This is a really beautiful structure," Richmond said. "The owners actually spent more on renovating the building than they did to acquire it."

steve@sltib.com