The design elements reflected the agricultural importance of the community, with terracotta sculptures of grain on the exterior and murals of farm scenes—painted by their friend Albert Fleury—inside.

The interior receives sunlight through stained glass window walls and a skylight, and is also lit with vertical light standards topped by round globes.

The Merchants National Bank departed from this tradition by taking its inspiration from native sources—the uniquely American architecture of Louis Sullivan and the Prairie School tenets of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Stained glass, generally reserved for religious structures, was used liberally in expansive windows and a sky lit ceiling, transforming daylight into a multi-hued glow.

Large wall murals, depicting river scenes and the Wisconsin bluffs, spoke of the natural beauty that first lured settlers to the area.