Guided by History is excited to present the first post from Lindsay Thivierge. Lindsay joined Wells Fargo last November at the newest Wells Fargo History Museum, in Philadelphia. She has a degree in Art History, and will complete an MA in Public History this spring. Lindsay enjoys traveling, gardening, sewing and spending time with her family. (CR)

Located in center city Philadelphia at 123 South Broad Street is the historic Fidelity Building (now the Wells Fargo Building),  home to Philadelphia’s main Wells Fargo store as well as the newest Wells Fargo History Museum.

In 1927 the firm of Simon and Simon was commissioned by the Fidelity Trust Company to design the Beaux arts-style building. The 30-story, H-shaped structure features bronze entrance doors with intricately inlaid panels that relay the story of commerce through allegorical images.

The interior lobby of the bank rises three stories and is constructed of Italian terrazzo marble. A massive 1 ¼-ton chandelier, with 10,000 crystals, is suspended over the main banking area. Located in the rear of the lobby is a unique Renaissance-style stained glass window over 25 feet high. The window panels are created from leaded antique glass, painted with scenes that depict the history of Philadelphia.

Noted as a glossary of modern skyscraper design, the Fidelity Building was the tallest building in Philadelphia when it was completed in 1928.

From 1815 to 1830, the site was home to the Vaux Hall Gardens amusement park, with theater pavilions, gardens and balloon rides. The park was destroyed by fire in 1815 and subsequently rebuilt. In 1830 the site was demolished to create a pond for local boys to use as a swimming hole.

The property was purchased in 1839 by James Dundas, who built a house called the "Yellow Mansion." (scroll down to "Individual Folder: James Hepburn Dundas") Artifacts made from the wood of an elm tree that once stood on the Dundas property are displayed in the new Wells Fargo History Museum.

The "Yellow Mansion" was demolished in 1906 to make way for the construction of the Forrest Theatre and a two-story building housing stores and offices. In 1927, the Fidelity Trust Company purchased the property and announced their plans to build a new structure on the site.

This time of year always means one thing to me: Feasting on delicious food with family and friends.

My father grew up in the Chinese neighborhoods of St. Louis, Mo., working in his father's restaurant. I grew up having Chinese New Year dinner at my uncle's restaurant, with all of my aunts and uncles and cousins. There were dozens of people, and dozens of platters full of the most wonderful food.

This year, our group will be smaller, just my family and my parents and a friend. We've already looked up the recipes that we want to cook, and begun our grocery shopping. On Saturday, we'll go to some of the Asian grocery stores near us to round out our supplies, and Sunday will be filled with cooking and eating and enjoying each other's company.

Lunar New Year also means other types of celebrating, of course, with parades and dancing and even beauty pageants. Around the Twin Cities, there will be celebrations for Tet (the Vietnamese New Year) and Lion Dances to celebrate Chinese New Year. One Minneapolis park is even celebrating the year of the Water Dragon with activities along the Mississippi River.

And of course there are large celebrations in Chinatowns around the United States. This year marks the 100th year of Chicago's Chinatown, where we went to celebrate for several years when I was in middle and high school. It is only the 13th annual parade in New York City, even though that Chinatown has been established since the 1880s. But both of those are young next to the parade in San Francisco that's been a yearly tradition since the 1860s.

If you had lived in San Francisco in the 1880s, you could have used one of the Chinese-English business directories that Wells Fargo published to find Chong Wong & Co, butcher, on Dupont St., or Quong Eit Loy Groceries on Jackson St. The same directories could have led you to your New Year's dinner at the restaurants of Can Hong Low on 8th St. in Oakland, or of Hung Fong on Washington St. in Stockton.

Knowing that Wells Fargo has a long history of supporting Asian Americans makes this time of year a great time to be a team member.

I know many people who are eager to start a new year after facing challenges in 2011. Lunar New Year doesn't include the tradition of making resolutions, but it does include cleaning your house, giving children red envelopes with money for good luck, and making ready to capitalize on what luck the New Year might bring.

2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which is a mystical and lucky sign. It's also a Water year, which combines with the Dragon's fire to bring about both uncertainty and opportunity. Some experts are predicting major changes, based on the last Water Dragon year, which was 1952.

This year will definitely bring changes to my family, as we plan on welcoming a new baby in March. It will be interesting to see how our little Water Dragon is different from her big brother, an Earth Ox.

May this New Year bring you and your family health, wealth and happiness. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Today, the Lucasfilm feature Red Tails opens in theaters. I blogged about the film here and here, and it's a significant chapter in history.

And may I say, a pretty darn exciting chapter, too. Another plug for a good, thrilling movie—go see it this weekend! Take everyone you know. Let's get this awesome story out there, have everyone talking about it.

We asked team members to send us stories and images from their past, whether family, acquaintances or co-workers. The image above came to us from Diamond Sanders, a Loan Underwriter in Plano, Texas. Diamond noted: "My family and I have been researching our heritage for YEARS. So to come across this picture and find out that we are a part of a legacy so forceful is amazing! We plan to diligently continue our research and go see Red Tails this weekend with absolute pride!"

Ricardo Regalado is with Wells Fargo in Tempe, Arizona. A retired Marine (10th Marine Regiment), Ricardo remembers, "On my last deployment a few years back I met a nephew of one of these brave aviators and he had many incredible stories about his grandfather ... I was so impressed and the stories kept our nights going out on patrols. Stories and films are a vital piece of history, and for many of us that served it’s a part of life that we will never forget."

Jason Henderson, a credit analyst in the Mid-Valley Commercial Banking office, wrote, "I could not resist! I have a Tuskegee Airmen in my family (through my father). He was a pilot from Alabama. My father (retired), brother, and I are very proud to continue his legacy of honor and valor by serving in the military."

The image below follows the one we posted a few weeks ago. Lovester Law, Stagecoach Appearance Program manager here in San Francisco, heard from relatives that his Uncle Martin was a Tuskegee airman. Lovester remembers Martin as a flying enthusiast ever after, working at it for a living and continuing to serve as a member of the Civil Air Patrol.

What about you? Do you have anyone in your history who was a Tuskegee Airman? Let us know!

The following article, written by Wayne Thompson and Kathleen Llewellyn, appeared on an internal communications site for Wells Fargo team members. We are pleased to share this remarkable story on GBH.

Wayne, a fellow blogger, is in Winston-Salem, N.C., and joined Wells Fargo with the Wachovia merger. He writes for the Corporate Communications team, and his "beats" include Banking, Marketing, Brokerage and Retirement, and many other Wells Fargo businesses. Kathleen is a Producer within Wells Fargo Creative Services team based in Charlotte, N.C.. She also joined Wells Fargo with the Wachovia merger. (CR)

"Yee-ah, get around here, Chuck," stagecoach Driver Dan Cramer says as he helps a rookie-in-training adjust to stagecoach life from the bleak solitude of the horse track. "Easy boys, easy, easy."

Cramer's directions ripple through the reins to Chuck, who cocks an ear toward Bill, the veteran partner he's pulling with for the first time. It's necessary training to join a stagecoach team unlike any other in the Stagecoach Appearance Program—the only one featuring former racehorses.

Formerly harness racers, Chuck and Bill now pull the Wells Fargo stagecoach for Cramer as part of the team that covers the Pacific Northwest.

Cramer rescues as many as 150 horses a year and keeps 15 to work into the stagecoach team. Others go to horse lovers that he knows will care for them as well as he does.

Because the horses are so young—typically only two or three years old—Cramer sees nothing but potential in his rescuees.

"When I get them, their home is in a 12-by-12-foot box stall," he says. "Sometimes we'll open up the door to get in and it'll take two or three of us to get the horse out of there. They really take to the more open spaces, eating grass and the more varied routine that comes with being part of the Wells Fargo team."

This weekend we celebrate the life and achievements of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It's my favorite weekend of the year!

King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 on the strength of his non-violent approach to a huge social movement. King's commitment to non-violence was central to his faith and his work. He talks about it here:

(I cannot seem to find who the interviewer is, or what TV show this was. It looks to be about the time of his Nobel Prize. I welcome any info!)

King also talks about his non-violent stance in this 1963 video from The American Experience with Dr. Kenneth Clark. King is quite clear that non-violence achieves more lasting results for a movement than does its opposite.

I hope these recorded moments inspire you to look further into King's life, his work and legacy, and his marvelous humanity. Have a great weekend, everyone! Peace!

Hey, check it out! George Lucas was on the "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" last night talking about his film Red Tails, which we discussed here last week:

The film opens next week. If you get a chance, go see it!

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, the Wells Fargo Corporate Archives receives new material from around the company, almost daily. We Archivists are happy to show off these materials from predecessor banks that have joined Wells Fargo.

Here are some items that are new to us—including a "spring toy," a race car, a compass, a golf ball, and a "bean hound"—representing Wachovia and First Union. Enjoy!

Watching the Fiesta Bowl last evening, I saw a commercial for the Lucasfilm feature Red Tails, coming to theaters January 20th. (Here's the official trailer.) The Tuskegee Airmen are an exciting and important part of American history, and of Wells Fargo history too.

At least two of these heroes—Col. George S. Roberts and Col. James Walker—are part of Wells Fargo history as well. Roberts and Walker joined Wells Fargo after their storied military careers ended, and served as two of our first Personal Bankers.

Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama was the center of training for African American military aviators in World War II. Tuskegee trainees were under severe pressure to prove themselves. After battling racial prejudice and segregation on the home front, the Tuskegee pilots joined the war effort. "The Black Redtail Angels," as they were called, amassed an impressive record, downing 108 enemy planes and sinking a German destroyer using only machine guns—a feat unmatched by any other fighter group.

The accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen and other African American navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, and Army nurses helped bring an end to racial segregation in the American military.

My colleague Lovester Law is the Stagecoach Appearance Program manager, and recently he said he had this memory of relatives talking about an Airman in the family. He made a few calls, and found a few clippings and photos of a cousin from Pennsylvania, Martin Law. Lt. Law still flew for pleasure, long after his military career ended.

We're proud to celebrate the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. We are proud, too, that we found another connection between Wells Fargo and Tuskegee Airmen history.

On an almost daily basis, the Corporate Archives receives new material from around the Company. Our archival collection documents the origins, development, operations and impact of Wells Fargo and all its subsidiaries, affiliates and merger partners.

Here are some items that are new to us, representing the Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Loan and Trust Company, both Norwest predecessors. We like sharing them with you—hope you enjoy them!

1. Combined statement of condition, Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Loan and Trust Co., 1923.
2. Combined statement of condition, Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Loan and Trust Co., 1924.
3. Minnesota Loan and Trust Co. Office Associates Club program, 1930.
4. The Big Drum, employee newsletter, 1920.