FIRST
NATIONAL BANK OF TAMPA HISTORY
with events
concerning the
Stovall office
bldg, the
Whiskey bottle
water tank, Wolf
Bros., the
Citizens Bank
bldg., the Tampa
Gas Co.
building, and
Lykes Gaslight
Park
THIS FEATURE IS
CURRENTLY BEING CREATED
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THE
BANK OF TAMPA
The First
National Bank started life as "The Bank of Tampa"
in
1883 in a small wood frame structure on Washington St.
just west of Franklin St.
This photo from the Hampton Dunn Collection was
taken after the bank had moved out and
occupied its second location. According to Hampton
Dunn, the signage was added on by a photo artist. Proof
is that the bank was not "The First National Bank of
Tampa" until after 1887 when it occupied its 2nd
location. While in this shack, it was "The Bank of
Tampa." This indicates that the artist altered the
photo to add the sign after the bank had changed
its name. Judging by the condition of the "shack," it
was probably taken several years after 1887.
Sanborn maps indicate it was taken after 1892 using
the vacant lot next to it as evidence.
It did NOT look like this when the bank occupied it. See
top map at right about the vacant lot seen in the above
photo.
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On the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps below, you can see
there was another wood frame structure to the right of
the bank. The wood planks protruding from the roof in
the photo indicate that this adjacent building shared
part of the roof, and when that building was torn down,
the planks were cut between them. This structure was
still next to the old bank shack on the 1892 Sanborn
maps. It was a vacant lot on the 1895 Sanborn maps which
indicates the Hampton Dunn photo was taken after 1892.
Seen
below, the old bank building was vacant and had moved to
the new brick building on the opposite side of the
street to the corner. A jewelry store now occupied the
adjacent building.
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SECOND
HOME OF THE BANK OF TAMPA
In 1886 the
first brick building in Tampa was built for the bank at
the southwest corner of Franklin and Washington St. In the photo, Franklin St.
is on the left, Washington St. on the right.
This Burgert Bros. photo
from the University of South Florida digital collection
is described as "Bank of Tampa Building on southwest
corner of Franklin (100 block) and Washington (200
block) streets with employees" and is dated 1886.
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In 1887 the Bank of Tampa became the First
National Bank of Tampa. Notice the decorative woodwork on the sign and trees have
been recently added, as evidenced by supports. Above
"Bank of Tampa" can be seen "First National" in
an arch, indicating this photo was likely taken
in 1887 when the bank was celebrating its name
change and the new sign added.
The bank remained here until
it moved into its third location at Franklin and Madison
streets in 1895.
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 THIRD
HOME OF FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF TAMPA
In mid-1894 construction
began on a new First National Bank building at the
southwest corner of Franklin and Madison. Completed by
January 1895, the marble front facade was its most
prominent architectural feature and was a example of Richarsonian
Romanesque influence. The building architecture was
so unique it made the Register of Historic buildings in
1974, even though the building had been torn down in
1925. Read on later about how this took place.
This is the building that
Joseph Frazier occupied when Mabry joined him in 1907.
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The First National Bank of Tampa
moved from Franklin & Washington St. to this
building in early 1895,
The First National Bank
bldg at at 414-416 Franklin St., the northwest corner of
Franklin St. and Madison. Photo from the Tampa Tribune
Midwinter edition, Jan. 1900. |
The First
National
Bank building in 1920
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The 1913 Burgert Bros. photo below shows an elevated
view of Franklin Street looking north. The First
National Bank building can be seen on the left side of
the street with flag on the roof. The building which
appears unfinished seen immediately to the left of the
dome was the new Hillsboro Hotel. The south face was
built practically without windows because the next phase
was to expand it even taller on this side. The building
under construction in the distance is the Citizens Bank
tower at Franklin and Zack Street. At the time of this
photo, the bank occupied the building directly across
Franklin St seen here with the "witch hat" roof and flag
on its corner tower.
The building at far left
was known as "Giddens Corner, the location of Tampa
merchant I.S. Giddens' store at Lafayette and Franklin
streets. This is probably why Giddings Mabry was
frequently in the papers as "Giddens." The obelisk in
the courtyard was a Confederate memorial. At the far
end of the courtyard was a bandstand. The building under
construction in the distance was the new
Citizens Bank building at Franklin & Zack.
1895
Sanford Fire Insurance map
Franklin St. between Madison and Lafayette.
Pink structures are brick, wood frame in yellow, stone
in blue.
MAJESTIC OLD BUILDING
HUMILIATION
By mid-1895, the first brick building in Tampa, the 2nd home of the Bank
of Tampa, became a saloon and storage.
In the early 1910s this
old bank building became the home of the Tampa Times
which was owned by D. B. McKay. McKay soon installed
radio equipment, a studio and offices for WDAE radio station
with towering antenna on the roof. The Times moved out
when the paper was bought by the Tampa Tribune in 1958
becoming the Tampa Tribune-Times. The Tribune became the
morning paper and the Times the evening paper.
In November 1960, this
building became the home of Tampa Hardware Co. founded
in 1884 as Clarke & Knight (predecessor to Knight & Wall
Hardware.) It was bought by the Tampa Merchants
Association in 1963 who used the two 9,500 sq. ft.
floors with their collections department on the 2nd
floor. By this time the building was a composite of two
buildings which had been consolidated years earlier. It
was then demolished in 1980 with other properties in the
area to build the One Tampa City Center complex.
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The Times Building addition in 1958
Photo courtesy of the Hampton Dunn
Collection, Sunland Tribune.
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OLD BANK BUILDING
BOUGHT, DISMANTLED & MOVED
Here is the first step
in this old building's second life which led to it's
historic building status in 1974. Constant Street is
today's Laurel St.
This article states
that the building will be taken down and reassembled at
the new site at a cost of about $60k and goes on to
describe the entire new building site.
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| Established in
1904 at 1502 - 1508 Tampa St., Joughin Plumbing was in
business into the mid-1950s, operated in the latter
years by H. R. Mitchell.
Read the
fabled history of the DeSoto Hotel here at TampaPix.
He also
owned Joughin's Corner in 1920 at Lafayette & Tampa
streets.
In
1929, Linius
Monroe Hatton would be terminated as
sheriff of Hillsborough County by Governor Carlton
over accusations of corruption and
was replaced by Robert Joughin. |
Robert
T. Joughin from
Men of the South, 1922
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Plans for a
hotel apparently changed, and Walker Hood Furniture
Co. occupied all four floors of the building until
1962 |
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Walker Hood Furniture occupied this
building from 1926 to 1962.
Afterward, the first floor became the home of Fabric King
with upper floors rooms for rent.
 
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NEW LIFE
FOR THE OLD FIRST NATIONAL BANK BUILDING FACADE
In late January, 1976, the
City of Tampa planned to build a State office
building in the area. It was later named the
"Park Trammell building" for former Florida
Governor (1913-1917) and Florida U.S. Senator
(1917-1936) Park Trammell. The Planning
Commission recommended that the historic bank
facade be preserved for historical purposes.
This became the plan in Feb. 1977.
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In 1974 the building
was among five added to the National Historic
Buildings Register of Hillsborough County. But
this article claims it was only the marble-faced
facade that was bought and placed on this
building existing on N. Franklin St.
It is doubtful this is correct; consider that
the new building would have to have the exact
same dimensions, number of floors, the position,
number, and size of windows, etc., in order for
the facade to be attached and fit perfectly.
TampaPix believes the planning commission was
incorrect.
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Work had
begun on taking the facade apart for
cataloging and storage when a fire
destroyed the building on April 5,
1977. The fire started at 1 a.m. so it
couldn't be due to any of the workers
using anything flammable. Perhaps it
was hit by Sicilian lightning. Maybe a
vagrant accidentally started the fire.
No further efforts were made to preserve
it and it was demolished
Now construction could soon begin
on the State building that would become the Park Trammell
building.
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FOURTH HOME OF THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK
1925-02-20 TIMES Tentative plans for 10-story Bank
building
Stockholders of the First National Bank approved
tentative plans of President T.C. Taliaferro to build a
10-story bank and office building on the site of the
present 4-story structure at Franklin and Madison
streets. Holmes & Winslow of New York are the
architects and final plans are expected to be completed
soon.
1925-04-03 TAMPA TIMES
Plans and specifications on file.
The bank, Holmes & Winslow of NY, and Franklin O. Adams,
resident architect, are calling for a 10-story building
at the present bank site. Bids to be closed April
13. About 15 contractors from Atlanta, Baltimore,
Cleveland, Newark, Philadelphia, Toledo, Sarasota, and
five from Tampa were expected to bid on the
construction. 1925-04-23
TAMPA TIMES Announcement of new plans and selection of
architects and contractor
Bank president T.C. Taliaferro announced the
construction of a 13-story building at a cost of $1M.
The construction contract was awarded to the Southern
Fero Concrete Co. of Atlanta and architects Holmes &
Winslow of New York.
Read the whole article |
THE FIRST
NATIONAL BANK SKYSCRAPER CONSTRUCTION
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Construction on the new 13-story First National Bank
building began in 1924 after the removal of the 1895
building.
The bank
moved into temporary offices next to the Knight & Wall
Hardware store before demolition began in 1925.
PA 1180 1925-09-08 CONSTRUCTION
BEGINS
Photo courtesy of the Tampa Hillsborough Co. Public
Library System Burgert Bros Collection.
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CLICK TO SEE THIS PHOTO LARGER
The Stovall office
building can be seen at upper right.
At upper left is the TECO power plant smokestack and the
Knight & Wall building with water tank on top.
Sep. 8, 1925
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With all steel work on the thirteen-story First National
Bank building completed, workmen are engaged in laying
concrete flooring. This phase of the project has been
carried to four stories. Carl Thoner, Tribune Staff
photographer.
NEARING COMPLETION May
12, 1926
Photo courtesy of the Tampa Hillsborough Co. Public
Library System Burgert Bros Collection
PA 2344
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1926-02-25 PA 36 CONSTRUCTION
The steelwork was completed in late Dec.
1925.
See the entire photo above before cropping.
Read about the Greeson Theater building seen at the
bottom right corner
Oct.
25, 1926 PA 201
Click to read the signage in the top two floors windows.
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Sep. 8, 1926 -
First National Bank safely deposit box vault
PA 8011 |
Aug. 2, 1926
- First National Bank assets vault door
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Sep. 8,
1926 LOBBY
PA 1197
1929-01-31 TAMPA TIMES
MABRY,
REAVES & CARLTON MOVES INTO THE NEW FIRST NATIONAL BANK
BUILDING
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Dec. 2, 1926
Read about what happened to this clock in 1993.
Click link at bottom of this section.
The Franklin St. entrance to First National Bank
in the mid-1950s
This late 1950s photo shows the
rarely-photographed south face of the building. The parking lot
seen in the foreground was built in the place where the 1891
county courthouse was demolished in 1953.
Except for the Floridan Hotel, this
building was the tallest of the 1920s Tampa structures still
standing in the 1990s. It was in many respects like the
Chicago-style skyscrapers of the 1880s and 90s in its
straightforward base-shaft-capitol treatment of the facade, with
ground floor mezzanine banking area and arched top windows, with its
brick and terra-cotta cladding of the steel frame. But the base
especially is a concession to the Renaissance Revival style.
The south and west sides are, alas,
not as nice, but even the Chicago's Louis Sullivan usually gave only
two sides of a building his extensive detailing.
Color by TampaPix.
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| THE FIFTH HOME OF
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK
PLANS
ANNOUNCED
FOR A NEW FIRST NATIONAL BANK SKYSCRAPER
On
Apr. 8, 1970, First National Bank president E. P.
Taliaferro, Jr. announced their plan to build a new
$13.5M 35-story bank and office building on the
block between Kennedy Blvd, Madison St., Tampa St.
and Ashley Dr., just east of the present 13-story
building. Besides the bank, GTE was to be the
main tenant of the 400k sq. ft. tower and would
occupy 8 floors. Parking for 400 cars would be
on floors 2 through 5. The bank would occupy
the lobby and other bank offices to occupy 7 floors.
The new tower was to be 13 stories taller than the
current tallest building, the Exchange National Bank
tower.
Taliaferro also said plans were to
lease the old 13-story building "until it is
feasible for us to dispose of it."
Plans were for the exterior to be
mostly white marble accented by black marble trim
and tinted windows. There would be 12 main
elevators in a 2-zone system A businessmen's
club was planned for the 35th floor and possibly a
restaurant for women and small athletic club for men
with handball courts and saunas.
The building was designed by
Kelley-Marshall Inc. of Tulsa, OK and construction
would be managed by Transamerica Investment Group of
Dallas, TX. Construction was expected to begin
in June.
Read the rest of this article. |
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SUBSIDIARY TO
BUILD NEW FIRST NATIONAL BANK TOWER ON THE FORMER
SITE OF THE STOVALL OFFICE BUILDING
Legal complications with the plans
and specifications as well as signing of leases with
tenants caused delays in the start of construction.
First Financial Corp. vice president E.P. Taliaferro Jr.
announced in Dec.1970 that his wholly-owned
subsidiary, First Financial Realty Corp., would take
over the construction and development from
Transamerica Investment Group of Tulsa, squelching
rumors that the plans had been scuttled. First
Financial Corp. was a Tampa-based holding company
which controlled First National Bank. Taliaferro
said "we feel it is in our best interests to own and
operate our own building."
Read this Dec. 9, 1970 Tribune article.
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GROUNDBREAKING Jan. 7, 1971
 
Place your cursor on the photo to see
the former
site of the Stovall office bldg. |
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THE END IS NEAR
FOR THE STOVALL OFFICE BUILDING
The new First Financial Tower was
built on the former site of the
Stovall Office Building.
The Stovall office building was
completed in Dec. 1920 and opened
for tenants on Jan. 2, 1921.
THE STOVALL OFFICE
BUILDING DECLINING
YEARS
After 28
years of ownership
by W.F Stovall by
his Crestview Realty
Co., on Jun. 3,
1948, Stovall sold
the building for
$300k to Tampa
businessman David
Cowen and his wife.
David was the
president of Flagler
Shoe Co. and
operator of the
Cowen Shoe store at
600 Franklin St.
At the time, the
Stovall Office
building listed 97
tenants, with a
construction company
and three small
businesses on the
ground floor. The
Cowens took over the
building on June 4,
saying they had no
future plans to
reveal concerning
the building at this
time.
THE COWEN YEARS -
NAME CHANGE
in
Sep. 1952
manager/owner David
Cowen announced the
Stovall Office
Building would be
renamed the Flagler
Building, for his
company that managed
it. The change
was prompted by
confusion caused by
two other Stovall
buildings, the
Stovall Professional
Building at 301
Morgan Street and
the W.F. Stovall
Building at 501
Franklin & Madison
streets.
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BUILDINGS
WITH THE STOVALL NAME |
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The
Stovall-Nelson building,
southeast corner of 817
Franklin St. and Cass
St. Oct. 11, 1921.
By
Feb. 1930 it became the
Schulte-United building.
Notice the original
3-story Kress building
on the right. In
1929 this building was
demolished and a 5-story
building was completed
in its place in Nov.
1929.
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W.F.S.
Building at 501 Franklin
St., the northwest
corner of Franklin &
Madison streets, 1922. |
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THE FLAGLER (STOVALL
OFFICE) BUILDING
cont.
THE BISCHOFF YEARS
In mid-May 1956 the
120-room Flagler
building was sold
for $400k by Mr. &
Mrs. David Cowen,
Rebecca Cowen, Hyman
Golden, and Mr. and
Mrs Sol I. Golden to
St. Petersburg
brothers Henry L.
and Robert Bischoff,
traveling salesmen,
who according to
their attorneys,
purchased it as an
investment for
income and planned
to remodel part of
the building.
THE NEWMAN YEARS
In March 1965 the
Bischoffs sold the
building for $330k
to Joseph Newman of
Cleveland, and his
Tampa Development
Corp. who planned
complete interior
and exterior
renovation with all
modern designs and
fixtures, stating
"We're completely
redoing it, and are
going to strip it."
Plans included
parking under the
main office portion
and an area
renovation on the
riverfront from
Madison St. to
Kennedy Blvd. by H.
L. Crowder. He
planned big new
Holiday Inn on the
riverfront across
Ashley Dr. from the
Flagler building.
Newman declined to
estimate the cost of
his extensive
renovation.
But Newman's funds
soon dwindled and
the renovation never
materialized.
FORECLOSURE
In May 1967 the
First National Bank
of Tarpon Springs
foreclosed on the
mortgage, with the
bank's chairman of
the board stating
the bank had no
intention on
demolishing the
practically unrented
building. "The
bank is going to do
nothing to the
building except sell
it, what the
purchaser does with
it we cannot say."
He added that the
foreclosure was not
against Newman, but
against Bischoff,
indicating he still
held ownership.
THE
FINAL YEAR--CROWDER
The building was
then purchased in
Feb. 1968 from First
National Bank of
Tarpon Springs by H.
L. "Dusty" Crowder,
prominent Tampa
insurance man.
This
Feb. 15, 1968 Tampa
Tribune article
states that only
three ground-floor
tenants remained:
The Stage Lounge,
GAC Loans, Inc., and
Ippolitos Italian
Restaurant.
All had been told to
vacate the premises.
DEMOLITION BEGINS
THE WEEK OF JULY 22, 1968
According to property owner
H. L. Crowder, a temporary
parking lot would replace the
building. A Tampa Tribune
editorial claimed it was the
tenth parking lot in the central
downtown area, "adding one more
asphalt pavement to the already
bulging parking lot population."
Wallace Oliver
Stovall was a son of Wallace Fisher
Stovall. W. F. was president
of
Crestview Realty, his son W. O.
Stovall was one of several company
directors.
It was W.F. who built the Stovall
Office Building in 1920.
 Wallace
Oliver Stovall,
born in Bartow
in 1891 and
educated in the
public schools
of Ocala,
Florida.
He graduated
from the
Riverside
Military Academy
in Gainesville,
GA, in 1909 and
then attended
the University
of Georgia for
two years. He
enlisted in the
Navy during WW1
and served for
two years, after
which time he
came to Tampa
and worked for
the Tampa
Tribune which
was owned by his
father, Wallace
Fisher Stovall.
Starting his
career at the
bottom, in 1912
he was elected
VP and a
director.
He was a member
of Phi Delta
Theta and Alpha
Epsilon
fraternities,
the Tampa Yacht
and Country
Club, American
Legion, and Ye
Mystic Krewe of
Gasparilla,
serving as King
Gasparilla XI.
He was married
in 1917 to Doris
Knight, a
daughter of H.
L. Knight.
(Info &
photo from "Men
of the South, A
Work For The
Newspaper
Reference
Library" Tampa
editor W.F.
Stovall among
many others in
other cities,
Southern
Biographical
Assoc, New
Orleans, 1922.)
DEMOLITION
UNCOVERS A HIDDEN PLAQUE
During the demolition, a member
of the wrecking crew found a
large bronze plaque "in a big
hole" in the boiler room.
Estimated to weigh 30 pounds, it
bore the image of Paulina
Pedroso, a Cuban woman who
helped Jose Marti escape harm
while in Tampa fund raising and
organizing the Cuban
Revolutionary Party for his Cuba
Libre campaign. Marti was
regarded as the "Cuban George
Washington."
The following
year, 1969, the First National
Bank of Tampa acquired most of
the property between Tampa St,
Ashley Dr., Kennedy Blvd and
Madison St. including the former
Flagler building site which was
being used as a parking lot. All
the buildings had been cleared
by this time. In March
1970 they acquired the final
property and in April announced
their plan to build the new
First National Bank tower there,
as described at the top of this
page.
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FIRST FINANCIAL TOWER
CONSTRUCTION
(Continued)
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Steel framing of the parking levels in
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By April
1972 the steel framing had reached the
23rd floor. The completed floor space
was to be 50.000 sq. feet which is
almost 14 football fields. Other
structures seen in the photo are the
Holiday Inn, Barnett Bank building, the
John Germany Public Library, the Tribune
bldg., First National Bank, Bay View
Hotel, WDAE radio antenna, whiskey
bottle water tank, and the future site
of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
Place your cursor on the article
below to see buildings identified. |
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A crane and First Financial tower steel framework
seen from the Kennedy Blvd. Bridge, from the 1972
University of Tampa yearbook "Moroccan."
Courtesy of Chris Mygrant's Houx Estate Yearbook
Collection.
In mid-May
1972 the
steel framing was
nearing the top floor. The
Barnett Bank building seen at
left side was to have its grand
opening ceremony the week of May
25th. Also seen is the 14-story
Downtown Holiday Inn which
opened in mid Dec. 1971.
How they will remove the crane;
the tower was scheduled for completion by New Years
Day, 1973.
The last
structural steel beam is
hoisted with a topping-off
ceremony which included a
live pine tree and an
American flag hoisted with
the beam. The principal
speaker was Wm. Howard
Frankland, chairman of the
board of First National
Bank.
Read about Howard Frankland
and the bridge named for him.
By mid-July
1972, the steel framing was
complete and the bronze and
anodized aluminum panels
were being hung with windows
installed in between.
At the top, a crane is
placing 7,500 lb. concrete
slabs which would match the
pre-cast marble faced panels
that would surround the
seven parking floors at the
bottom.
FLORIDA'S
TALLEST BUILDING, FOR NOW
The tower would be 7 feet
taller than a building under
construction in Miami, but
one breaking ground in
Jacksonville will be 40
stories and 7 feet taller
than the First Financial
Tower.
VIPs given a view from the top by
Bill Watson of Watson & Co. architects and engineers
of the building.
Left to right: Bank president E.P. "Pen" Taliaferro,
VP Mrs. Nancy Ford, director Charles P. Lykes, Bill
Watson.
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Oct. 29, 1972 -
Tampa Tribune - HELICOPTER PAD
First Financial has included a helicopter landing pad in the
contruction of its 36-story downtown office and bank building "just
in case we ever decide to turn to the helicopters" according to a
spokesman
Dec. 1, 1972
- Tampa Tribune - Buildings found "wanting" in
fire protection
"Wanting" in the fire protection sense, is keyed to
a lack of overhead, automatic interior sprinkler
systems activated by heat. The head of a
presidential commission on fire prevention, Richard
E. Bland, said yesterday that if states refuse to
require sprinklers in skyscrapers, the federal
government should "because there is no other
reliable way to fight such a fire."
Only one of the new
buildings in the central business area of Tampa,
including the First Financial Tower, under
construction, have such systems. And while
some of the older buildings do have sprinkler
systems, they have substandard fire escape systems,
including Tampa City Hall.
The First Financial
Tower will have a sprinkler system only on the 7th
floor, where computers are housed. The Barnett
Bank, downtown Holiday Inn, Exchange National Bank,
Marine Bank and the Federal Building, do not have
such systems. Only the General Telephone
building, in both its old and new sections, has an
interior extinguishing system.
Dec. 17, 1972 -
Tampa Tribune - Major tenants moving in
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TAMPA
EYESORE: THE EARLY TIMES
WHISKEY BOTTLE WATER TANK
Negotiations with the owner,
Samuel C. Florman of Scarsdale, NY, were finally
successful in removing the tank.
HISTORY OF THE BOURBON BOTTLE WATER
TANK
Known as the "Knight & Wall" water
tank, they didn't own it, they only
advertised on it. The Knight & Wall
hardware store was located on the
southwest corner of Lafayette and
Tampa streets. This 1922 photo
is the earliest that shows a water
tank. The original water tank was
built before 1915.
This 1915 Sanborn Fire Insurance map from the Univ. of
Florida map collection shows the 30,000 gal. tank existed in
1915.
It was 86 feet above ground level. The 1931 map shows the
same structure.
Apr. 29, 1924 - The Knight
& Wall water tank behind the Rinaldi Printing Co. on the 100
block of Lafayette St..
Knight and Wall Company seen at far left.
1948-07-07 PA 11086 Lafayette Hotel
Jul. 7, 1948 - Before it became a whiskey bottle, the Knight &
Wall water tank advertised their Seminole brand paint products.
On Sep. 1, 1950, the
conversion of the tank to a 50-ft. tall Early Times bourbon
bottle was
spectacularly unveiled and uncorked above a large crowd at noon.
May 28, 1953 - Workmen on the big bourbon bottle.
Apr. 20, 1956 -
The Lafayette Hotel, 120 West Lafayette Street, in
foreground, and Early Times water tank in
background.
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Jan. 30 1973 - Tampa Tribune -
Madison Street to open in 6 weeks
In late Jan. 1973 VP of First
National Bank announced plans to
reopen the blocks of Madison St.
between Franklin St. and Ashley
Dr.in 6 weeks, which had been closed
for a year due to construction of
the tower. Although most of the
trailers and other construction
equipment had been moved off the
street, utility companies were still
working under the street surface.
A new sidewalk would be poured and
once utility installations were
completed, the bank hoped to open by
March to be ready for the first
tenant, Merrill Lynch, a brokerage
firm. The city also planned to
repave Madison St. from Ashley to
its terminus at Pierce St sometime
in 1973. The street was
already in poor condition before the
tower construction, and traffic
signals kept vehicles at a low rate
of speed.
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WOLF BROS.
STORE IN THE FORMER CITIZENS
BANK BUILDING
The Citizens Bank & Trust was
the first to fold due to the run
on the banks in mid-1929. When
the bank vacated their ground
and lower floors at the
northwest corner of Zack and
Franklin streets, and the
furnishings removed for
liquidation, the Wolf
brothers moved their clothing
store from 808 Franklin St.
to the corner space on the
ground floor of the building in
early 1935.
Read about Mayor Frecker's
grandchildren in their legal
battle to recover the trust
funds their father set up for
them at Citizens Bank.
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Dec. 16, 1934 -
Tampa Tribune
Space has been leased to Wolf Bros in the vacated
Citizens Bank bldg. Now it was referred to as
a "12-story building." Sometimes it's erroneously
referred to as a 14-story building.
CITIZENS BANK LOBBY, June 21, 1932
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In late March 1935 the Tribune
announced that Wolf Bros. and Hale Drug Co. were opening the
next day in their new quarters on the ground floor of the former
Citizens Bank building. Wolf Bros. would occupy the south
half, and the drugstore in the north half. The Wolf store would
have a boys department on the mezzanine, a tailor shop on the
2nd floor, and storage in the basement. An innovative
feature was air conditioning and indirect "daylight" lights.
THE WOLF BROTHERS STORY OF SUCCESS
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THE 1925 ADDITION
OF TWO FLOORS TO THE CITIZENS BANK
BUILDING
In Jan. 1925 Citizens
Bank president Dr. L. A. Bize
announced plans to add two stories
to the bank building. The plans were
being being designed by Francis J.
Kennard, a prolific architect of
many prominent buildings in Tampa,
Florida. The public buildings he
designed were often in the
Neoclassical style. His work
includes Hillsborough High School on
Central Ave., St. Andrews
Episcopal Church, and the Centro
Espaņol de Tampa in the French
Renaissance Revival style with
influences from Moorish Revival and
Spanish Mediterranean Revival.
Kennard also designed many of the
cigar factories in Tampa, West Tampa
and Ybor City, along with other
buildings.
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Citizens Bank building began life with 10-story
design, seen here in Jan. 1920. At far right
can be seen the turret of the former home of
Citizens Bank.
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The construction of
two more floors began in April 1925 with G. A.
Miller as general contractor. New express elevators
would be added and the upper floors would have 41
offices. The construction was expected to cost
$40k.
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The Tribune presents the life of steel beam
construction workers to Tampans as "Thrills Aplenty."
But there were no thrills for this unfortunate
worker, Ed McRae, who plummeted to his death from the 11th
floor.
Citizens
Bank building new 12-story design, May 11, 1926
Construction was completed by Dec. 1925.
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THE WOLF BROTHERS STORY
Morris C. Wolf and Fred W. Wolf were born
in 1871 and 1873, respectively, in
Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. In 1883 they came to the
America with their parents, Joseph Wolf and Johanna
Maria Koch Wolf,
locating in Louisville, KY. When Morris was 12 he secured a position in
a clothing store at Greenville, Ohio, owned by his uncle,
Michael Wolf of Cincinnati. His compensation was $1.50 per week,
besides board and clothes. He spent a year and a half at
this concern, and though he did not profit monetarily,
he gained valuable experience. For the ensuing 8 years he
was in Louisville, KY, variously employed, but chiefly
as a clerk in the dry goods store of his uncle Samuel
Jacobs.
In 1893 Morris came to Tampa, where
his brother Fred had preceded him in 1889. The brothers
were familiar with Tampa due to their father having
spent some time here for the benefit of the weather for
his health. Fred had spent some time in school and
graduated as a clerk in a store.
After Morris' arrival
in Tampa, the brothers were employed with their
brothers-in-law, the Maas brothers, until 1898
when Morris Wolf resigned and embarked in business for
himself with the scant capital of $200. His location
was half of a small business room near the corner of
Franklin & Lafayette streets near Tibbett's Corner. On Feb. 17, 1899
he moved to the next door and in March of the same year,
Fed Wolf resigned from Maas Brothers and entered into
partnership with his brother. This was the beginning of
the prosperous business of Wolf Brothers. In March of
1899, they moved to fine quarters at 808-810 Franklin
St. where they sold men's fine clothing and
furnishings until they moved into the former home of
Citizens Bank in March 1935.
WOLF BROTHERS STOREFRONT AT 808
FRANKLIN ST., 1932
The Wolf brothers and sisters, 1917
L to R: Morris Wolf, Martha Wolf Loeb, Jenny Wolf
Strauss, Julia Wolf Cohen, Philabena Wolf Maas, Fred
Wolf
Philabena "Bena" Maas was the wife of Abe Maas of Maas
Bros.
Read more about the Wolf brothers and their store here at TampaPix
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FIRST NATIONAL BANK MOVES INTO NEW
TOWER
On Nov. 29, 1973, First
National Bank announced they would be closing at 2pm on
Nov. 30 to prepare to move into their new facilities in
the First Financial Tower. They planned to reopen
at 9:30am on Monday, Dec. 3 Drive-in and walk-up
windows would continue to operate as normal in the old
building. |
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1974-09-10 Tampa Times - Time capsule sealed
Howard Frankland photo courtesy of A History of Tampa,
etc., by Karl Grismer
Learn more about Howard Frankland and the bridge named in his honor.
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Oct.
1973 - UPPER FLOORS OF CITIZENS BANK BUILDING BADLY DAMAGED BY
FIRE
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Despite the fire damage to the upper floors, Wolf
Brothers reopened their store in the Citizens Bank building in 1974.
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July
1, 1977 Tampa
Tribune
First Financial name changed to First
Florida
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July 21, 1977
Wolf bros. may move to vacant First National bank
lobby.
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Wolf Brothers moved into
the old First National Bank building in Nov. 1977.
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Tibbetts selling apples in front of
their confectionery, 1890s.
Read
about Tibbett's corner. |
Tibbetts
ad in the 1899 Tampa City Directory shows
two locations. |
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FIRST NATIONAL BANK CONTINUED
LYKES BROS. BUYS FIRST NATIONAL BANK BUILDING
These photos from
the USF
Digital Commons, Sape Zylstra collection show the FNB building from
the corner of Franklin and Madison streets circa late 1980s or early
1990s when the Wolf
Brothers store occupied the first floor. The new "First Financial tower" can be seen in the
first photo. The 42-story Barnett Bank tower was
completed in 1986.
1991-03-19 TRIB Lykes may move from Lykes bldg to FF
tower
Companies
to move into the First Florida tower
were Lykes Bros., a holding company; the
Lykes owned Peoples Gas System Inc; and
MacFarlane Ferguson Allison & Kelly, a
law firm in which various members of the
Lykes family are or have been involved.
All of the firms were currently in the
1927-vintage, 13-story Lykes Building,
originally called the First National
Bank Building.
LYKES TELLS WOLF
BROS TO MOVE OUT OF FNB-LYKES
BLDG.
BANK BUILDING & TAMPA GAS BUILDING TARGETED FOR
DEMOLITION
Architect Sol Fleischman Jr*.,
member of Tampa's Architectural Review Commission,
vows he won't allow demolition.
*He was a son of WTVT Channel 13's outdoors
anchorman "Salty" Sol Fleischman.
Tampa City Council holds meeting
to hear from preservationists and the Lykes Bros
corp.
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TAMPA GAS COMPANY BUILDING HISTORY
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Mar. 14,
1896 - TAMPA TRIBUNE - The
Tampa Gas Co. moves from
the old brick Exchange
Bank buildinginto the Roberts bldg. on Fla. Ave.
Sep. 29,
1895 - TAMPA TRIBUNE -
The first
mention of the Roberts building described it as "new" when
Prof. R. N. Hadley announced his Tampa University
business college was to be located there in "elegant
quarters.".
Jul. 1, 1896 - THE WEEKLY TRIBUNE
Roberts building located
at corner of Florida Ave. & Zack St.
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April 2, 1901 -
TAMPA TRIBUNE - TAMPA GAS
REMODELS OFFICES IN ROBERTS BUILDING
The article is incorrect
about a Twiggs St. front. The
Roberts building fronted Zack St.
and did not extend anywhere near Twiggs
St. as can bee seen on the 1903 Sanborn
map.
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Dec.
30, 1911 TAMPA GAS
CO. MOVES TO
201
Madison St, corner
of Tampa St.
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In
the late spring of 1915
Tampa Gas Co. began
remodeling their
headquarters by adding more
storefront windows along
Tampa St. |
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July 1, 1915 - The newly remodeled Tampa Gas
building,
PA 1283
SEE THIS PHOTO MUCH LARGER
- When it opens, click it again to see it full size.
This building was built between
1903 and 1911. In 1903 only a stable occupied
the property.
Notice the Tampa Board of Trade used the 2nd floor
of the building. The Board of Trade sign is visible
at the far left in the above larger image.
Yellow is wood frame, an X denotes a stable.
Pink is brick, blue is stone. The green is frame
special and was a book bindery.
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FEB 6, 1930 -
TAMPA GAS CO ANNOUNCES PLANS
FOR A NEW BUILDING |
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The new building would be built on
the site of the present building which was to be
demolished. The old building was not more than
32 years old, as it was built no earlier than 1903.
It was no more than 27 years old. Local
architect M. Leo Elliot was the architect. The
new building was to be four stories and bids were to
be obtained for construction.
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TAMPA GAS BLDG,
March 1930 - PA 5463
The last days of the
first Tampa Gas building.
The Bay View Hotel was built by German immigrant
Robert Mugge, a successful liquor dealer and
business entrepreneur. The building to the lower
right of it was the Greeson Theater.
Showroom window
signage shows "WE WILL MOVE TO 510 TAMPA
ST. MONDAY MARCH 10TH"
It was to be their temporary location
while this building was demolished and
replaced with a new one.
SEE THIS PHOTO MUCH LARGER
- When it opens, click it again to see
it full size.
Mar. 19, 1931 - The brand new Tampa Gas Co.
building on the southeast corner of Madison (on the
left) and Tampa streets.
State-of-the art gas appliances can be seen on the
showroom floor through the windows.
Notice the ornate entrance at far right of the
building and the First National Bank building on the
left.
SEE THIS PHOTO MUCH LARGER
- When it opens, click it again to see
it full size.
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TAMPA GAS BLDG, Jan. 21, 1931 - ORNATE ENTRANCE
AT 415 TAMPA ST.
SEE THIS PHOTO MUCH LARGER
- When it opens, click it again to see
it full size.
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Tampa Gas
Co. building, Jan. 30, 1948
SEE THIS PHOTO MUCH LARGER
- When it opens, click it again to see
it full size.
Mar. 1, 195
TAMPA GAS CO. BLDG
SEE THIS PHOTO MUCH LARGER
- When it opens, click it again to see
it full size.
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LYKES BROS.
BATTLE WITH CITY AND PRESERVATIONISTS
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HISTORIC TAMPA GAS BUILDING IS THE FIRST
TO GO
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JULY 2,
1993
Cranes are
used in the demolition of the old Tampa
Gas Co. building at Madison and Tampa
streets. The gas company building,
and the adjacent First National Bank
building that is set to be torn down
next week, are owned by the Lykes Bros.
Inc. The structures were the focus
of a battle between the company and
preservationists who had tried to block
the company's plans to destroy the
buildings.
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FIRST NATIONAL BANK
BUILDING CLOCK SPARED
The only
clock at the southern end of the
HARTLine Marion St. Transit Parkway is
shown at left in this photo taken by
TampaPix in 2009. Three clocks can
be seen (one on the right side face, on
edge) and there are probably six clocks,
one on each face.
Although
the Roman numerals appear as they did on
the First National Bank clock, the hands
are different and obviously only one
could be the actual FNB clock, if it
survived for 16 years.
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Late
1980s/early 1990s when Wolf Brothers was
there. |
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The two Marion St. clocks in the
above photo lack the marble face seen on the First National Bank clock below.
Dec. 2, 1926
Sept. 4, 1958
VACANT
BLOCK OFFERED FOR A PARK
FIRST FLORIDA TOWER RENAMED
PARK TOWER
Gaslight Park and the Park Tower
on Madison Street in 2025. Google street view.
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