Florida’s oldest surviving bank building has re-opened to the public. The Union Bank’s restoration is complete and the building welcomed its first returning visitors Saturday.
The pale blue columned building sits just across the street from the Historic old capital. It started its life as a bank in 1833, but failed twice. It was first a bank for plantation farmers then served formerly enslaved people. From then to now, it’s been a bit of everything.
“In the 1920s Willis Jiles founded a shoe business in the building that served elite clientele—Black and white. It was also several women-owned businesses, a dance studio a beauty parlor. It was a building that housed women’s service organizations [like] the Tallahassee Service League and the Junior League,” said Michelle Hern, Senior Curator for the Florida Museum of History.
“It was a civic defense store, the gas company and even Grambling’s Feed Company. It [Grambling's] was founded in this building in 1915…so our whole history can be told through this building because it’s been in our community for 200 years,” she said.
Grambling’s closed in 2019.
The Union Bank barely survived a move to its current location in the 1970s, and at one point it was in such bad shape the state wanted to demolish it. But it’s always had supporters and with that support—and lots of money—it was restored.
The most recent refurbishment sees the bank’s gorgeous hardwood floors again gleaming, and its stately windows, outlined in delicate painting trim, looming tall with pride. There are also new exhibits that mirror the evolution of Florida’s capitol city, and county.
“[It’s] how our history changed from a building built for the few…to a being museum with accessibility open to all, shows how we’ve gone from an exclusive society to a mode inclusive society and actually shows our evolution,” said Hern.
The museum is now open to visitors Thursday-Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Curators are seeking stories from local residents who remember the Union Bank in all its iterations, and at its prior locations.
