Landmark: Cathedral Place office building

A year after the Bridge of Lions was opened; the first and last skyscraper was built in St. Augustine in 1928.

The six-story building, plus mezzanine, located at 24 Cathedral Place was originally constructed to house the First National Bank.

First National Bank was succeeded by Exchange Bank of St. Augustine, then purchased by Jacksonville-based Atlantic National Bank of Florida in 1987, purchased again in 1998 by First Union National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina, then in 2001, First Union announced it would merge with Winston-Salem based Wachovia Corporation, and, most recently, sold to Wells Fargo and Company in a deal that was completed on December 31, 2008.

The last year the building was owned by a bank was 1992 when it was owned by FNB Properties Inc – a subsidiary of First Union National Bank.

The building is currently owned by Virtu-Cathedral Associates, LLC., John W. Green, Managing Member.

Although commonly referred to by the name of whatever bank was operating in the lobby, at one time it was also known as the Espinosa-Sanchez Building.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News staff photographer