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39-540: Samuel Hubbard's Mercantile Exchange Bank eventually became Florida National Bank after Jacksonville's Great Fire of 1901 . Millionaire Alfred I. du Pont acquired a major interest in the FNB shortly after moving to Jacksonville in the mid-1920s, but he was unable to gain control until the Great Depression struck in 1929. The FNB stayed solvent throughout the 1930s because du Pont put $ 15 million of his own money into

78-539: A Florida flair. Buildings designed by Klutho were Dyal-Upchurch Building (1902), Carnegie Library (1905), Bisbee Building (1909), Morocco Temple (1910), and the Florida Baptist Building (1924). While many of Klutho's buildings were demolished or abandoned by the 1980s, several of his creations remain, including his most prominent work, the St. James Building . The Jacksonville City Hall currently uses

117-651: A coffee shop. Great Fire of 1901 The Great Fire of 1901 was a conflagration that occurred in Jacksonville, Florida , on May 3, 1901. It was one of the worst disasters in Florida history and the third largest urban fire in the U.S., next to the Great Chicago Fire , and the 1906 San Francisco fire . In 1901, Jacksonville was a city which consisted mainly of wooden buildings with wood shingled roofs. The city itself had been suffering under

156-501: A corporate reorganization in 1968, a predecessor of First Union National Bank and First Union Mortgage Corporation, the mortgage banking firm acquired in 1964 became subsidiaries of First Union Corp creating the structure the bank utilized until the 2001 merger. Starting in 1985, with the Supreme Court decision upholding regional interstate banking legislation, First Union focused on an aggressive growth strategy. From 1985 through

195-433: A few buckets of water, as they had frequently done on similar occasions. However, the blaze was soon out of control due to the wind picking up out of the east. A brisk northwest wind fanned the flames, which "spread from house to house, seemingly with the rapidity that a man could walk". In eight hours, the fire burned 146 city blocks, destroyed more than 2,367 buildings, and left almost 10,000 residents homeless, including

234-502: A prolonged drought, leaving the building exteriors across the city dry and fire-prone. At around noon on Friday, May 3, 1901, workers at the Cleaveland Fibre Factory, located on the corner of Beaver and Davis Streets, left for lunch. Several minutes later, sparks from the chimney of a nearby building started a fire in a pile of Spanish moss that had been laid out to dry. First, factory workers tried to put it out with

273-428: A revised merger plan between FNB and Chemical Bank in 1984. However, at the time, interstate banking acquisitions were prohibited by Federal law and required state legislative approval. With the 1990 deadline running out for its option to buy FNB and no sign of state legislative approval, Chemical Bank sold their 4.9% interest to First Union Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina for $ 115 million. On March 7, 1989, it

312-504: A specialist in home equity loans known for its commercials featuring Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Phil Rizutto and pitcher Jim Palmer . Two years later, it closed the unit, writing off $ 1.7 billion in losses. On April 16, 2001, First Union announced it would merge with Wachovia. This was viewed with great surprise by the financial press and security analysts. While Wachovia had been viewed as an acquisition candidate after running into problems with earnings and credit quality in 2000,

351-520: A takeover bid in 1980, which the FNB board rejected. That same year, a group of foreign investors from Chile, Venezuela, Canada and south Florida sought 40% ownership and control of FNB. FNB filed suit in circuit court and the group was enjoined from acquiring more than 25% of the bank holding company's outstanding shares. However, Florida National revealed in 1981 that it was willing to permit acquisition by Chemical Banking Corporation of New York City after laws preventing interstate banking were lifted. At

390-495: Is the case. The only existing pre-Fire real estate records are title abstracts saved by Title and Trust, a title company that still charges for their use. New York City architect Henry John Klutho helped rebuild the city. He and other architects, enamored by the " Prairie Style " of architecture then being popularized by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago and other Midwestern cities, designed exuberant local buildings with

429-701: The Bank of North America , the first bank chartered in the United States. Once the merger finalized, First Union claimed 1781 as its founding date. It continued to operate The Bank of North America's first branch at 6th and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia , which opened in 1782. It is now the longest continuously operated branch in the nation, and is part of Wells Fargo through multiple subsequent mergers. The acquisition of CoreStates brought problems. Many of these arose when First Union attempted to integrate

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468-594: The City of Jacksonville purchased the building from First States Investors in February, 2006 for $ 23 million. Less than two blocks from city hall, it was designated the City Hall Annex. The Building & Planning department relocated there. After a $ 1.3 million, 2012 renovation, additional city departments moved into the upper floors. Ground floor building tenants include a VyStar Credit Union , Quiznos and

507-930: The 55-story First Union Financial Center in downtown Miami became the Wachovia Financial Center . The merger also affected the names of the indoor professional sports arenas in Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . Formerly known as the First Union Center and the First Union Spectrum, both in Philadelphia, and First Union Arena in Wilkes-Barre, they became the Wachovia Center , Wachovia Spectrum , and Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza , respectively. In 2010, following Wachovia's merger into Wells Fargo ,

546-603: The Afro-American Insurance Association, the first insurance company in the state. It is said the glow from the flames could be seen in Savannah , Georgia, and the smoke plumes in Raleigh , North Carolina. James Weldon Johnson , principal of a local school claimed, however, that firemen tried to save the fire from spreading to a white neighborhood, allowing black parts of town to burn down in

585-710: The CoreStates and First Union computer systems too rapidly. Initially, CoreStates’ tellers received insufficient training with the new First Union systems and the two systems were unable to communicate with each other. This led to problems with account access and payments not correctly applied to loans. First Union acquired Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. on April 30, 1998 adding to its merger and acquisition , high yield , leveraged finance , equity underwriting , private placement , loan syndication , risk management , and public finance capabilities. On June 30, 1998, First Union paid $ 2.1 billion for The Money Store ,

624-620: The Federal Reserve Board issued a preliminary determination that the du Pont Trust had retained enough stock that would allow the trust to continue to exert some control over the bank. Ball was forced to sell the trust's remaining shares and resign as chairman of FNB. However, the du Pont Trust owned a significant block of Charter stock, and the close personal relationship between Mason and Ball still allowed some indirect control. Miami -based Southeast Banking Corporation (SBC), Florida's largest bank holding company, targeted FNB with

663-637: The First Union deal, rejecting SunTrust's attempts to elect a new board of directors for Wachovia and ending SunTrust's hostile takeover attempt. Another issue concerned each bank's credit card division. In April 2001, Wachovia agreed to sell its $ 8 billion credit card portfolio to Bank One . The cards, which would have still been branded as Wachovia, would have been issued through Bank One's First USA division. First Union sold its credit card portfolio to MBNA in August 2000. After entering into negotiations,

702-649: The First Union systems, now using the Wachovia name. The company first began converting systems in the southeast United States, where both banks had branches, before moving to the Northeast, where First Union branches only had to change their signs to reflect the new company name and logo. This process ended on August 18, 2003, almost two years after the merger took place. When First Union bought Wachovia, Charlotte's One , Two , and Three First Union buildings became One, Two, and Three Wachovia Center (respectively), and

741-820: The St. James Building. Local charity Fresh Ministries recently restored the Klutho Apartments, in Springfield , and converted them into office space for the Community Development Corporation's Operation New Hope. Jacksonville has one of the largest collections of Prairie Style buildings (particularly residences) outside the Midwest. 30°20′03″N 81°40′03″W  /  30.3342°N 81.6674°W  / 30.3342; -81.6674 First Union First Union Corporation

780-427: The bank added Cameron-Brown company, a mortgage banking and insurance firm. First Union Corporation was incorporated in 1967. In February 1968, Cameron-Brown Co., a $ 10 billion mortgage banker created in 1955 from the merger of Fidelity Bond & Mortgage Co. started in 1946 in Raleigh and Brown-Hamel Mortgage Co. of Greensboro , changed its name to First Union Mortgage Corp. to match its parent company. As part of

819-625: The deal appeal to investors, SunTrust argued that it would provide a smoother transition than First Union and offered a higher cash price for Wachovia stock than First Union. Wachovia's board of directors rejected SunTrust's offer and supported the merger with First Union. SunTrust continued its hostile takeover attempt, leading to a bitter battle over the summer between SunTrust and First Union. Both banks increased their offers for Wachovia, took out newspaper ads, mailed letters to shareholders, and initiated court battles to challenge each other's takeover bids. On August 3, 2001, Wachovia shareholders approved

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858-472: The entire eleven story edifice. The corporate offices of the group were housed in the upper floors and the bank's principal location was on the ground floor. Ed Ball also kept his personal office there for managing the du Pont Trust. After Ball's death, the structure was renamed the Edward Ball Building . Congress forced the du Pont Trust to divest itself of banking interests when they withdrew

897-430: The institution to cover Bank runs . During the early 1930s, six other Florida National Banks were opened throughout Florida, including Lakeland and Bartow; Alfred's wife, Jessie Ball du Pont was named a director of the bank. When Alfred du Pont died in 1935, the du Pont Trust, managed by Ed Ball , Jessie du Pont's brother, continued to control the bank. Growth continued with the acquisition of many more Florida banks over

936-652: The largest financial holding companies in the U.S. As of the end of 2000, First Union had over $ 171 billion of total assets, over 70,000 employees and 2,193 branches. After their acquisition of Wachovia, they assumed the name and stock ticket symbol of the latter company. First Union Corporation was founded as Union National Bank on June 2, 1908, a small banking desk in the lobby of a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina , by H. M. Victor. The bank merged with First National Bank and Trust Company of Asheville in 1958 to become First Union National Bank of North Carolina. In 1964,

975-512: The loss of stature from losing a major corporate headquarters. First Union was concerned by the potential deposit attrition and customer loss in the city. First Union responded to these concerns by placing the wealth management and Carolinas-region headquarters in Winston-Salem. On May 14, 2001, SunTrust announced a rival takeover bid for Wachovia, the first hostile takeover attempt in the banking sector in many years. In its effort to make

1014-590: The majority of financial institution assets in South Carolina, something that had never happened in any state since regional banking began in 1986. In 1995, First Union acquired First Fidelity of Newark, New Jersey to expand to the Northeast . In April 1998, First Union acquired CoreStates Financial Corporation , headquartered in Philadelphia . At the time, this was the largest merger in U.S. banking history. CoreStates traced its history to 1781 and

1053-552: The merger with Wachovia in 2001, First Union completed over 90 banking-related acquisitions, 50 of which were completed between 1985 and 1995. Atlantic National Bank in Jacksonville, Florida , merged with First Union in 1985. In a deal announced in June 1992, First Union acquired South Carolina Federal Corp., making First Union the third largest bank in South Carolina by deposits, but also giving North Carolina-based banks

1092-523: The new Wachovia agreed to buy back its portfolio from Bank One in September 2001 and resell it to MBNA. Wachovia paid Bank One a $ 350 million termination fee . On September 4, 2001, First Union officially completed its purchase of Wachovia National Bank to formally become the newly named Wachovia Corporation. In order to prevent a repeat of the CoreStates problems, the new Wachovia phased the conversion of legacy Wachovia National Bank computer systems into

1131-806: The next two decades and became known as the Florida National Group , which was one of the strongest banks in the state. In size, the branches eventually numbered 185, second only in Florida to Barnett Bank . Ball built the Florida National Bank building at 214 North Hogan Street in Jacksonville in 1961. The structure was constructed using materials which would appreciate in value, such as marble floors and granite exteriors, but excluded items that Ball considered frills. There were no executive washrooms and no hot water faucets in

1170-411: The process: "We met many people fleeing. From them we gathered excitedly related snatches: the fiber factory catches afire - the fire department comes - fanned by a light breeze, the fire is traveling directly east and spreading out to the north, over the district where the bulk of Negroes in the western end of the city live - the firemen spend all their efforts saving a low row of frame houses just across

1209-507: The same time, C.A. Cavendes Sociedad Financiera, a Venezuelan investment company, announced that it had acquired 24.99 percent of the common stock of Florida National. In February, 1982, SBC sued to obtain an injunction against the merger in Federal court, citing contrary banking laws in both Federal and Florida codes. Florida National Bank countered with an antitrust suit against SBC. It was FNB's contention that if SBC were allowed to complete

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1248-407: The street on the south side of the factory, belonging to a white man named Steve Melton." Florida Governor William S. Jennings declared martial law in Jacksonville and dispatched several state militia units to help. Reconstruction began immediately, and the city was returned to civil authority on May 17. Seven human deaths were reported. St. Andrew's Episcopal Church , built of bricks in 1887,

1287-432: The suitor shocked analysts as many speculated that Wachovia would be sold to Atlanta-based SunTrust . As an important part of the deal, while First Union was the nominal survivor, the merged company would assume the Wachovia name and stock ticker symbol (though it retained First Union's pre-2001 stock price history). Analysts said this move was most likely to help First Union acquire a new identity, as Wachovia's reputation

1326-403: The takeover, commercial banking competition would be unlawfully reduced. In early 1983, Southeast Banking Corporation dropped its takeover attempt and agreed to exchange their 1.73 million FNB shares for 24 FNB branch offices, $ 5.7M in cash, a downtown Miami real estate parcel and other assets. This was during the time when Charter was going through a bankruptcy. The Federal Reserve Board approved

1365-611: The trust's 15-year exemption from the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 . The trust sold 34.7% ownership in Florida National Banks to Charter Company in 1971 for $ 42M, leaving the du Pont Trust with 24.9%, below the legal definition of a bank holding company. The CEO of Charter was Raymond Mason , a protégé of Ed Ball. Additionally, Ed Ball personally owned 6.4% of FNB and was executor of his sister's estate, which owned 4.5% of FNB. On July 9, 1973,

1404-639: Was a bank holding company that provided commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the eastern U.S . First Union also provided various other financial services, including mortgage banking, credit card, investment banking (First Union Securities), investment advisory, home equity lending, asset-based lending, leasing, insurance, international and securities brokerage services and private equity through First Union Capital Partners , and through other subsidiaries. In September 2001, First Union completed their acquisition of Wachovia National Bank to become Wachovia Corporation , which used to be one of

1443-570: Was far better with consumers than First Union. At the same time, Wachovia's name and corporate identity would survive. The deal met with skepticism and criticism. Analysts, remembering the problems with the CoreStates acquisition, were concerned First Union's ability to merge with another large company. Winston-Salem's citizens and politicians suffered a blow to their civic pride because the merged company would be based in Charlotte, home to First Union. City leaders were concerned both by job losses and

1482-420: Was revealed First Union would acquire the remainder of FNB. The transaction, valued at $ 849 million, was consummated the following year. Wachovia sold the Florida National Bank building at 214 North Hogan Street to First States Investors in September, 2004 for $ 23,234,071. The St. James Building became Jacksonville's City Hall in 1997, but it was too small to accommodate all departments. Needing more room,

1521-467: Was the only major church in the city to withstand the fire. The Duval County Courthouse and all its real estate records were destroyed in the fire. To this day real estate deeds in Duval County refer either to "the current public records of Duval County, Florida" or, if the records predate the fire, "the former public records of Duval County, Florida." It is the only county in Florida for which that

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