The Exchange National Bank had been in Tampa almost as long as Tampa had been around. Opening its doors in 1894 on the corner of Franklin and Twiggs streets, it claimed to have $100,000.00, “The largest capital of any bank south of Jacksonville.” The original two-story building was demolished in 1922, and this neoclassical building was constructed. The granite wall sections were brought to the site by mule teams and raised into their positions by steam derricks and winches.

The bank navigated its way through the Great Depression and thrived for decades. In 1979, it changed its name to the Exchange Bank and Trust Company of Florida, and in 1983, it became part of NCNB National Bank. The Wilson Company purchased the entire 600 block of Franklin St. and renamed it the Franklin Exchange. In 2000, they began a multi-million-dollar refurbishment of the buildings and reopened the granite Exchange Bank building as The Vault, an event space.

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