A quick summary if you don't know the history of this building.: The Glass Bank was built in 1961 and featured a modern glass facade. Concrete has been added as the glass design was a nightmare in hurricane season, and a penthouse has been constructed on top- a rather strange penthouse with no windows, owned and lived in by a Mr. Frank Wolfe. He lived in the penthouse long after the rest of the building was abandoned, until he was forced out by the city. He later committed suicide right in front of the building. Btpp and I met up with Reptile, who has been in the Glass Bank multiple times before, to explore the building.
The structure feels almost like a building within a building. I didn't get any pics of the first floor because we were visible to people on the street there and had to find a way up in a hurry, but it looked like your typical bank lobby.
I found some information about the upper floor here being extended without a permit, and now has to be supported by these poles.
A room with old monitors. There were old computers on the floor as well.
An old time clock.
The 3rd floor was home to a gym, this was the only equipment that was still intact.
A locker room/shower room. Surprisingly, this was the men's room despite the pink tiling.
Found a vinyl, Chuck Mangione.
This was one of the offices in which we found possessions belonging to Frank Wolfe himself.
And this was a larger office that was probably Mr. Wolfe's main office.
This was so cool- Reptile did some digging in the office closet and found Frank Wolfe's college degrees. We put it back in the closet after so that hopefully it wouldn't get trashed by any other visitors. The place is slated for demolition though...
It felt really odd seeing Mr. Wolfe's family photos on and around his desk. These were personal effects of a man we never met, who had a strong attachment to this building (the fact he killed himself right in front of it speaks to that) and here we are uninvited, looking at his family photos in his private office.
A chair outside his office, with more family photos.
The 5th floor, what Reptile called "the nature floor" was by far the most destroyed. There were birds living in here, and one corner was full of plant life.
The vines (Or fern, as I was corrected on reddit) coming from the ceiling looked so surreal. I found the source of them to be a plant growing in one corner of the roof of the building.
I like to take pictures of chairs...
This Santa used to reside in the penthouse. There was also an alcove where Mr. Wolfe would set up a Christmas village. He apparently liked decorating for Christmas.
Life goes on outside.
Sun is going down, time to check out the penthouse.
These were the stairs up to the penthouse. There was an express elevator added to the building that went direct to the penthouse that Mr. Wolfe would have used instead of these stairs. I didn't realize I took so few pictures up there, I guess I was just too amazed.
I didn't get the most artsy pictures up here but at least they show the place.
Fireplace built into a mountain.
These stairs led up to a balcony, and then further on to his bedroom and bathroom.
This kitchen had cool retro styling and a mirrored ceiling.
Thanks for reading, btpp will be posting his pictures here soon.
One of the coolest locations I've seen here in a while. Really cool how so much of the stuff is still there/intact; I'd expect a couple of those tapes to have gone missing at the very least.
Really enjoyed these sets of pics Guys! What an interesting look into the life of Mr. Wolfe. All the personal effects and strange penthouse. Cool and amazing!
A place of Mystery is Always worth a curiosity trip!
Wolfe has only been dead about six months...either he was living in complete squalor (which is most likely) or his penthouse deteriorated very quickly.
Ever since I heard about this place I have wanted to see that penthouse but was unable to find any good pictures of it, however I did come across this news video from 2009 that tells a little of the story and shows what the penthouse looked like when it was in mint condition. For anyone who has ever been interested in this building I think you'll enjoy this video...
I wonder if he stayed in that penthouse in the dark or if it had power after the bank was abandoned? Odd to not have any windows, but I guess you don't need them when you create mountains in your living room
a couple of friends and i actually got inside the penthouse, thinking it was unoccupied only for me to set my tripod down, look up and see the back of frank wolfe's head as he sat in front of the tv in his chair...true story
Posted by nomeus a couple of friends and i actually got inside the penthouse, thinking it was unoccupied only for me to set my tripod down, look up and see the back of frank wolfe's head as he sat in front of the tv in his chair...true story
That's crazy! How long ago was that? What happened in there when he noticed you, if he did?
jan 2012... as soon as i looked up and notice there was someone there, i froze in a panic. all of a sudden, for whatever reason, he turned the volume on the tv off. i started walking backwards across that little bridge and we all bailed out onto the roof and down those stairs. we had setup a ladder on the staircase to reach that high door leading onto the roof.
Posted by btpp Since The Glass Bank is slated to be demolished VERY soon, we revisited the location with Adam The Woo and decided to film a cinamatic video.
Ethics
