Broadway National Bank

Broadway National Bank of Tampa, 1701 East Broadway. 1958. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

Truist Bank, 1701 7th Avenue, Tampa, FL. 2022. © Chip Weiner

The Latin-American bank of Ybor City was established in 1930, and in 1937 was awarded a charter as a national bank and changed its name to Broadway National. It kept its location at 1702 Broadway (now 7th Ave) across the street from this building. Before it moved to this location at 1701 7th Ave, the popular Mecca Café stood here, followed by La America Spanish restaurant. In 1980, the Broadway National merged with Barnett Bank of Tampa, which merged with Bank of America/Nations Bank in the mid-1990s, and eventually into Sun Trust Bank. While the original marble facade is still there, the arched brick walkway covering the sidewalk was added after Broadway National merged. Following another merger between BB&T and SunTrust in late 2021, the bank switched names to Truist.

From Burgert Brothers: Look Again Vol. 2