BREVARD HISTORY: Watch – Cocoa Beach Landmark ‘The Glass Bank’ Was Demolished in 2015

By Space Coast Daily // May 15, 2023

Built in 1961 as a First Federal Savings and Loan

ABOVE VIDEO: Lakeland-based Crusader Demolition demolished Cocoa Beach’s landmark, “The Glass Bank,” building in 2015. Built in 1961 as a First Federal Savings and Loan. It was said at the time that the structure gave the city’s skyline a “modern look.”

BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA – Lakeland-based Crusader Demolition demolished Cocoa Beach’s landmark, “The Glass Bank” building in 2015.

Built in 1961 as a First Federal Savings and Loan, it was said at the time that the structure gave the city’s skyline a “modern look.”

The building was nicknamed “The Glass Bank” because the original structure’s exterior was entirely glass windows.

At that time, the top floor was occupied by “Ramon’s Rainbow Room,” a restaurant and nightclub which played host to national politicians, astronauts and Hollywood stars – and was known for its great food and atmosphere.

SERIOUS DISREPAIR AFTER 2004 HURRICANES

Longtime Cocoa Beach resident Frank Wolfe built a two-story penthouse on top of the original bank structure and lived there until his death in February 2014.

The building’s last tenants were Huntington Bank on the first floor, an Atlantic Nautilus fitness center on the upper floors and Wolfe who had built the penthouse atop of the building.

After falling into serious disrepair as a result of Hurricane Frances in 2004, the businesses on the bottom were forced to move out, but Wolfe remained. A legal battle ensued between Wolfe and the Glass Bank Condominium Association, which oversaw the rest of the building and wanted it torn down.

Despite the fact that the bottom half of the building was in disrepair, Wolfe’s penthouse was in immaculate condition. The City of Cocoa Beach became concerned with the lower floor’s broken windows, leaky roofing, mold and asbestos.

Local Girl Scouts at the 1960's Cocoa Beach Christmas Parade. Photo courtesy of Steve Kennedy and the Facebook Group "You Know You're from Cocoa Beach / Cape Canaveral if.." — Local Girl Scouts in front of the Glass Bank during the 1960’s Cocoa Beach Christmas Parade. (Photo courtesy of Steve Kennedy and the Facebook Group “You Know You’re from Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral if.”)

In the early days of The Glass Bank, the top floor was occupied by “Ramon’s Rainbow Room,” a restaurant and nightclub which played host to national politicians, astronauts and Hollywood stars – and was known for its great food and atmosphere.

According to the Brevard County Medical Examiner’s Office, Wolfe, 82, died from a self-inflicted gunshot on the Glass Bank property in front of his garage. — According to the Brevard County Medical Examiner’s Office, Frank Wolfe, 82, died from a self-inflicted gunshot on the Glass Bank property in front of his garage.

Following a year-long dispute about what to do with the building, a three-judge appellate court panel affirmed that Wolfe owed millions of dollars for assessments, fees and repairs to majority owner Joseph Yossifon.

In January 2014, the condo association signed an agreement with Cocoa Beach officials to let the city declare the structure a nuisance, demolish it, clear it, and then have the owners pay back the costs of the demolition within three years.

Wolfe rejected the proposal, but a court ruling in February of this year cleared the way for the association to begin foreclosure proceedings against Wolfe.

The day following the court hearing, Wolfe was found dead in front of the Glass Bank by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.