Wachovia
Wachovia Corporation began on June 16, 1879 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the Wachovia National Bank. The bank was co-founded by James Alexander Gray and William Lemly. In 1911, the bank merged with Wachovia Loan and Trust Company, "the largest trust company between Baltimore and New Orleans", which had been founded on June 15, 1893. Wachovia grew to become one of the largest banks in the Southeast partly on the strength of its accounts from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which was also headquartered in Winston-Salem. On December 12, 1986, Wachovia purchased First Atlanta. Founded as Atlanta National Bank on September 14, 1865, and later renamed to First National Bank of Atlanta, this institution was the oldest national bank in Atlanta. This purchase made Wachovia one of the few companies with dual headquarters: one in Winston-Salem and one in Atlanta. In 1991, Wachovia entered the South Carolina market by acquiring South Carolina National Corporation, founded as the Bank of Charleston in 1834. In 1998, Wachovia acquired two Virginia-based banks, Jefferson National Bank and Central Fidelity Bank. In 1997, Wachovia acquired both 1st United Bancorp and American Bankshares Inc, giving its first entry into Florida. In 2000, Wachovia made its final purchase, which was Republic Security Bank.
8 West Third Street
8 West Third Street is a 126 ft nine-story skyscraper in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, also known as the Wachovia Bank and Trust Company Building. It was built in 1911 as the headquarters of Wachovia Bank and Trust, with the ninth floor added in 1917. It was Winston-Salem's first steel frame skyscraper, built in the Renaissance Revival style, and it was the city's tallest building from 1911 until the O'Hanlon Building was built in 1915, and again from 1917 until the completion of Hotel Robert E. Lee in 1921. The Wachovia Bank and Trust Company Building served as the bank's headquarters until a new headquarters was built in 1966. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 1984, as "Wachovia Bank and Trust Company Building".