Union Bank Museum
219 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Admission to Union Bank Museum is free.
The Museum is open Thursday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Group tours are available by appointment. For more information or to schedule, call (850) 245-6400 or email [email protected].
Limited public parking is available immediately adjacent to Union Bank. Street parking and downtown public garages are also available nearby.
The Union Bank Museum is located at 219 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida 32301
About Union Bank
Built in 1841, the Union Bank is considered Florida’s oldest surviving bank building. Originally opened as a “planter’s bank” during the antebellum period, the building became home to the National Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company following Emancipation. Over the next century, the building housed numerous businesses and organizations, including a dance studio, shoe factory, church, youth center, beauty parlor, and state and county offices.
When the building became endangered due to development pressures, Tallahassee citizens organized a campaign to save it and, in April 1971, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In June 1971, the building’s owners, the Colonial Dames XVII Century, donated it to the State of Florida. Shortly afterwards, the bank was moved from its original location on South Adams Street to its current location near the Historic Capitol Museum. A committee was formed to raise money to match state funds for the building’s restoration. The building opened in 1984 as a museum and housed exhibits created by the Museum of Florida History and the Meek-Eaton Black Archives, Research Center, and Museum at Florida A&M University (MEBA).
The building was renovated and repaired by the Florida Department of State in 2023. With this most recent restoration completed, the Museum of Florida History, in partnership with MEBA, opened new museum exhibits in February 2024.
Visit the online Union Bank Exhibit to explore the history virtually.