During the Great Depression in 1932, 1st
National Bank took over the Bank of Homestead,
which had folded. The vault door originally
from the safe in the Bank of Homestead on
4 South Krome Avenue, currently, the location
of the Homestead Police Station was kept
in storage.
The Yale Safe Company of Stamford, Connecticut
manufactured this particular door in 1870.
It is constructed from high tensile, solid
steel and weighs approximately 10,000 pounds.
As a comparison, vault doors manufactured
today weigh 4,800 pounds and are made of
composite materials and concrete.
The historically significant and completely
functional vault door is shown being installed
at the new 1st National Bank of South Florida
branch site, presently under construction.
The new bank is located at 9730 Fern Street
in Palmetto Bay and will be replacing their
existing branch at 17770 South Dixie Highway.
The vault door had been in storage for over
20 years.
The refurbishing process of the vault door
by Hamilton Safe Company took approximately
a week and a half to complete. Because of
its weight, size and design, the door had
to be installed with a 60-ton crane and
set down on a specially designed concrete
floor before the roof of the bank was put
on. |
