Est. 1927 · Tallahassee's tallest building at its 1928 opening · Designed by William Augustus Edwards (also designed FSU's Westcott Building) · National Register of Historic Places · Depression-era bank-run site (1932)
The Exchange Bank Building stands at the southeast corner of South Monroe Street and College Avenue at 201 South Monroe Street in downtown Tallahassee. According to its Wikipedia entry and the Gerald Ensley column in the Tallahassee Democrat, the five-story building was designed by South Carolina-based architect William Augustus Edwards, constructed in late 1927, and formally opened on March 3, 1928. It was the tallest building in Tallahassee at its opening and dominated the downtown skyline for decades.
The building was developed to house the Exchange Bank on its ground floor, with leased offices above. Edwards's design used Classical Revival elements consistent with his other Florida public-building work in the 1920s. The Florida Memory photographic collection contains multiple period and modern views of the building.
On August 30, 1932, during a Depression-era run on the bank, Exchange Bank founding president Cincinnatus L. 'C.L.' Mizell died by suicide in his office in the building. The 1932 date is documented in regional newspaper retrospectives, including the Gerald Ensley Tallahassee Democrat column reprinted by Yahoo News. We treat this event with editorial care: it is a documented historical tragedy from one of the most economically distressed years of the Great Depression, and we do not sensationalize it.
Following the bank's collapse, the building was sold and renamed at various points. It has been continuously occupied as office space since. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places and remains an active commercial property today. The first-floor banking space has hosted multiple successor tenants since 1932.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Bank_Building_(Tallahassee,_Florida)
- https://news.yahoo.com/gerald-ensley-exchange-building-still-101419674.html
- https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/241769
- https://visittallahassee.com/blog/tallahassee-haunted-history/
Reports of activity concentrated on the first floorSense of presence near the original bank lobby
According to Visit Tallahassee's 'Tallahassee Haunted History' feature and the Gerald Ensley Tallahassee Democrat retrospective on the building, the documented historical anchor for the building's ghost lore is the death by suicide of Exchange Bank founding president Cincinnatus L. 'C.L.' Mizell in his office on August 30, 1932, during a Depression-era run on the bank. Mizell's death is treated as a documented historical event in regional newspaper coverage.
Tour and tourism sources describe activity reportedly concentrated on the first floor — where the bank had operated — and attribute it to Mizell's presence. The published witness pool is small and is described in tourism and ghost-tour materials rather than investigation logs. We frame this as documented folklore tied to a real historical tragedy.
Editorial note (suicide sensitivity): this entry handles the Mizell event as a verifiable Depression-era historical tragedy rather than as a sensational ghost story. We do not romanticize or aestheticize the act. The lore is included because the historical record is clear and the person and date are documented; readers needing support can contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Notable Entities
Cincinnatus L. 'C.L.' Mizell (founding president of the Exchange Bank, died 1932)
Media Appearances
- Visit Tallahassee — Tallahassee Haunted History
- Gerald Ensley, Tallahassee Democrat (reprinted on Yahoo News)
