Saturday, July 06, 2019

Old Bethesda bank revealed behind Wells Fargo sign

Workers removed the Wells Fargo sign from a closed bank branch on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda, as the building is remodeled for an incoming Chase branch. Behind the sign was revealed an earlier bank tenant, First Fidelity Bank. That national bank, chartered in 1920, has been whittled down to Arizona and its home state of Oklahoma these days. But here we see evidence of its old branch in Bethesda.



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Chase will be power washing and chemically cleaning the white marble on the exterior. There are some nasty stains on the facade, mostly on the north side, likely caused by dirty water streaming down the face of the building at certain locations. These really make the otherwise pristine marble facade look very dirty. Although the design is a bit dated, the crisp and modern white marble building is still quite striking and iconic.

I also noticed that they removed the temporary ATM trailer from the parking lot. Maybe because they opened the new branch open at the 4749 Bethesda building with an 24/7 ATM lobby and multiple ATM machines.

Anna said...

First Fidelity Bank --> 1995: First Union Bank --> 2001: Wells Fargo Bank

Things I remember...because?....I have no idea why...but I do

BTW, this bank was part of First Fidelity of New Jersey. Don't think it had anything to do with the AZ/OK banks.

Anonymous said...

"BTW, this bank was part of First Fidelity of New Jersey. Don't think it had anything to do with the AZ/OK banks."

I'm surprised that Mr. Lifelong Resident of Montgomery County would make a stupid mistake like that. Oh, wait, I'm not surprised in the slightest.

Although you left out one previous owner - it was Wachovia between 2001 and 2008. Wachovia was one of the big financial institutions that failed in the economic collapse of 2008.

Anonymous said...

"First Fidelity Bank --> 1995: First Union Bank --> 2001"

Those names reminded me of First American Bank(shares), for which Willard Scott did those cute ads. Unfortunately it secretly owned by BCCI.

Anonymous said...

A fun trip down Memory Lane:

https://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2008/12/all-developers-are-not-creating-equal-i.html

Robert Dyer, December 2008: "I realize that I am often critical of developers on this website and in speeches I have given. Sometimes I hear from developers who disagree with my opinions. Some have asked if there are any development projects I like. In fact, there are some projects I believe are outstanding. They include...

"As outlandishly rich as the Collection at Chevy Chase is in these tough economic times, as a project it is a phenomenal success. Notice that, to my knowledge, it has no vacant condo/mixed use features. It is just an upscale shopping and dining center. (There ought to be free parking, though)."

Roald said...

Love getting some MoCo history on a Saturday!

Anna said...

BCCI? Bethesda Chevy Chase Illuminati?
j/k

Baloney Concrete said...

Wells Fargo in 2001 and not Wachovia first?

Anna said...

Yeah, I did. Ooops. Always hated that name. The gang in Asheville always called it "Watch over ya" ....blech...

2001 Wachovia (again, blech.)
2008 Wells Fargo.

Anonymous said...

Anna:
Just wait til you hear the new SunTrust/BB&T name...

Anna said...

OMG. Just looked it up, how did I miss that? Ick. Ack. Double blech.

Truist

Like the most true and trustworthy? Sheesh.