Locally nicknamed the Superman Building, your Industrial National Bank Building at 111 Westminster Street is also known as 55 Kennedy Plaza. Built in 1928 for the Industrial Trust Co. and designed by the New York firm Walker & Gillette, this towering landmark rises to 428 feet (130 m) with 26 floors. It remains the tallest building in Providence and the state of Rhode Island, and ranks as the 28th tallest in New England.
When it was completed, it stood several stories higher than the recently finished Biltmore Hotel nearby. Over the years it carried names like the Fleet Bank Tower and the Bank of America Building, and most recently the simple 111 Westminster. Locally you will hear it called the Superman Building, a nickname tied to its visual similarity to the Daily Planet headquarters as seen in The Adventures of Superman TV series of the 1950s.
The tower has sat vacant since Bank of America moved out in April 2013; a 2016 estimate put rehabilitation costs at $115 million, and requests for public financing were rejected in 2017. Work began in November 2023 to renovate the structure for residential use. Notice the 428-foot, 26-floor form looming above Kennedy Plaza and the downtown streets below it.