Morris the "Glass Bank" Cat

The future had arrived in Cocoa Beach.

- Heidi Crabtree

The sun-drenched Floridian city was seeing businessmen, engineers, and secretaries outnumber its beachgoers. Tourists were coming not just to enjoy a quiet day on the hot sand, but also to see the hot fires of rockets as they soared over the coast. Stand anywhere and you could gaze, slack-jawed at a Redstone, Atlas, or Titan rocket shooting skyward into space. Later, you might enjoy a show at the Starlite Palladium or the Samoa ... enjoy fresh seafood at the Satellite Motel... or line up alongside astronauts for the famous "secret recipe" Caesar Salad at Ramon's Rainbow Room atop the "Glass Bank." Cocoa Beach was booming, in more ways than one.

Decades later, in 2014, Ramon's was long gone, the bank was unused and its building was becoming an eyesore. Once officially known as The First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Cocoa, the Space Age design of the bank building gave it its nickname. Now, however, it was a serious hazard, with one lone resident living in the penthouse he'd added. Once he was gone and the Glass Bank slated for demolition, it was fenced off for safety.