Former Seamen’s Savings Bank
For the first three decades of its existence, from the 1830s through the 1860s, the building at 90 Commercial Street was the Union Exchange, serving the large and busy Union Wharf. It was purchased in 1868 by the Seamen’s Savings Bank, which was then across the road, at No. 99. The bank remained here until 1892, serving many Long Point transplants before moving to 276 Commercial Street. When the New York art dealer Harry Salpeter opened a gallery here in 1954, he was told by Frank Roza, then the owner of the building, that he’d discovered a small cache of Portuguese coins. Ten years later, Romanos Rizk applied to operate an art school here.
Building Provincetown 