S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Tampa, Florida)

S. H. Kress and Co. Building

S. H. Kress & Co. building in downtown Tampa
Location 811 N. Franklin St., Tampa, Florida
Coordinates 27°57′3″N 82°27′34″W / 27.95083°N 82.45944°W / 27.95083; -82.45944Coordinates: 27°57′3″N 82°27′34″W / 27.95083°N 82.45944°W / 27.95083; -82.45944
Area less than one acre
Built 1929
NRHP Reference # 83001424[1]
Added to NRHP April 7, 1983

The S. H. Kress and Co. Building is a historic 1929 building in Tampa, Florida, United States. It was part of the S. H. Kress & Co. "five and dime" department store chain. On April 7, 1983, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Located at 811 N. Franklin Street, the building has a second fronting on Florida Avenue and is in the Renaissance Revival architectural style. G.E. McKay was the four story building's architect, and it includes masonry, suspended bronze marquee, extensive use of terra-cotta ornamentation (on both its facades). It was "one of the last major commercial structures built in Tampa before the Great Depression".[2]

The former Woolworth building pictured on left with Kress building behind it and J.J. Newberry building at far right

The Kress store was located between a Woolworth and former J.J. Newberry.[3] The buildings have been empty for more than a decade and redevelopment plans have stalled in the face of economic downturn. Plans by the Doran Jason Group to demolish two of the buildings and replace them with a "massive" condo development were held off in 2006. The Kress building would have been used as a lobby with office and retail space.[4][5] The Newberry store was founded in 1911 and "is noted for its architecture", while lunch-counter sit-ins were held by civil rights activists at the Woolworth store in the 1960s.[5]

In 2011, a fundraiser at the Kress building was cancelled due to the dispute over redevelopment plans.[6] The building is to be used for social gatherings during the 2012 Republican Convention.

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Hillsborough country Historical Report Florida Department of State: Division of Historical Resources
  3. ↑ Abandoned Florida page 784
  4. ↑
  5. 1 2 Tampa council to revisit issue of Woolworth, Newberry buildings August 23, 2010 Tampa Tribune
  6. ↑
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