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 |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1928 |
Architect | G.E. Mackey |
NRHP reference No. | 83001424[1] |
Added to NRHP | April 7, 1983 |
The S. H. Kress and Co. Building is a historic 1928[2][3] building in Tampa, Florida, United States. It was part of the S. H. Kress & Co. "five and dime" department store chain. The store closed in 1981, and has since remained vacant.[3][4] on April 7, 1983, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[5]
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. Mackey was the four-story building's architect, and it includes masonry, suspended bronze marquee, extensive use of terra-cotta ornamentation (on both of its facades). It was "one of the last major commercial structures built in Tampa before the Great Depression".[6]
The Kress building is located between former Woolworth and J.J. Newberry stores, although the block is commonly known as the "Kress block."[7][8][9] Lunch-counter sit-ins and protests at the block were held by civil rights activists at the Woolworth store in the 1960s to protest segregated lunch counters in Tampa. Today, there is a historical marker commemorating the movement.[10]
Attempts at Redevelopment
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/KressWoolworthBlock_DowntownTampa_05.jpg/220px-KressWoolworthBlock_DowntownTampa_05.jpg)
Redevelopment plans for the Kress and the surrounding block date to at least 1987. Richard Wellhouse Stein planned to renovate the nearby structures to match the Kress façade, and add a nine-story atrium house nearly 200,000 square feet of office space.[4]
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.[11]
In 2011, a fundraiser at the Kress building was cancelled due to the dispute over redevelopment plans.[12]
The building was planned for social gatherings during the 2012 Republican Convention in Tampa, although the RNC kept details about the gathering secret.[13]
In 2014, plans for renovation and a 24-story addition and conversion of the block into a hotel were proposed,[8][14] then scrapped.[7]
The block, including the Kress building, was purchased in 2017 by the Wilson Company, a Tampa-based property management firm.[15] Statements at the time of purchase indicate plans to preserve, renovate, and redevelop the block.[7][16]
Gallery
[edit]-
Kress building
-
Roofline of Kress building
-
Woolworth stonework (May 2021)
-
Inside J.J. Newberry Building (May 2021)
-
Inside Woolworth Building (May 2021)
-
Kress block
-
Historical postcard showing the Kress Block (back left).
-
Rear-side of Woolworth building on the Kress block
References
[edit]- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Plans". gis.hcpafl.org. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- ^ a b "S.H. Kress and Co. Building". Abandoned Florida. 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ a b Ogden, Ron (June 1987). Tampa Bay Magazine. Tampa Bay Publications, Inc. pp. 26–8.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "NPGallery Asset Detail". npgallery.nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ Hillsborough country Historical Report Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine Florida Department of State: Division of Historical Resources
- ^ a b c Company, Tampa Publishing. "Tampa's historic Kress block sells to the Wilson Company for $9 million". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ a b Company, Tampa Publishing. "22-story hotel and apartment tower proposed for downtown Tampa's historic Kress block". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ Kritzer, Ashley (November 16, 2017). "Historic Kress block sold to Tampa developer". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ "Historical Marker Commemorates Tampa's Lunch Counter Sit-In". WUSF Public Media. 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ "Preservation Magazine | National Trust for Historic Preservation". Preservationnation.org. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ^ "Refractory in the middle: The battle over the Kress building". Creative Loafing: Tampa Bay.
- ^ Company, Tampa Publishing. "GOP SECRETLY PLANS PARTIES". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ Kritzer, Ashley (November 10, 2017). "Exclusive: Historic Kress in downtown Tampa to be redeveloped into hotel". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ "The Wilson Company | About Us". wilsoncompany.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ Company, Tampa Publishing. "Preserving Tampa's Kress and Woolworth blocks: Al Capone, a bubbling spring and racism". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help)
Additional sources and external links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)