Wikipedia

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

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]

S. H. Kress and Co. Building
S. H. Kress & Co. building in downtown Tampa
S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Tampa, Florida) is located in Florida
S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Tampa, Florida)
S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Tampa, Florida) is located in the United States
S. H. Kress and Co. Building (Tampa, Florida)
Location811 N. Franklin St., Tampa, Florida
Coordinates27°57′3″N 82°27′34″W / 27.95083°N 82.45944°W / 27.95083; -82.45944
Arealess than one acre
Built1928
ArchitectG.E. Mackey
NRHP reference No.83001424[1]
Added to NRHPApril 7, 1983

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

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The former Woolworth building pictured on right, with Kress building behind it, and J.J. Newberry building at far left. Behind the block are the Floridan Palace Hotel and the Nine15 apartment complex.

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]

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  •  
    Kress building
  •  
    Roofline of Kress building
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    Woolworth stonework (May 2021)
  •  
    Inside J.J. Newberry Building (May 2021)
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    Inside Woolworth Building (May 2021)
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    Kress block
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    Historical postcard showing the Kress Block (back left).
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    Rear-side of Woolworth building on the Kress block

References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Plans". gis.hcpafl.org. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  3. ^ a b "S.H. Kress and Co. Building". Abandoned Florida. 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  4. ^ a b Ogden, Ron (June 1987). Tampa Bay Magazine. Tampa Bay Publications, Inc. pp. 26–8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ "NPGallery Asset Detail". npgallery.nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  6. ^ Hillsborough country Historical Report Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine Florida Department of State: Division of Historical Resources
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ Kritzer, Ashley (November 16, 2017). "Historic Kress block sold to Tampa developer". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  10. ^ "Historical Marker Commemorates Tampa's Lunch Counter Sit-In". WUSF Public Media. 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  11. ^ "Preservation Magazine | National Trust for Historic Preservation". Preservationnation.org. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  12. ^ "Refractory in the middle: The battle over the Kress building". Creative Loafing: Tampa Bay.
  13. ^ Company, Tampa Publishing. "GOP SECRETLY PLANS PARTIES". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-05-26. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ Kritzer, Ashley (November 10, 2017). "Exclusive: Historic Kress in downtown Tampa to be redeveloped into hotel". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  15. ^ "The Wilson Company | About Us". wilsoncompany.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  16. ^ 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)
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