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

The S. H. Kress and Co. Building is a historic 1928[2] 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.

S. H. Kress and Co. Building
S. H. Kress & Co. building in downtown Tampa
Location811 N. Franklin St., Tampa, Florida
Coordinates27°57′3″N 82°27′34″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1928
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 its facades). It was "one of the last major commercial structures built in Tampa before the Great Depression".[3]

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. 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.

  • Kress building
  • Roofline of Kress building
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References
  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. Hillsborough country Historical Report Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine Florida Department of State: Division of Historical Resources
  4. "Preservation Magazine | National Trust for Historic Preservation". Preservationnation.org. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  6. "Refractory in the middle: The battle over the Kress building". Creative Loafing: Tampa Bay.
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