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

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

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]

  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. ^ 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. ^ 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. ^ 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.