Amazon Hose and Rubber 222 N 12th St

Amazon Hose and Rubber 222 N 12th St. Date unknown. Gandy Collection. Courtesy of the University of South Florida.

Miami-based Amazon Hose and Rubber opened at 134 13th Street (now Channelside Dr.) in the 1950s in the warehouse district in downtown Tampa, known then as the Estuary. In 1971, they moved to this building at 222 N 12th St., at the corner of Kennedy and 12th Street, replacing Tag’s Motor Parts.

In the 1970s, industry slowly moved out of the area; owners had difficulty keeping tenants, and decay set in. In the 1980s, more prominent property owners formed the Ybor Channel Redevelopment Association and focused on revitalization, renaming the Estuary to the Channelside District. By the late 1990s, plans were in place to begin building. In 2001, Channelside Bay Plaza (now Sparkman Wharf), a waterfront entertainment area with new shops and restaurants, opened along the Garrison Channel. The Florida Aquarium and Port Tampa Bay, home to five cruise lines, are also part of the redevelopment.

Newly constructed multi-story residential towers soon surrounded the 18,000-square-foot Amazon warehouse, and in 2005, the owners decided to sell. They moved their operation to 1103 N 50th St and remain in business today.

In 2015, construction began on the 8-story mixed-use Fitzgerald Apartment building, joining the revitalized area's hundreds of new apartments, condominiums, hotels, and restaurants.

© Chip Weiner. All rights reserved

Fitzgerald Apartments- 1211 E Kennedy Blvd. 2024. © Chip Weiner

Real estate photography Tampa

Tags Motor Parts west side. Gandy Collection. Courtesy of the University of South Florida.

Tags Motor Parts west side. Gandy Collection Courtesy of the University of South Florida.

Amazon hose and rubber west side Gandy Collection. Courtesy of the University of South Florida.

Fitzgerald Apartments- 1211 E Kennedy Blvd. 2024. © Chip Weiner