Interior furnishers Barbour and Ward invested over $100,000 when they built this four-story building in 1927. Constructed at 124 Franklin St., the building had a fanciful picture window where the company could showcase its designs. They opened their first location on Tyler Street in 1923, and their rapid growth necessitated a move to these new quarters 4 years later. They remained in the building until 1932, when they moved to a new location at 510 Tampa Street. In 1934, the Florida Distributors, Inc., wholesale distributors of radio parts, signed a 3-year lease and moved their operations here.

In the mid-1950s, Turner’s music sold pianos at this location, and by the 1960s, Jim Fair’s A-1 Discount House Department Store had moved in. Fair was an eccentric World War II hero known for his quirky wit and litigious ways. He filed numerous frivolous lawsuits and got jailed frequently for contempt when he mouthed off the judges. He was born as part of the prominent Farrior family in Tampa but disavowed them to show his anti-establishment sentiment. In 2012, USF opened its Center for Advanced Medical Learning & Simulation (CAMLS) operation here.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved