The Dixie Candy Company, originally located at 711 Florida Ave, moved to 226 S. Franklin St. in 1922 after constructing the building for $10,000. The wholesale candy, chocolate, and fountain supply company successfully supplied the growing number of drug stores in the area with soda fountains. Candy, gum, Cracker-Jack, and dispensing equipment were in high demand. By 1929, in the heart of the Great Depression, the company defaulted on payments to the Beechnut Packing Co., Cracker-Jack Co., and the Chocolate Sales Corp. They filed for bankruptcy and liquidated. A paint company moved in in the 1930s, and Coronet Marine Sales in the early 1940s. 1955 brought Florida Sundry-Ettes health and beauty aids to the building.  

By the 1960s, the South Franklin area was depressed, and many buildings had been leveled. In 1974, the South Crosstown Expressway, now the Leroy Selmon Expressway, was built. In the 1980s, the Tampa Convention Center was built across the street. This lot is now a self-pay parking lot.

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