El Malecón is the name of a famous 5-mile roadway in Havana, Cuba, that stretches up the coast. It was also the name of a toy shop on Seventh Avenue owned by Cuban-born Francisco Carrera. Carrera was employed for nearly a decade as a cigar maker in a factory in Ybor City and decided to open a toy store. Not only did he sell toys in the store, but used his talented hands to build them. He opened his first shop in the city in 1899 on the site of the first Sanchez Y Haya cigar factory down the block and moved here to 1315 Broadway in the 1920s. Carrera died at the age of 73 in 1938. Right next door was the Circulo Cubano Drug Company at 1323 Broadway, where members of that mutual aid society would go to get their pharmacy needs met. The building also housed the Ybor Furniture Company on the west end. This building has served many purposes since that time. In the 1950s, it was a plumbing supply store. It sat empty for many years and has been rehabilitated several times. In 2010, it received a significant facelift. It currently houses the Ybor Youth Clinic, a targeted health care and risk reduction service for youth ages 13 to 24, and is run by USF. La Faraona cigar store now resides where the furniture store was.

© 2023. Chip Weiner. Old Tampa Photos