The title of this photograph is somewhat unusual. Most of Burgert's work names the entity in the photo. This one, however, is a commercial photograph demonstrating the craftsmanship of Perry Paint’s Glass and Glazing business on the Fernandez and Garcia building in 1948. Fernandez and Garcia was one of several clothing retailers in Ybor City. Like many of its department store competitors, it featured a luncheonette and soda fountain on the first floor, and had Aida’s beauty salon on the second floor. At the time, locals celebrated it for its prize-winning window displays, especially during holiday periods. The store was sold to national retailer Belk Lindsay in 1955, which then closed in 1966 as the retail allure of Ybor waned.

The building is now divided into three separate retail spaces. The Copper Shaker Cocktail House currently occupies the corner space where Liquid Tampa and Flynn’s Retro Bar & Gaming once stood. Bradley’s On 7th, touting itself as “a festive gay bar,” has been open here since 2011 in the eastern half of the building, and New York, New York Pizza fills the other end.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved