In 1941, George Guida and his wife Palmira Priede took a chance on a floor covering and Venetian blinds store. Guida opened his original store at 720 LaSalle close to the Fortune Street bridge, starting with a few rolls of linoleum. In 1945, he moved to a larger space at 1715 North Howard Ave. in the old West Tampa post office building. In 1948, he moved to this location at 1801 North Howard Ave., which afforded him more than 10,000 sq. ft. of merchandising space, and named the business George Guida & Sons Home Furnishings and Decorating. His business expanded into selling televisions, major appliances, air-conditioning, and paint. The store also operated a complete service department for major appliances and floor coverings.

 As part of George’s marketing plan, he kept televisions on in the evenings to entertain the neighborhood residents, who brought chairs and Café con Leche to watch episodes of I Love Lucy. Guida was also a licensed general building contractor and did much work for the Boys and Girls Club of Tampa. In 1958, his company built and owned the West Tampa Post Office structure across the street from this building.

Known as Mr. West Tampa, he was involved in many civic activities, was named to the Italian Club Hall of Fame, and was a member of the Board of Trustees at Jesuit High School. He built a 2-story Art Deco home in 1951 on the edge of McFarlane Park, featuring an outdoor brick barbecue and a sunken living room. Guida installed a heart-shaped front driveway to remind his wife Palmira daily of his love. The city purchased the property in1984 for around $400,000, along with two other houses Guida owned in the same location, then annexed the property into McFarlane Park. The other two houses were demolished. His original home still stands and has been the subject of decades of conversations about preservation, though nothing notable has happened. It remains boarded up and deteriorating. In 2004, the house was designated as a local historical landmark.

The main street running through the park is George Guida Memorial Drive (here is a video of the dedication presented by E. J Salcines).  George Guida Sr. died in September 1986. The building on Howard Avenue now houses the Revive Church of Tampa.

© Chip Weiner 2023. All rights reserved