The nationally branded Gilbert Hotel in downtown Tampa was at the southwest corner of Florida Avenue and Cass Street and was originally built as Hotel Almo in 1916. This photo, taken in 1934, shows the hotel rooms on the second and third floors and the Almo Café and Almo Restaurant on the first.  Serving Budweiser on draught, the café was a drinking establishment. The Almo Restaurant next door served primarily Spanish food including Cuban sandwiches and yellow rice with chicken. Hotel rooms, according to the sign, were $1.00 per night. The 5-story building on the far right was the Economical Drugstore in the Stovall-Nelson Building fronted Franklin St.

In 1940, department store J.J Newberry signed a 25-year lease for the land, and the buildings along the south side of Cass Street from Franklin to Florida were torn down to build their Art Deco-inspired store. The Hotel may have moved to 811 Tampa Street, where the Element building now stands. JJ Newberry’s closed in 1966. Haddad Department Store opened here in 1967 and lasted until 1979. Protracted legal battles about preservation and historical designations for the entire 800 block of Franklin have gone on for over 40 years. Part of her beauty still peeks through, with those glass blocks and rounded corner windows still apparent, but her fate is still unknown.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved