Groover-Stewart Drug Company, 101 East Tyler Street
Groover-Stewart Drug Company, three-story stucco building, on 101 East Tyler Street, on southeast corner with Ashley Street. 1926. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Courtyard by Marriott, 101 E Tyler St. 2021. © Chip Weiner
The Groover-Stewart Drug Co. hailed from Jacksonville and constructed its Tampa operation at 101 Tyler St. in 1925. By 1930, it was known as the McKesson- Groover Stewart Drug Co. after the companies merged. They sold products like Aspi-Tone, a liquid aspirin with nerve tonics “that overcome the depressing effects of aspirin,” and Green River, “A delicious snappy thirst quencher.” The company moved in 1957 and liquidated the location's contents. The company is now the McKesson Corporation.
Perhaps the most interesting anecdote about the business is the letter addressed to the company in 1930 and found behind equipment by the U.S. Postal Service in 1967. The parcel contained an invoice from the American Ferment Co. for chemicals purchased by McKesson. The building was demolished, and in 2001, the 109-room Courtyard by Marriot opened.
© Chip Weiner. All rights reserved
From Burgert Brothers: Look Again, Vol. 1
Courtyard by Marriott, 101 E Tyler Street, 2021. © Chip Weiner