There are so many historic aspects to this 1924 photo. Weir’s business, center, was called a Gent’s Pantorium, a word used early in the 20th century to denote a dry cleaner. Located at 311 Polk Street, they were a cleaner and tailor in downtown. Also central to the photograph is a tower with windows on four sides and cables or conduits coming out of the bottom. It was a signal and switching tower, where a switchman could control trains by tripping levers inside the tower to switch tracks, in this case for the tracks along Polk Street. To the right, the back edge of McCrory’s 5 and 10¢ store in the Hampton Bldg. can be seen. It was fronted on Franklin St. The steps on the McCrory’s building have signs for Franklin Life and Hillsboro Realty, both with businesses on the second floor. Even the truck in front of Weir’s business has a faint advertisement for F W Jordan plumbing, a business open until 1930.

In 1926, the building was demolished, and the L- shaped Tampa Theater was constructed here. Considered a skyscraper at the time, the 10-story office tower and theater entrance faced Franklin St. The theater building with its green exit doors seen here runs along Polk Street. When it opened, there was also an entrance to the theater on Florida Ave. The cost of the project was around $1 million. The alleyway seen in the original picture was closed at a later date. It currently houses SuperNatural Food & Wine after the take-out restaurant Nojaks closed in 2021. McCrory’s went bankrupt, and Walgreens took over in 1934 until it moved in 1976. Tampa Theater, while it has seen its struggles, remains open.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved