J. Q. Brantley Company Building, 605 Ashley St

J. Q. Brantley Company Building at 105 1/2 Zack Street on the northwest corner of Zack and Tampa streets. 1926. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

605 Ashley St, 2021. © Chip Weiner

Wholesale grocer J Q Brantley was incorporated in 1913 and opened along the waterfront on Water Street (now Ashley Dr and Channelside). Brantley was well-known in business and social circles and was a Senior Deacon at the First Baptist Church of Tampa. In 1926, his building at 105 Zack Street housed the Hillsborough County Building & Loan, West Florida Paint and Glass, and George’s Lunch Room on the corner, with offices on the second floor.

The building was demolished, and an Econo Parking Lot was opened to support the burgeoning downtown retail mid-century.  It is now private parking for the GTE Financial building on the corner of Zack and Ashley Streets.  

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved

From Burgert Brothers: Look Again, Vol. 1