Liggett's Drug Store, 615 Franklin Street

Liggett's Drug Store, 615 Franklin Street, at southeast corner of Franklin and Zack streets. 1953. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

Franklin Exchange courtyard, 615 Franklin Street, at the southeast corner of Franklin and Zack Streets. 2021 ©Chip Weiner

The Louis K Liggett Company bought Taylor’s Drugstore at 602 Franklin St in May of 1920 and opened Liggett’s Rexall Drug Store, a national chain. Their original building was part of the Jackson Block in the heart of the downtown retail section, next to the burgeoning Maas Brothers department store. When they added this store in the Krause Building in the former Schwobilt Clothes store at 615 Franklin Street in 1937, they did a $50,000 renovation. Note the familiar Exchange Bank building to the right. Liggett moved out in 1954 to the former Ferlita Building.

The building was demolished. Franklin Street was narrowed to create a walking mall in 1973, further inhibiting retail development and contributing to the boarding up of many buildings. In 1999, The Wilson Company bought the block, including the former Exchange Bank, and began a major renovation. The lot where Liggett’s once stood is now a private courtyard for the complex.

From Burgert Brothers: Look Again, Vol. 1

Street scene looking south on Franklin Street and slightly east on Zack Street with Liggett's Drug Store and Maas Brothers in the background. 1947. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System