The Lyons Building appeared at the corner of Hillsborough [Hillsboro] and Florida Avenue when both were little more than dirt roads. This photo, taken in 1925, the same year this Mediterranean revival architecture building was built, is an example of the popularity of neighborhood stores and the time. Seminole Pharmacy, like so many other drugstores, sold prescriptions, magazines, tobacco, and over-the-counter medications. There was a barbershop in the back building along Hillsborough Avenue and the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company fronted Florida Avenue on the north end. Like many commercial buildings in that era, apartments were added to the second floor. Seminole Pharmacy lasted until the middle 1970s.

Hillsborough Avenue was widened to accommodate more traffic. 5401 Florida Ave., where the Lyons Building once stood, is now part of the right-of-way.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved