Madison Drug Store, southwest corner of 500 block of Franklin and Twiggs Streets

Madison Drug Store, southwest corner of the 500 block of Franklin and Twiggs Streets

Madison Drug Store on southwest corner of 500 block of Franklin and Twiggs Streets . 1953. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

ReMax Realty, Kava Culture, and other retailers at 514 Franklin St . 2021. © Chip Weiner

Madison Drugs moved to the former Ferlita Building pictured here from its location at Franklin and Madison Streets. They started at the first location in 1938. This structure was built on the foundation of the former Weil-Maas (part of the Maas Brothers family) that burned to the ground in 1951. After a $250,000 rebuild in 1952, the new store featured large picture windows, an extra-large luncheonette/restaurant expecting to serve 3500 people daily, and an estimated 6 miles of shelving.

The drug store eventually moved under the blanket of the Madison Liggett-Touchton brand. After 41 years at its original Tampa location at 719 Franklin St, Walgreens, noting the decline of business in the 700 block, purchased this store at 516 Franklin St in 1974 and moved in in 1975. After they moved out in 2003, the building sat empty until the block started returning to life in early 2005. A coffee shop and pizza restaurant opened that year.

From Burgert Brothers: Look Again, Vol. 1