Owen-Joh Tire Co., 501 Jackson Street

Owen-Joh Tire Co., 501 Jackson Street, corner with Marion, facade with trucks and staff (three-story, light painted brick). 1928. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

501 Jackson Street, 2021. © Chip Weiner

Pexa and Kallauner sold Oakland cars and eventually Studebakers on this corner until 1923. In 1925, Owen-Joh Tire Co. opened another service station and tire shop here. When they moved to this site, they made history, signing a 99-year $1.25-million lease. The owners, including D.F. Owens- reportedly the first man in Tampa to own a car and one-time Ford dealer- were bullish on business in the city and thought it a wise investment. He was also principal in the D.F. Owen Company, Pioneer Filling Station, and Tampa Furniture Co. By 1933, Frenkel General Tire Co. had taken over for Owen-Joh.

The building subsequently went through a series of garages. By 1945, it was the Express Garage, and in the 1950s, it was converted to an office building that housed the A.J. Simms Real Estate Company. Since then, the Tampa Comptroller’s office operated from here in the 1990s. It is now called the Arcos Office Building

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved

From Burgert Brothers: Look Again, Vol. 1