Patrick’s Drug Company started its life on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City in 1922. In early advertisements, they called themselves The Penslar Store, referring to a popular tonic for “building up worn-out nerves and tissues after dengue fever.” Dengue fever is a virus spread by mosquito bites. By 1924 there were three stores all of which went into receivership. The final decree was ordered in January 1925, the same year this photo was taken. Thereafter, the store became known as Monument Pharmacy. Also pictured at 2214 Grand Central Ave. (now Kennedy Boulevard) is the E. C. Clark Company Staple and Fancy Grocery Stores

The name Memorial Pharmacy referred to the World War I Memorial that stood in the middle of the intersection at Howard Avenue and Grand Central, just west of the store. The monument was sculpted in the 1920s and placed there to honor Hillsborough County veterans who died during the war. The statue was moved after cars kept running into it. Memorial Highway, once started at Howard Avenue, where Grand Central ended, now begins north of Westshore Blvd. The corner where Patrick’s stood has been a longtime home for Circle K Store and Shell gasoline, which was torn down and modernized in 2019.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved