The 7-story, 150-office Stovall Professional Building at 301-309 Morgan Street opened Aug 1, 1926, by Col. Wallace F. Stovall, former publisher of the Tampa Tribune and owner of multiple real estate holdings, both commercial and residential. He was a force in changing Tampa’s skyline and instrumental in organizing the Florida State Fair and the Union Railway Station. This building’s corridors were lined with tile, the floors were terrazzo, and it had two “fast-speed” Otis elevators. Possibly the most modern feature was an ice refrigerating plant that circulated cold drinking water to every floor. There was no air conditioning, but it was steam-heated. Shown here in 1951, The Paddock Lounge, Fitzgerald’s Restaurant, and the United States Railroad Retirement Board are on the street level. The Tampa Tribune building would be built behind the Stovall building, and The Paddock was reportedly a respite with an ample scotch supply for thirsty editors and nearby judges.

The county bought the building in a land swap in 1979 to use as an office space but sold it to the Mack Company for $1.4 million months later. The wrecker’s ball hit the building in 1984. After 59 years, another of Stovall’s crown jewels came down.  The 20-story, $25-million One Mack Center was constructed in 1981. Due to its unusual design, the builders claimed the 272,000 sq. ft. building had eight corner offices on each floor. Its first major tenant was the Metropolitan Bank, and the building was briefly renamed the Metropolitan Bank Building. Within a year, the federal government forced them to close. WeWork Co-Working space, now a prime tenant, moved in in 2019, and its name is now on the building.

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