This photo, taken March 8, 1926, is somewhat confusing. It is captioned “Single story, wood-frame mercantile building housing Tampa Dry Cleaning Company,” and a sign on the building reads the same. However, the windows in the shop on the left are inscribed “barbershop”, and the windows in the space to the right are Water’s Realty Company. One might assume that the dry cleaning company had moved into the building and the sign on the windows had not yet changed. In April of that same year, a classified advertisement leasing the corner as a barbershop, restaurant, or grocery. In May of that year, another ad solicited a barber. No records of Tampa Dry Cleaning Company were found in the 1920s.  So, it’s difficult to explain the miscue.

From the early to mid-1970s, the location again housed a realtor, Bob Pinson Inc. In 2015, the Jug & Bottle Dept., a craft beer shop, moved in as they took part in the revitalization of Seminole Heights. Florida Avenue had turned from what once looked like a dirt road to a four-lane thoroughfare. In December 2024, the owners of the Jug and Bottle announced they would soon be closing.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved