To spot the S. H. Kress and Co. Building, look for a tall, elegant four-story structure with a grand sign reading "KRESS" high above its richly decorated windows and arched terra-cotta ornaments, sitting right between two smaller neighbors on Franklin Street.
Welcome to the Kress, where history and mystery still echo behind those beautiful old windows. Take a good whiff-it might not smell like fresh popcorn or five-cent soda floats anymore, but imagine stepping back to 1928, when the place first opened. Shoppers in flapper dresses and newsboys in flat caps would stream through its doors, their shoes tapping across grand mosaic floors. This building once buzzed with the excitement of Tampa’s “five and dime” crowd, where you could scoop up everything from a new hat to a homemade fudge treat for just a few coins. G.E. Mackey, the original architect, made sure the building stood out, covering its face in ornate terra-cotta wreaths and a big, bronze marquee out front-basically “Bling Before Bling” was even a thing!
By 1981, though, shopping had changed and our Kress closed, leaving its beautiful halls silent-except, maybe, for the occasional tap of a ghostly shopper looking for bargains. These walls still stand as one of Tampa’s last big commercial buildings before the Great Depression pressed the pause button on such grand projects. But don’t let that faded marquee fool you-a lot more happened here than just shopping. In the 1960s, the nearby Woolworth’s was the site of lunch-counter sit-ins, where brave civil rights protesters demanded equality, right in this very block. Today, there’s a plaque reminding us of their courage.
The Kress building has survived wild plans and some hair-pulling over its fate: folks have dreamed up everything-a skyscraper with an atrium, a glitzy hotel, even secret Republican Convention parties. But every time, it somehow stays just as you see it, patiently waiting for its next act. The Wilson Company now holds the keys, promising to restore this Tampa treasure. So, will Kress become the city’s new hotspot? Or maybe the “best-dressed” building on the block-again? Stick around and watch history unfold!
