| S. H. Kress and Co. Building | |
| Coordinates: | 27.9508°N -82.4594°W |
| Location: | 811 N. Franklin St., Tampa, Florida |
| Built: | 1928 |
| Added: | April 7, 1983 |
| Architect: | G.E. Mackey |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Refnum: | 83001424 |
The S. H. Kress and Co. Building is a historic 1928[1] [2] building in Tampa, Florida, United States. It was part of the S. H. Kress & Co. "five and dime" department store chain. The store closed in 1981, and has since remained vacant.[3] on April 7, 1983, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[4]
Located at 811 N. Franklin Street, the building has a second fronting on Florida Avenue and is in the Renaissance Revival architectural style. G.E. Mackey was the four-story building's architect, and it includes masonry, suspended bronze marquee, extensive use of terra-cotta ornamentation (on both of its facades). It was "one of the last major commercial structures built in Tampa before the Great Depression".[5]
The Kress building is located between former Woolworth and J.J. Newberry stores, although the block is commonly known as the "Kress block."[6] [7] [8] Lunch-counter sit-ins and protests at the block were held by civil rights activists at the Woolworth store in the 1960s to protest segregated lunch counters in Tampa. Today, there is a historical marker commemorating the movement.[9]
Redevelopment plans for the Kress and the surrounding block date to at least 1987. Richard Wellhouse Stein planned to renovate the nearby structures to match the Kress façade, and add a nine-story atrium house nearly 200,000 square feet of office space.
Plans by the Doran Jason Group to demolish two of the buildings and replace them with a "massive" condo development were held off in 2006. The Kress building would have been used as a lobby with office and retail space.[10]
In 2011, a fundraiser at the Kress building was cancelled due to the dispute over redevelopment plans.[11]
The building was planned for social gatherings during the 2012 Republican Convention in Tampa, although the RNC kept details about the gathering secret.[12]
In 2014, plans for renovation and a 24-story addition and conversion of the block into a hotel were proposed,[13] then scrapped.
The block, including the Kress building, was purchased in 2017 by the Wilson Company, a Tampa-based property management firm.[14] Statements at the time of purchase indicate plans to preserve, renovate, and redevelop the block.[15]