One of the primary standouts in this photograph is the sign pointing to The Colonnade drive-in, a revered restaurant on Bayshore Boulevard one block away. At 3401 MacDill Avenue, Beck Radio electronic repair business truck appears in the front of its establishment. Majors Cleaners and Laundry also in the strip was a multi-location laundry service that also offered alterations. The owner, Jack H. Majors, was mixed up in controversy in the early 1940s when he, along with several other dry-cleaning operations, refused to pay newly established licensing fees to the state in protest. He retired from the business in 1958. Further south on the left, McIntyre’s Phillips 66 station can be seen.

The strip center still exists today, housing the Dash Web development company, Preston Day Spa, and Gentlemen’s Barbershop. The property where McIntyre’s once stood is now an apartment complex.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved