There is likely no other vintage building in Tampa that is revered as much as the Kress Building downtown. This photo shows the back of the Florida Avenue entrance. The Kress has been a preservation hot potato for 40 years. Samuel H Kress built the first store here in 1900. In 1929, he demolished it and built this structure, with its decorative façade and Art Nouveau cornice fronting the building.

Retail centers followed as residents moved to suburban areas and shoppers abandoned downtown. The Kress store closed in 1981 and has been in a political and ownership battle over what should be preserved, who is responsible, and what a compromise might look like. Several proposals to rehabilitate the block have come and gone. In the meantime, it sits further deteriorating. Mandatory fixes to the roof and windows have been made, but there is still no publicized plan to preserve or rehabilitate the building further.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved