It’s hard to pick out what to observe first in this photo. The beautiful Victorian architecture with its prominent witch’s hat turret and gingerbread siding pops off the page. As curious, however, are the women wearing bright clothes sitting prominently at tables strategically placed in the sunlight. Madame Himes Hygienic Beauty Parlors had several locations throughout Tampa starting around 1913, offering services such as Turkish baths, electrolysis, and medical massage. This location was the Beauty Training School, where for $150 (1923), women could take the complete course in “All Subjects in Beauty and Culture”. Madame Phoebe Himes graduated from the Manhattan Training School, where she learned beauty culture work.

The 6-mile South Crosstown Expressway, now known as the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, opened in 1976. Construction started in 1974, cutting a path through Palma Ceia along the CSX rail corridor, then eastward through Hyde Park. The path included most of Cardy Street, where Madame Himes School once stood. The remainder of Cardy Street now stretches behind the Publix grocery store on Platt Street.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved