Main Street Ice Cream- Hyde Park

Main Street Ice Cream parlor and Owl and the Pussy Cat-Old Hyde Park. Gandy Collection. Courtesy of the University of South Florida Digital Collection

Main Street Ice Cream parlor- 1501 Snow Ave -Old Hyde Park. Gandy Collection. Courtesy of the University of South Florida Digital Collection

Main Street Ice Cream Parlor opened in the Village Terrace shopping center in Temple Terrace in 1973 and, within months, began heavily marketing franchises. For $6500, franchisees got the designs for the shop and then paid for the building and equipment. The shops made their ice cream and offered over 200 flavors throughout the year. Main Street would grow to over ten stores in the Tampa area and expand throughout Florida. They became popular for their nostalgic look and celebrations, like kids' birthday parties.

In 1974, during Hyde Park’s renaissance by developer and realtor James Burt, this store opened after renovating the former Angelo LaRocca’s Sinclair Service Station at the apex of Snow and Swann Ave. Boneshakers (owned by Burt) had just opened. That same year, The Owl and the Pussycat Children Furnishings opened in the same building. In 1976, Burt bought the ice cream store. It was to be short-lived.

In 1979, Amlea Inc., a Canadian developer, began planning a $48 million commercial/residential complex called Old Hyde Park Village for the area. Angry residents initially objected to the development due to concerns over increases in density, loss of the residential feel, and traffic. Amlea changed design plans several times, trying to accommodate objections, but never completely satisfied those bent on blocking change. After 18 months of bickering between the developer, civic associations, and residents, including accusations of secret meetings with officials, the Tampa City Council voted unanimously to approve the land use amendment, clearing the way for construction. The project, which changed the district's face by building new stores and redirecting streets (including reshaping the lot where Main Street once stood), was contentious from the start. It caused ongoing traffic snarls, including closing Swann Ave for months, and brought ongoing complaints about Amlea’s lack of communication with the city about delays. The village was supposed to open in November 1984 but was 6 months behind schedule. Residents dubbed it the Amlea-ville Horror. Anchored by Jacobson’s department store, Polo/Ralph Lauren store, J.B Winberie, and Selena’s restaurants, and with condominiums starting at $142,000, the mixed-use, 12.5-acre complex opened in 1985. According to Zillow, one of the 3bd, 2.5 bath condos is now estimated to be worth $787,900, and all of the aforementioned stores and restaurants are gone.

Main Street Ice Cream parlor and fountain- 1501 Snow Ave -Old Hyde Park. Gandy Collection. Courtesy of the University of South Florida Digital Collection

This is the approximate location of the former Main Street store. The streets were reconfigured during the area’s re-design in the early 1980s.