Park 'N Shop Parking Garage Tampa

Park 'N Shop parking garage at the southeast corner of Polk and Ashley Streets. 1961. Burgert Brothers.. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

Like today, parking in downtown Tampa was a challenge in 1961. Demand at times was insatiable. Retail stores brought patrons to the area, and many folks still had jobs downtown, even though many had moved to the newly developed suburbs. The last of the streetcar tracks were pulled up in the mid-1940s, there were few mass-transit options, and most people drove their cars to get around. There was political wrangling to get this garage built by Park-N-Shop, Inc., a private parking facility management company. With its construction, the company had to agree in 1951 to make the ground floor a bomb shelter, available to the public in the event of war. The 1960s were a tense time. The atomic age had blossomed, the arms race between the U.S. and Russia was raging, and the nation was on high alert The building permit says the construction cost $450,000 in 1951. The 7-floor 650-car garage costing 25 cents to park, opened in 1952, promising an end to parking troubles in Tampa. News reports say the final cost was closer to $700,000. The building was demolished, and in 2005, SkyPoint, a 32-story condominium project, was being constructed. The $31.6-million project that sold units for $170,000 - $550,000, opened in 2007.

SkyPoint Condominium, 777 N Ashley Dr, Tampa, FL. 2021. © Chip Weiner

From Burgert Brothers: Look Again Vol. 1