In 1911, demand was high for streetcars (trolleys) as Tampa’s primary mode of transportation. Tampa Electric Company was the leading provider of such services, and they began construction of a storage facility in May of that year. Located at the west end of Seventh Avenue, it was built in the heart of the then-thriving Tampa Heights. It was divided into four sections; one part housed offices, another part storerooms, and still another machine shops. The balance of the building housed streetcars with a total of 15 bays. In this photo, taken in 1935, mechanics stand with car number 407, which served the Port Tampa route.  

In 1946, the last Tampa Electric streetcar retired. Tampa Armature Works, a machine manufacturer, bought the building in May 1956 and continued to use it as industrial space. Tampa Heights, the once-thriving suburb just north of downtown, had become depressed. The building sat empty for years. In 1999, redevelopment plans were submitted for the Tampa Heights district, and a $200 million project was proposed. In 2004, the building was designated an official historic landmark. In the early 2010s, the Heights Project, including the original trolley barn that now makeup part of the sprawling area known as Armature Works, began a significant reform of the area that continues today.

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