West Tampa - Howard Avenue page 1

Our tour starts here at Salcines Park, at the intersection of Main St. and Howard Avenue. Named in honor of Hillsborough County Judge E. J. Salcines' father, Emiliano J. Salcines, Sr., who owned a department store here in the mid 1900s. One of Judge Salcines' many avocations is his study of Cuba's revolutionary figure José Marti and the Spanish-American War, subjects about which he has become a recognized authority.

Howard Avenue was named in honor of Howard P. Macfarlane (left), a son of Hugh C. Macfarlane and his 2nd wife Frances Pettingill. Hugh Macfarlane was the person mainly responsible for the successful development of West Tampa.

Read about Hugh C. Macfarlane.

This Dec. 26, 1936 photo shows on the right, Delgado's Dept. Store where today's Salcines Park is located,
and the Bank of West Tampa at far right. On the left can be seen the 4th of July Cafe.
Burgert Bros. photo from Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library

The last streetcar trip made in West Tampa was in August, 1946. It is shown here running southbound on Howard Avenue crossing Main Street. This line's western end was Macfarlane park located on Main St. and MacDill Ave. Its northern terminus was Dewey Street and Gomez Ave. ... In the background can be seen the popular West Tampa Department Store owned by Emiliano Salcines, Sr....The site is now E. J. Salcines Park. Several persons can be seen bidding farewell...Also visible behind the trolley are the Fourth of July Cafe (old location) and Eagle Drugs.

1946 photo and caption from La Gaceta, July 23, 2010, photo provided by Mary Pasetti Gegunde. The photo was taken by Celia Nales, Mary's cousin, who worked for Rinaldi Printing Co. for many years.

The mural by Chon Mosley and Project Link depicts the history of West Tampa. It was painted in the 1980s and is outlined with dominoes. Two men on the bottom right are at a table playing checkers, and several local businesses along with persons involved in West Tampa's past development and history are also featured.

Now the "4th of July Cafe," this building on the southeast corner of Main Street and Howard Avenue was once the Bank of West Tampa.

Former Bank Of West Tampa – 1611 N. Howard Avenue

Bank information by Maura Barrios

The Bank of West Tampa opened its doors in 1906, with A. C. Clewis as president and Peter O Knight as Vice President. It was a part of the expansion of the Drew-Henderson-Harris financial corporation, making the institution an affiliate of the Exchange Bank of Tampa.

From its opening until the Great Depression, the West Tampa Bank made prosperous showings in its fiscal reports, reflecting the rapid growth of the surrounding business community.

Bank of West Tampa, Jan. 14, 1925

Burgert Bros. photo from Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library

In the wake of bank reform laws during the early years of the Roosevelt administration, the West Tampa Bank was forced to close its doors. The West Tampa Bank announced in 1933 (in the Tampa Tribune) that it would make a voluntary liquidation, noting that all creditors would be paid in full, including all savings deposits. While the second floor of the building was occupied over the interim years, no bank operated on the first floor until after World War II.

The Bank of West Tampa, with J. M. Rey Insurance on the 2nd floor and Cafe 4th of July next door.
Oct. 24, 1932

Burgert Bros. photo from Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library

State Bank of West Tampa and adjacent Victory Cigar Company, 1946
Robertson & Fresh photo from University of South Florida Digital Collections

In 1946, The Bank of West Tampa became the Central Bank of Tampa through the efforts of West Tampa businessmen George Guida, Joseph Ficarotta and W. S. Ferlita. The bank occupied the structure at Howard and Main, and eventually moved to a new facility at Howard and Kennedy. When the bank was sold in 2002, it was the last independent bank in Tampa.

1705 North Howard Avenue.

At the time of this photo, this was the West Tampa Service Center. Now in 2014 it is a drop-off location for "Dress for Success"

In 1923, the building was D. Garcia Meats at 1306 Howard and Eulogio Leira, barber at 1308 Howard. In 1925-26 this block became the 1700 block and this building was La Florida Grocery at 1705 Howard and Gallego's Barber Shop at 1707 Howard.

This building is marked with a green rectangle on the map below.

This 1915 map shows the 1700 block of Howard Avenue was once the 1300 block. The building on the corner (red rectangle) which housed Delgado's Dept. store and Bien Publico Drug Store (and later, Salcines' Tampa Dept. Store) was demolished and converted into Salcines Park.