Bullet of Abandoned Florida provides us with a rare look inside an early 20th century cigar factory: West Tampa's Balbin Brothers Cigar Factory.

Common characteristics of a cigar factory

All of the remaining factories in Tampa, while varying in size, share many common characteristics. All were designed on an east-west axis with many windows to allow for maximum illumination in the workspace. The interiors were typically subdivided into specific uses. Curing and storage of tobacco generally took place in a basement, addition, or ancillary warehouse. The first floors were usually devoted to offices, packing, and shipping, while the second floor was used for the actual manufacturing process. Third floors were used for stripping and blending tobacco. Many factories had interior elevators and lifts to transport prepared tobacco from one floor to the next. As a protection against fire, many factories had free standing water towers that could extinguish a fire by means of gravity. Source: Tampa’s Historic Cigar Factories: Making A Case For Preservation

Photographs courtesy of Bullet at Abandoned Florida

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Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com

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