Sights and Scenes: Historic West Tampa

West Tampa is one of the oldest and most unique walkable neighborhoods in Tampa. Here is a brief look at the community the cigar industry built.

Cottages

Taking advantage and copying the successful development patterns of Ybor City, West Tampa founder Hugh Macfarlane constructed hundreds of cottages in the community for cigar workers. Combined with the presence of several brick cigar factories within immediate vicinity, these bungalows, shotgun style and two-story frame vernacular dwellings give West Tampa a unique historic sense of place that can’t be replicated today.

1700 North Rome Avenue was originally erected in 1909 as the West Tampa Freight Depot for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.

Cigar Factories

Destroyed by fire in 1986, the Cuesta, Rey & Company cigar factory was once the one of West Tampa’s largest employers. (Tampa Bay History Collection)

West Tampa is well known for its large collection of historic brick cigar factories. Common design features include the structures being three stories over a basement and an east-west orientation to take advantage of southern light exposure. This was critical and necessary in grading tobacco by color.

Housing 700 workers of the Y. Pendas y Alvarez Cigar Company, this factory at 2301 North Albany Avenue was completed between 1905 and 1909. It is known for its iconic 120-foot water and clock tower.

The former Bustillo & Diaz Cigar Company at 2111 North Albany Avenue is the second oldest cigar factory in West Tampa. Erected in 1902, it was an operational cigar factory until the mid 1960s.

Originally completed in 1904 at 1906 North Armenia Avenue, there are plans to convert the former A. Santaella & Company building into a micro brewery, cafe and artist lofts.

The Garcia & Vega Cigar Factory was erected in 1908 at 3102 North Armenia Avenue. It is currently occupied by the Oliva Tobacco Company. Founded in 1934, the Oliva Tobacco Company is a long time supplier of tobacco to many major cigar manufacturers.

The San Martin & Leon Cigar Factory was erected in 1900 at 2202 North Howard Avenue. The last company to manufacture cigars in this building was the Adrian Cigar Company in 1949.

Located at 1403 North Howard Avenue, the former Berriman-Morgan Cigar Factory opened its doors in 1903. At its peak, the cigar factory employed as many as 1,000 workers making 11 million hand-rolled cigars annually. In recent years, the 32,000 square foot building was renovated into a satellite campus for Saint Leo University.

1202 North Howard Avenue was originally constructed in 1904 for the Samuel L. Davis & Company. It became known as the Balbin Brothers Cigar Factory prior to cigar manufacturing ceasing operations in 1934. For a short time during the Great Depression, it was occupied by the DeSoto Brewing Company.

The Samuel L. Davis Cigar Factory at 900 North Howard Avenue was completed in 1911. Between 1954 and the 1980s, it was occupied by Sunstate Sportswear.

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