F.W. Woolworth, 801 - 805 Franklin St.

Franklin Street, intersection with Polk Street, view north with automobile and pedestrian traffic. 1956. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy of the Hillsborough County Library.

Franklin Street, Intersection With Polk Street, View North, 2020. © Chip Weiner

FW Woolworths Company opened in 1915 as downtown Tampa came alive with retail shopping, theaters, and transportation hubs. Located in the 800 block, it made up a trifecta of shopping experiences, including the S. H. Kress and Company Store and the J.J. Newberry Company at the opposite end of the block.

In 1960, four years after this photo was taken, dozens of students from Middleton and Blake High Schools, along with leaders from the NAACP, participated in sit-ins at the lunch counter here. After fifty-seven young African Americans were seated, the white manager turned off the lights and walked out, closing the store. History has made nonetheless. Six months after the demonstration, city officials desegregated Tampa’s lunch counters.

After 87 years of service, the store closed in 1992 due to the changing retail climate as consumers moved to suburban homes and mall shopping. Franklin Street, once a booming retail thoroughfare, was narrowed and turned into a pedestrian mall in the years that followed. The Woolworths building and the entire block have been primarily vacant. The contrast in the two photos is immeasurable and is evidence of how some of what was once a vibrant downtown has fallen into decay due to shifting social trends

Pedestrians outside the F.W. Woolworth Co. department store. 1941. Robertson and Fresh. Courtesy of the University of South Florida Digital Collection

The F. W. Woolworth Store On Franklin Street. 1941. Robertson and Fresh. Courtesy of the University of South Florida Digital Collection

The Woolworth Department Store, Florida Ave facade. 1941. Robertson and Fresh. Courtesy of the University of South Florida Digital Collection

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