The building pictured above is located in downtown Ybor City, the historic Latin Quarter of Tampa, FL.  The building was built as a warehouse, with apartments upstairs, in 1910.  Only one block away, built in 1905, sits its most famous neighbor, The Columbia Restaurant.  While not listed in the official history books, the "hidden" story passed down from the warehouse's owner to owner is a colorful one.  As prohibition hit Florida in 1918, local taverns were forced to go "underground" to continue to serve the blue collar patrons.  One of the most famous, the Columbia, was said to have never gone completely dry.  To store the illeagal alchohol, bar owners were forced to seek out "off premise" sites for storage near by.  The building at 2207 7th Ave fit the bill.  As the "roaring" 20's spun the latin quarter into a place where just about all vices could be found, the owners took advantage of the apartment spaces above to become a popular neighborhood brothel.  Between the restaurants, bars, "Bolita" (illegal Cuban Lottery) and "working girls", the stories those walls could tell could be very entertaining.

The brick building underwent a series of modifications in 2008.  New owners removed a lowered ceiling and floor from building, salvaging beautiful Heart Pine joists which were used in the building's origional construction.  Shawn was able to save these wood planks from being tossed away and is now fabricating them into tables and other furniture.  It is amazing to think the history and stories that has seeped into this wood over the past 105 years.