Former 5 and Dime Store in Sarasota FL
S.H. Kress Building, Sarasota Florida
The three-story brick, tile and Ornamental terra cotta building located at 1442 Main Street was built as the Sarasota branch of the S.H. Kress, company, beginning in the summer of 1932 and opening for business on December 1st, 1932. Before the formal business opening, 8,000 people inspected the new retail S.H. Kress branch on November 30th, 1932. The structure is interesting in the use of the Art Deco Style of architecture with Mayoid, Egyptoid and "Moderne" vocabulary. Of particular note are the poly-chromed ornamental terra-cotta elements located at the north or entrance elevation, the broken scroll pediment and twisted finial, the round-arched window enframements consisting of buff-glazed terra-cotta voussoirs and cornucopias located within the tympana of the arched enframements. The ground-floor shop fronts wrap around the recessed entrance in a "Moderne" fashion. Although the general contract was awarded to G.A. Miller, Inc. of Tampa, numerous local building businesses benefited from sub-contracts. In a depression period, the Kress contract represented most of the $55,061 in building permits authorized in the City of Sarasota during the first six months of 1932.
During the summer of 1932 construction was begun on the three-story, concrete and steel frame structure with Art Deco Style buff tile and glazed terra-cotta entrance facade located at 1442 Main Street. The Kress building is representative of the fourth of the national company, S.H. Kress. After the local collapse of land prices and the national Depression, the arrival of a national corporation was heralded in the Sarasota press. Although the site was purchased in November of 1929 local contracts were not Signed until the summer of 1932. The general contract was awarded to G.A. Miller, Inc. of Tampa, Florida. G.A. Miller had constructed twenty Kress stores for the company, ranging in location from St. Petersburg, Lakeland, Tampa, Ybor City, Fort Myers and Daytona Beach, Florida to North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama as well as Spokane, Washington and Billings, Montana. (G.A. Miller, Inc. also was involved with the erection of the Edwards Theatre, the Sarasota Herald Building and the Mira Mar Hotel (demolished December 1982).) It was stressed in the press coverage that only the general superintendent and the timekeeper would be brought in from Tampa, it was originally estimated that one hundred local construction jobs would be created.
By November it was estimated that sixty-five local men " … were working on the building giving support to about 325 people based on five persons to the average family." The original cost estimate of $40,000 rose to $50,000 and represented the bulk of the total of $55,061 in building permits authorized during the first six months of 1932. The following local contracts were awarded: painting and decorating to William Davis; heating, plumbing, ventilating and refrigerating equipment to Maahs Heating & Equipment; excavation of site and hauling to Martin Brothers; pouring of concrete footings for the structural steel frame to J.C. Stockstill; electrical contract to Bigby Electric Company of Tampa; lumber contract to West Coast Lumber Company and Shepard Lumber Company; ornamental iron contract to Sarasota Ornamental Ironworks and Roehr Machine Shop. The contracts were significant.
Federal money became available for the erection of the Orange Avenue Post Office or Federal Building in 1931; however, Works Project Administration funding did not begin until 1935 and was not fully, implemented until 1937 with the Municipal Auditorium and Bayfront Park complex.
The Art Deco Style building was described as follows: "The new building clearly defines the modern trend in architecture and stands out on Main Street like a magnificent temple, extending a warm welcome to all." The wrap-around shop front ground floor display windows and the preponderance of ornamental terra-cotta in the Mayoid vocabulary, the subtle north facade punctuated by bays of vertical fenestrated strips and the exotic Egyptoid interior with its lotus capital columns and pilasters are primary features of high-style Art Deco exhibited at 1442 Main Street. Pride in craftsmanship is displayed, but pride in company is predominant, the Kress insignia appears at the terrazzo threshold of the ground floor entrance, at regular intervals at the frieze of the projecting aluminum marquee which protected the merchandise and the window shoppers, and the Kress masthead appears in gold-glazed tile letters at the pedimented parapet level.
The store was opened for inspection on the 30th of November 1932; it was estimated that 8,000 people walked through the building that day. The following morning the store was opened for business " … bringing to the community a unit of a nationwide system of stores featuring merchandise in the lower price range." The Sarasota branch was the 232nd store opened in the Kress system. Although 1442 Main Street is no longer a Kress retail outlet, the prominent downtown location, square footage, and massive interior spaces, including the twenty-foot ceilinged ground floor make this building a prime candidate for re-use. There are few examples of the Art Deco style in Sarasota, particularly of the scale, material, and design quality as the Kress store.
Building Description
The former S.H. Kress store located at 1442 Main Street is a three-story, concrete and steel frame construction building with unadorned south, east and west facades and an Art Deco Style buff tile and poly-chromed ornamental terra cotta north or entrance facade. The subtle eight-bay north facade is punctuated by vertical strips in fenestration. Round-arched window enframements, constructed of terra-cotta voussoirs with decorative, poly-chromed tympana containing stylized cornucopia designs in tones of blue, grey, terra-cotta and green glazes provide ornamental relief to the subtle buff-toned 73-foot frontage. The north facade is topped by a compressed shaped parapet with terra-cotta coping which rises at the center of the building roof-line to form a broken-scroll pediment with terra-cotta rosettes and projecting twisted finial. The company name appears below the pediment "Kress" in raised tile lettering, treated in a gold glaze. The ground-floor shop fronts wrap around in a "Moderne" fashion and flank the recessed entrance to the original 5 - 10 & 25 cent store. Pride in company is also evident at the entrance threshold where "Kress" appears in the terrazzo pattern. The entire shop frontage is protected by an aluminum, cantilevered marquee or canopy. The frieze level of the marquee is decorated by aluminum "Kress" insignia and aluminum chevrons. The original ground-floor showroom appears to be in good repair, the lotus-capitalled columns and pilasters are visible from the glazed entrance door.
The three-story buff and poly-chromed glazed terra cotta tile and brick, Art Deco building located at 1442 Main Street was officially opened for retail trade December 1st, 1932 as the Sarasota branch of the S.H. Kress 5 - 10 & 25 cent store. The poured concrete and steel-framed structure is a prime example of Art Deco Style with "Moderne" wrap around ground-floor shop windows located at the main or north elevation of the building and a preponderance of terra-cotta ornamentation in a Mayoid vocabulary. The subtle buff-toned eight-bay north facade is punctuated by vertical strips of fenestration, which creates a vertical play against the horizontality of the 73-foot frontage. In plan, the Kress building is rectangular and irregular. The south or rear elevation rises above the north elevation in height; there is an elevator penthouse or shaft located at the southeast corner of the building. Both north and south divisions have flat roofs which appear to be covered with a bituminous coating. High masonry parapets surround the flat-roofed areas.
The ground-floor of the north elevation is occupied by shop-front windows which wrap around in a "Moderne" fashion and flank the recessed entrance to the original retail "emporium". The company name is proudly emblazoned in a terrazzo pattern at the entrance threshold. The entire shop frontage is protected by an aluminum, cantilevered canopy or marquee. Appearing at regular intervals at the frieze level of the marquee are the stylized aluminum chevrons and the Kress name or insignia in raised aluminum letters. Six metal ornamental tie-rods or supports connect the cantilevered Marquee to the masonry facade. Small, square, green-glazed, terra-cotta tiles are used at the foundation and the first floor areas of the north facade.
The second and third floor areas of the north facade are characterized by the subtle use of buff-toned tile and buff-glazed ornamental terra-cotta window enframements, dark tan fluted tile spandrels and poly-chromed ornamental terra cotta. The fenestration pattern of the eight-bay facade is symmetrical and consists of six vertical strips of windows located at the second and third stories. At the east and west sides of the six-bay vertical strips a deeply recessed, terra-cotta-enframed casement window appears with a row of lesser windows located at the marquee level below the vertical blocks and the flanking recessed windows. Dark tan fluted spandrel panels separate the six second and third floor windows of the vertical blocks, and each two-story vertical window is separated vertically by a two-story fluted colonette. Amber glass is used in the three-over-three metal casement windows located at the third floor of each vertical block. These windows are surrounded by round-arched enframements consisting of buff-colored terra-cotta voussoirs with poly-chromed raised foliated tympana, ornamentation which resembles stylized cornucopias in tones of blue, grey, terra-cotta, green and buff glazed terra cotta.
The north facade is topped by a compressed shaped parapet. A terra-cotta cornice coping appears at the parapet level and rises at the center of the north facade to form a broken-scroll pediment with terra-cotta finial. The tympanum of the broken-scroll pediment is occupied by a pair of red, glazed terra-cotta rosettes with green and blue foliation. Below the broken-scroll pediment is emblazoned the company's name "Kress" in raised lettered tiles in a gold glaze.
The east, west, and south elevations are brick facades, the south or rear elevation is of red brick, while the east and west elevations were painted a buff color to complement the buff tile and terra-cotta north elevation. The three-story south or rear elevation is penetrated by seven bays of fenestration, each window being a metal double-hung-sash type. The brick roof parapet and projecting formed-concrete window sills are the only ornamentation present in the south or rear facade.
The ground-floor retail area was an exotic Egyptoid space with a twenty-foot ceiling, free-standing columns with lotus capitals and lotus-capitalled pilasters located at the wall area terminating at the dado line. The ceiling of the ground floor retail space was beamed and the floor was polished terrazzo. The original color scheme was an ivory or buff-tone, the color scheme currently picked out is hot tropical colors.
The ground floor served as the retail, showroom, while the second-floor space was used as offices, storage and employees' facilities. The third floor was a storage area and housed the service elevator.
Although 1442 Main Street no longer serves as the Kress store and has been vacant, it is in very good repair. Three of the 'Kress" insignia are missing from the aluminum marquee and several stylized chevrons are similarly missing from the marquee. Several of the windows have been protected by plywood coverings. The ground-floor interior appears to be in relatively good repair.
North Elevation (1983)
