Historic Wood Windows: Repair or Replace

When your historic wood windows need work, the dilemma usually comes down to whether to repair your windows or replace them. This video from the professionals at HistoricShed.com helps with that decision.

Efforts to preserve the historic Ferlita Macaroni Factory

Tuesday, December 15th, Tampa's Barrio Latino Commission (BLC) voted to deny a Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of a Contributing Structure in the Barrio Latino Local Historic District for the property known historically as the Ferlita Macaroni Factory. The building is located at 1607 N 22nd Street in the heart of the Ybor City National Historic Landmark District.

Built in 1922, the significance of the Ferlita Macaroni Factory was individually documented in the nomination report when Ybor City was designated a National Historic Landmark District. It is a building that has been on my radar since 1997; I used to commute past it daily when I worked with preservation architect Stephanie Ferrell. Unfortunately, it has been in an accelerating state of decline since then, to the point that the roof is now completely gone.

The original factory owner's grandson, the Italian Club of Tampa, and others are making efforts to secure the walls of this historic building and save it from demolition. For photos of the building's condition and more about the effort to preserve it click here.

Other buildings in a similarly threatened condition in Ybor City have needed to be shorn up for periods of time until rehabilitation became more financially feasible. The City of Tampa's staff gave an excellent presentation at the BLC meeting that showed how other buildings suffering in poor condition with walls needing support had been addressed, and mentioned some of the resources available for preservation. Ybor City, for example, (along with the Tampa Heights and West Tampa NR Historic Districts) is one of three historic districts in Tampa that qualifies for the Interstate Historic Preservation Trust Fund Grant Program. Contact the office of Historic Preservation and Urban Design for more information.

This is not the first time that a Tampa Local Landmark property has suffered from harmful neglect to the point of collapse. The historic Gary School suffered its demise due to structural failure in 2008, even though it had been designated a Local Landmark in 2005. That property had been sold to a developer and was no longer owned by the school district. It was a tragic loss of an important building for the Gary neighborhood. Although I was never able to secure documentation, the architectural characteristics and 1913 date of construction of that building caused me to consider that it may have been designed by Joseph Leitner, the same architect who designed Tampa's Union Station, which was built in 1912. Since the partial collapse and subsequent removal of Gary School, Tampa's City Council has been taking steps to tighten code enforcement regulations to prevent demolition by neglect of historic structures.

The fate of the Ferlita Macaroni Factory building is still tenuous. This building is the only one of its kind in Tampa. I think it was Becky Clarke of Tampa Preservation, Inc (TPI) who mentioned in her comments during the BLC meeting, "Tampa still has 25 cigar factory buildings remaining, but only one historic macaroni factory building." The loss of this building would leave a vacant hole in the heart of the Ybor City National Historic Landmark District. Tourists come to Ybor City because it has authentic historic buildings. Hopefully, the owner will be able to contract with a buyer, or work out a viable solution, to secure and to rehabilitate this structure. Stay tuned...