A. L. Riddle International Trucks building : Tampa, Fla.

Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

About this photograph

Photograph Order Number

PA 19601

Date

[1920]

Creator

Burgert Brothers

Publisher

Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library

Source (original item)

1 photograph : b&w ;21 x 26 cm.

Format

JPEG2000

General Notes

Title text in brackets not supplied in ledger. It is uncertain if this is an authentic Burgert Brothers photo. Information based on accompanying text: "A. L. Riddle International Trucks - Tampa, Florida. Northeast corner of Florida Avenue and Cass Street about 1920. Building rented from Robert Mchaughlin (801 Douele Willow) who sold it to people who built Floridan Hotel. (Baron Collier). Feist International Truck agency on southwest corner of Tampa and across from back of Maas Brothers. This building burned in 1979 - and had same old roof but it has been torn down in 1980. A quarter of a block took care of sales, display, garage - everything - Kathryn Riddle Parrish - oldest child of Arthur Lee Riddle and Daisy Dunleam Riddle - 805 South Willow. Brother Will Riddle had Miami territory 1919-1976. Cash Riddle had Orlando territory and Rene O. Riddle Jacksonville Agency - making Riddle the largest agency in the south according to ad in Egypt Temple Shrine Menstree program I gave to patrol 1920 or 1921." More accompanying text: "Formerly on corner of Tampa and across from back of present Maas Brothers 1/2 block about 1919. This building burned in 1979 and is empty. Same old roof. K. R. Parrish."

Subjects

Tampa in the 1920s

The Roaring Twenties nearly doubled Tampa — from about 51,600 people in 1920 to over 101,000 by 1930 — and the Florida land boom is written all over these photographs. Developer D.P. Davis literally dredged up two little islands at the mouth of the Hillsborough River to build Davis Islands, announcing the plan in January 1924. Outlying spots like Sulphur Springs, Palma Ceia, and Temple Terrace took off. Bayshore was still a county brick road when the October 1921 hurricane shoved an 11-foot surge over the waterfront. Streetcars still ruled — nearly 24 million riders in 1926 — even as cars started clogging the streets. Browse this decade's photographs for the boom as it happened — new subdivisions, crowded beaches and boulevards, and a city stretching into its suburbs.

Sources: Davis Islands (City of Tampa); Ahead of its time, Davis Islands promises more than Florida sunshine (Tampa Bay History Center); Tampa Bay / Tarpon Springs Hurricane of 1921 (National Weather Service); Bayshore Boulevard: A Brief Look at its Historic Past (USF Libraries)