bummer for sure
A fire tore through downtown Plant City Monday night and Tuesday morning. All of the city’s fire trucks showed up, and still the fire blazed. Units from Lakeland, Hillsborough and Tampa joined in the fight, but two old buildings were lost before the fire was contained.
The northernmost building (Collins St. at MLK) was completely burned down. It belongs to Harold Dennis Spurlock from Kentucky, and housed a DUI School and Attorney James Buzbee. Both businesses suffered significant document losses. The fire started at another business inside, Mark Electronics.
If you’ve driven through downtown Plant City, there’s no doubt that you’ve seen “Reflection of a Town.” This mural, painted in the mid seventies by artist John Briggs, includes the old train depot, along with a couple shops and a train on its way into Plant City. So far, the wall holding the mural is still up, but it may have to come down.
Next door, 108 S. Collins St., which once housed a popular grocery and dry goods store (Rogers & Middlebrooks) in the early 1900’s. David and Vicki Hawthorne own the building, which was occupied by the decimated Yesterday’s Attic, Olde Village Shoppes and the Park-Side café (not labeled). Joe Grimes sold jewelry at the Shoppes, and is waiting to sift through the rubble to see what is left. Both buildings were built after a similar fire in 1907.
On the north end of the block, the Whistle Stop Café survived for now, but owner Jerry Lofstrom feels somewhat guilty that his place made it through, while the others didn’t. All of the others are looking at a long rebuilding process, if they get to open at all. With the Strawberry Festival scheduled for next month, the destroyed businesses will not be open and will all lose out on any expected increase.
An interesting side note: Of the seven businesses destroyed in the fire, three did not carry insurance. Neither Mark Electronics, Grimes jewelry store, nor the Park-Side Café carried insurance.
Tags: tampa
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