Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Balbin Bros. Cigar Factory In Trouble


Is the 1904 Cigar Factory at 1202 N. Howard in trouble?  I drove by the building last night and saw that the front overhang is now crumbling apart.  Is this to be a sign of things to come?  Bought in 2006 by Intellident, it was to have been rehabbed in similar fashion to the Berrimen-Morgan factory up the street and become the companies new office.  But it seems to have became a victim of the downturn.  This building is not designated locally as a landmark or on the National Register.  However, it is within the West Tampa National Historic District.  Doing a google search, Intellident has a history of the building located on their website. 

Great map and list of the remaining factory buildings in Tampa:  http://www.cigarsoftampa.com/tpa-factoriesmap.html

Gator Preservationist post on our unprotected cigar factories, including the Balbin Bros.:  http://gatorpreservationist.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/cigar-factories-of-tampa-part-2/

3 comments:

  1. Looks like they are rebuilding the overhang and possibly doing some work on the interior finally...
    cfox

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  2. Yes, I saw that as I drove by last night. I will have to go out and photograph.

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  3. They are not doing anything with it, hopefully it will get resold to the lofts or developed. So Sad, Shame on you city of Tampa for letting this happen.

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