101 N Main Street
Address
101 N Main Street Brooksville, FL 34601
Year Built
First built in 1858 (burned 1877), then in 1878 and 1913, with additions in 1974 and 1988.
First Owner
Tamiami Cafe
101 N Main, Tamiami, three floors
101 N Main
101 N Main Street, Tamiami Cafe
101 N Main, Jefferson View (1925)
Bacon’s Drug Store ad with 101 N Main Street address
101 N Main Street as a drug store
101 N Main Street
101 N Main, Tamiami Cafe
Dr. Harvard practiced on the 2nd floor until 1964
Looking North up Main from Jefferson
The History
The Tamiami Cafe was located here from 1923 until 1935 when they moved to Broad Street. The building was originally three stories but the third story was removed after it was damaged by a fire in 1928. After that fire, all buildings in Brooksville were required to be no more than two stories as the fire department did not have a ladder truck that could reach any higher.
According to Bob Martinez of Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories, Dr. Harvard kept his practice on the second floor from 1934 until he passed away in 1964. Dr. Harvard’s portrait can be seen in the mural honoring Brooksville’s local physicians on the back of The Hogan Law Firm. The bag Dr. Harvard used when making house calls is on display at the Hernando Heritage Museum.
In 1935, the cafe was replaced by Bacon’s Drug Store. They moved from their previous location a few doors down at the corner of Fort Dade and Main Street. Photographic evidence of Bacon’s Drug Store’s many storefronts in downtown keeps surfacing. In 1989, The Main Street Eatery opened, featuring a menu based on the streets of Brooksville.
CITATIONS/CREDIT:
Old Brooksville in Photos & Stories July 2006 Vol 98
“Early Physicians of Brooksville,” Hernando Sun
The Architecture
Masonry Vernacular: flat roof, fixed storefront window, and 2/2 single hung window, stucco exterior.