Originally intended to house a drug store, barber shop, haberdashery, and tea room, this was the second commercial building constructed in Venice. The front of the building was described as “decidedly a Venetian design” by the local representative of Walker and Gillette, H. S. Patterson.
The building was designed by architect W. H. Schumaker of Tampa and constructed by the Barrett Construction Company of Tampa. According to an article in the July 10, 1926 edition of This Week In Venice, it was scheduled to be completed in 60 days. In the same article, owner G. E. Sanders stated that he wished to be the “first merchant of Venice.” By February 1927, advertisements in the Venice News indicated that the building was the home of the Rendezvous Tea Shop.
Photograph provided by Venice Museum & Archives
