• Menu
  • Menu
Samuel I. Davis Cigar Factory | Photo © 2016 Bullet, www.abandonedfl.com

Samuel I. Davis Cigar Factory

City/Town:
Location Class:
Built: 1909 | Abandoned: 1980s
Status: Abandoned
Photojournalist: David Bulit

Samuel I. Davis Cigar Company

Samuel I. Davis was a native New Yorker who learned the cigar trade at a young age in his hometown. After being a salesman for Julius Ellinger Co., he founded the Samuel I. Davis Company in 1886 at 24 to produce El Sidelo, Gen. Good, Charle Carroll, Segundo, and Harvester brands. The company operated factories in New York City, Western New York, and Tampa.

Until 1904, the Samuel I. Davis Company occupied the old Joyce Cigar Company factory between Ybor City and Tampa. In September 1904, a factory was built on the corner of Nassau Street and Howard Avenue, later to be occupied by the Balbin Bros. Cigar Company, for whom the factory is remembered. In 1906, Samuel partnered with his brother Fred Davis, and the firm’s name was changed to the Davis Bros. Cigar Company. They acquired a factory building previously owned by Carlos Fernandez Co. located a few blocks south of their first factory and operated both, employing 600 workers between the two.

samuel i davis cigar factory
A postcard depicting the Samuel I. Davis Cigar Factory. It should be noted that the spelling of Davis’ name differs between advertisements and historical documents. Some spell it as Samuel I. Davis, while others replace his middle initial with an L.
sanborn Samuel i davis cigar factory
1915 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Tampa, Florida. Library of Congress

Construction began on this factory, the company’s third factory building, at the corner of Cypress Street and Howard Avenue in 1909. Upon nearing completion in May 1910, a fire razed the entire building except for the tower. Despite the incident, construction was eventually completed in 1911. Fred J. James designed this new factory, and it bears a striking resemblance to one of James’ other works, the Y. Penda & Alvarez cigar factory building in Old West Tampa.

On October 2, 1910, the Balbin Bros. factory building suffered major damage due to arson. As a result, Davis Bros. Cigar Company moved its 400 workers to the newly built factory after its completion and sold the Balbin Bros. building to the Balbin Bros. Cigar Company.

el sidelo samuel davis
Advertisement for El Sidelo Cigars. Cigar Smoking Man

Consolidated Cigar Company

After Samuel I. Davis passed away in 1918, the factory began exclusively producing El Sidelo cigars and changed its name to El Sidelo Cigar Company Factory. The Davis Bros. Cigar Company ran the factory until May 15, 1919, when it merged with six other manufacturers to form the Consolidated Cigar Corporation. This included E. M. Schwartz & Co., T. J. Dunn & Co., Jose Llovera, Lillies Cigar Co., and the Samuel I. Davis Cigar Company. Fred Davis managed leaf purchases from Havana, Cuba, but later left to co-found the New York-Tampa Cigar Company with Luis Toro in 1921. Consolidated Cigar Co. would operate the factory until 1924, when they ceased operations in the Tampa area.

Later Tenants

Gradiaz, Annis & Co. moved into the building in 1929 when they moved their manufacturing operations from New York and remained here until 1933, when they relocated to the Berriman-Morgan factory in Ybor City. A. Santaella & Co. briefly operated a branch here from 1930 to 1931. The former Samuel I. Davis Cigar Factory was occupied by Sunstate Sportswear manufacturing firm from 1954 into the 1980s.

While there are no plans for the building, it is currently up for sale. According to the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s website, JMC Property Investments Inc. has owned the factory since 1994, when it was purchased for $275,000. The appraiser’s website says the factory’s market value is $1,315,100.

Tampa Cigar Factories
A colored postcard featuring four cigar factories in the Tampa/Ybor area. Top left is the Santaella Cigar factory. Top right is the Cuesta-Ray Cigar Factory. Bottom left is the Pendes & Alvarez Cigar Factory. Bottom right is the Samuel I. Davis Cigar Factory. Postmarked August 20, 1912. Abandoned Atlas Archives

Photo Gallery

Bullet

David Bulit is a photographer, author, and historian from Miami, Florida. He has published a number of books on abandoned and forgotten locales throughout the United States and continues to advocate for preserving these historic landmarks. His work has been featured throughout the world in news outlets such as the Miami New Times, the Florida Times-Union, the Orlando Sentinel, NPR, Yahoo News, MSN, the Daily Mail, UK Sun, and many others. You can find more of his work at davidbulit.com as well as amazon.com/author/davidbulit.

View Locations

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Copyright © 2009- - Abandoned Atlas Foundation - board@AbandonedAtlas.com | Designed By Prairie Nation Creative, LLC - Disclaimer