August 8, 2024
On a warm August night, the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg were given a tour of the historic Kress building. Located next to Florida Craftart (and the haunted ArtLofts building), the building started out as a Kress 5 & dime store. It was lauded for its quickconstruction in the 1920s and became a central part of the downtown department stores.
The most amazing part of the building is the underground. Unlike most Florida buildings, this has a substantial basement that houses offices, hallways and other rooms. Most interact when they walk above this area — it is illuminated by small glass tiles inserted into the sidewalk.
For a time, the building was converted to condos after the Kress franchise closed down. (As an aside, there are two other former Kress buildings in Tampa and at least one in Sarasota). Eventually, the condos were changed to office spaces, which is what it holds today.
One of the most interesting legends deals with mobster Al Capone who was said to have had a speakeasy hidden away in the underground. Additionally, it connected to another underground structure across the street of Central Avenue — a private theater. The theater has since been filled in and a huge condominium building placed over it, destroying any hope of access to this unique place.
Over the years, many have asked if the building was haunted. Indeed, at one point the Iberian Rooster, a restaurant hosted in the underground section, recorded haunted activity. A small glass cake container jumped off of a counter and fell to the floor when no one was about. It was caught on security camera.
Some of the tenants say that they feel movement in the building, and sometimes sense a presence. While we did not find much in the way of an active haunting, it did host some residue of past times — the sensation of people moving about the place.
Saint Petersburg