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Scranton Arcade was important example of Clearwater real estate

Scranton Arcade

When I posted the last article on Clearwater real estate wall art, I noticed something in the picture that puzzled me a little — a detail in the mural that showed a store front with the words “Scranton Arcade” over the front entranceway. I had never heard of the Scranton Arcade before, so I decided to do a little research.

What I discovered is that the Scranton Arcade building was a very exciting bit of downton Clearwater architecture that was built in the mid-1920s. It covered a whole city block of Clearwater real estate, and it contained everything from Clearwater’s post office (before the current very beautiful Clearwater Post Office was built a few years later) to a bakery to the Clearwater offices of the St. Petersburg TIMES newspaper.

The Clearwater Evening Independent newspaper did a story in 1924 on the construction of the building. It explains quite a bit about the building and the role it was to play in what was then Clearwater’s blossoming downtown:

Clearwater Evening Independent – June 16, 1924

The Scranton Arcade, said to be the largest building of its kind in South Florida, is approaching completion. Blue and buff case tile is now being placed below the large plate glass windows on the Garden Avenue side, and laying of floor tile is to begin this week.

 Construction work on this arcade has been held up, owing to delay in installation of an automatic sprinkler system, with which the entire building is to be furnished, A. M. Perdue, superintendent, said today, but he predicts the arcade will be ready for occupancy within 30 days.
 
The post office is to be located in the extreme southeastern corner of the new building, and everybody is interested in seeing the local postal department in the new quarters, as the present post office, on Cleveland Street, is entirely inadequate for the purpose.

The Scranton Arcade is a beautiful structure, with sidewalls of apricot stucco, ornamented with art stone friezes. It occupies the entire block bounded by Cleveland Street, South Garden Avenue, Park Street and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad tracks.  This is considered one of the finest business locations in Clearwater.

The construction is entirely of hollow tile ands brick, stuccoed throughout, with elaborate ornamental façade and Spanish tile coping finishing the top of the sidewalls. Wide corridors run through the building north and south and east and west and there is a spacious court under a big rotunda in the center.

Clearwater’s newest business building is divided into very attractive small shops, all of which have large plate glass windows, both on the streets and the arcade. The post office being located in the southeast corner, patrons of the post office will be obliged to pass all of the business places in the building. It is stated that these desirable shops and offices have already been leased.

The main feature of the Scranton Arcade, perhaps, is that its erection opens up a new business district on South Garden Avenue, and is but the forerunner of a number of attractive business buildings.

Other stores in the arcade included the Postal Telegraph Company, the post office, Rellop’s Smoke Shop, Frank J. Booth Insurance, a newspaper office, a beauty shop and the Dutch Kitchen restaurant.

I haven’t been able to find out exactly what happened to the Scranton Arcade building, but the modern Atrium office building now stands at the corner of Cleveland and South Garden.  If you know the fate of the Scranton Arcade, please post something here by clicking on “comment.”

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