According to the Tampa Bay Times, a historically significant art moderne-style house owned by local contractor George Guida whose nickname was "Mr. West Tampa" has been vacant for decades under the city's ownership and has an uncertain future. The Jackson House, which is in downtown Tampa and provided African Americans room and board downtown during segregation, is also in desperate straights. Both buildings are listed on National Register of Historic Places.
Fans of the Guida House, at 1516 N. Renfrew Ave. inside MacFarlane Park, say there should be more preservation options available than for the Jackson House. One reason is that the Guida House is owned by the city of Tampa.
"What good is it doing vacant?" said Tampa City Council member Guido Maniscalco, whose represents the West Tampa district where the Guida House is located. "We need to find a use for it." Tampa tried to help once before, issuing a request for proposals 10 years ago. Nothing came of it.
"The economy was different then," Maniscalco said. "I think it's time to champion this." A wall mural just inside the front door shows how the Guida House's exterior looked in its prime — before the windows were boarded up, iron railing was removed from the second floor, an outside brick kitchen was abandoned, and grass grew over the heart-shaped driveway. The city estimates it would cost $1 million to bring the building back to code, Maniscalco said.
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