HENRY LEIMAN HOUSE

Henry Leiman House
716 South Newport Avenue
Tampa, Florida 33606-2933

Malachi Leo Elliott of Bonfoey & Elliott, 1916

This magnificent Prairie School residence is the crown jewel of Tampa’s Hyde Park Historic District. The two-story home is built of stucco over a wooden frame and has nearly 6000 square feet of space. The facade is highlighted by a projecting entry bay, an enclosed raised terrace, a dramatic low-pitched roof with deep cantilevered eaves, one-storey wings, and bands of distinctive windows with “tree of life” designs. Massive Prairie-style planters decorate the parapets. The interior features beautiful mahogany, teak, and walnut wood trim from Brazil and Cuba.

The house was built for cigar box magnate Henry Leiman and was designed by prominent Tampa architect M. Leo Elliott. Henry Leiman came to Tampa in 1894 to open a branch of the William Wicke Company. In 1906, he established the Tampa Box Company with five acres in Ybor City and six on the Hillsborough River, planted with imported Cuban cedar trees which were used in the manufacture of cigar boxes. This house was a center of Tampa social activity during the 1920s.

The Leiman House was featured in advertisements by Wadsworth, Howland & Co., Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts, a maker of paint and varnish. The text of one advertisement, which appeared in the May 1916 issue of The House Beautiful, read in part, “Concrete and stucco lend themselves to attractive, artistic effects when finished with Bay State Brick & Cement Coating. This gives a rich color tone, white or tinted, without losing the distinctive texture of the material. It makes walls absolutely weatherproof. For interiors, too—especially desirable.”

The above photos courtesy of Wayne W. Wood.

These photos by John Panning from January 2011.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

References
• Broward, Robert C.: The Architecture of Henry John Klutho: The Prairie School in Jacksonville. Jacksonville, Florida: The Jacksonville Historical Society, 2003.
• Florida Department of State, Master Site File.

http://www.prairieschooltraveler.com/html/fl/leiman/Leiman.html