FEB. 5TH OPEN HOUSE!
Live Music, food, wine, plenty of artists and more!
Proceeds benefit the Joshua House.
A building erected as a cigar factory more than a century ago now is a thriving enclave for working artists.
Built in 1904 as the Santaella Cigar Factory, the three-story brick building on North Armenia Avenue currently provides working space for a family business and 27 tenants, most of whom are artists. What makes this all possible is the well-oiled working relationship between the building's owners and the tenants, a relationship that dates back 14 years.
In 1997, two brothers and a sister — Jamie and Bubba Ellis and their sister, Jenny Ellis Van-Pelt — bought the building for their family business, the Ellis-Van Pelt Furniture & Restaurant Supply. By late 1998, two or three artists were renting and working in partitioned spaces on the third floor, surrounded by open unfinished warehouse space. By 2001, there were a dozen artists. As more and more open space was broken up into studios, the growing group of artists formed a loose organization called "Gallery 1906," and under that name the group held regular opening receptions and parties in the building.
Through all the changes, the building's owners have stayed committed to their tenants. And the tenants, in turn, have shown their gratitude. Recently several artists painted parts of the building, made small repairs and generally spruced things up in preparation for the grand opening. The Ellis-Van Pelt families reimbursed their costs.
"They (the Ellis-Van Pelts) have created an environment like none-other in Tampa for artists to have both a place to work and get some local and national exposure," said a long-time tenant, artist Caesar Carbajal. "My experience has been one of complete cooperation." "They (the owners) are wonderful. I can't say enough about them," said Vosler. "They are very supportive of all the artists and they attend all our events. It could be a blueprint for other businesses to follow.
Built in 1904 as the Santaella Cigar Factory, the three-story brick building on North Armenia Avenue currently provides working space for a family business and 27 tenants, most of whom are artists. What makes this all possible is the well-oiled working relationship between the building's owners and the tenants, a relationship that dates back 14 years.
In 1997, two brothers and a sister — Jamie and Bubba Ellis and their sister, Jenny Ellis Van-Pelt — bought the building for their family business, the Ellis-Van Pelt Furniture & Restaurant Supply. By late 1998, two or three artists were renting and working in partitioned spaces on the third floor, surrounded by open unfinished warehouse space. By 2001, there were a dozen artists. As more and more open space was broken up into studios, the growing group of artists formed a loose organization called "Gallery 1906," and under that name the group held regular opening receptions and parties in the building.
Through all the changes, the building's owners have stayed committed to their tenants. And the tenants, in turn, have shown their gratitude. Recently several artists painted parts of the building, made small repairs and generally spruced things up in preparation for the grand opening. The Ellis-Van Pelt families reimbursed their costs.
"They (the Ellis-Van Pelts) have created an environment like none-other in Tampa for artists to have both a place to work and get some local and national exposure," said a long-time tenant, artist Caesar Carbajal. "My experience has been one of complete cooperation." "They (the owners) are wonderful. I can't say enough about them," said Vosler. "They are very supportive of all the artists and they attend all our events. It could be a blueprint for other businesses to follow.