In the 1930s, this was the country’s largest Walgreens. Soon it could be a speakeasy
An ambitious makeover would bring Al Capone, a basement speakeasy and three floors of food to downtown Miami’s historic but vacant Art Deco Walgreens building, but first the city of Miami’s historic preservation board has to give the plan its blessing.
Stambul, a Miami-based construction and development firm, has submitted plans to the City of Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board, according to an agenda posted on the city’s website. The board is scheduled to review the proposal in early February. The building at 200 E. Flagler St. would be renamed Julia & Henry’s Eatery and Drinks.
According to the submittal, the five-story tower would house an Al Capone-inspired speakeasy — the gangster supposedly used underground tunnels in Downtown Miami to move booze; a food hall spanning the ground, mezzanine and balcony levels; offices on the second and third floors and a restaurant on the fourth floor and rooftop.
Stambul hired the Miami-based TAI Architecture to renovate the building. The project will be constructed in phases with some being completed this year, said Stambul’s representative, Bilzin Sumberg lawyer Javier Aviñó, via email.
“We believe that the building will be the catalyst for a Downtown renaissance. With the Langford Hotel, my clients have a proven track record for adding value to old buildings without affecting their historic essence thus adding character and value to the communities they are in,” Aviñó said. “From our perspective eateries, such as the one proposed here are an ideal post-pandemic option since they allow smaller footprints, have less occupancy costs and create economies of scale that are otherwise not available in stand-alone commercial spaces.”
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Stambul acquired the building in 2018 for $19.75 million. The Alonso family owned and operated the department store La Epoca there from 2005 through 2016, when the building closed. Stambul has opened the building for exhibits, including a collaboration with Moishe Mana in 2018.
One of downtown Miami’s architectural gems, the store on East Flagler was built in 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression. It was designed by Chicago firm Zimmerman, Saxe and McBride. It was among the first in Miami to feature the Streamline Moderne variant of Art Deco architecture that also became the predominant style across Biscayne Bay in South Miami Beach.
Marked by a rounded corner entrance and horizontal bands of ribbon windows, the sleek but spare five-story building was declared a historic and architectural landmark by Miami’s historic preservation board in 1988 and added to the National Register of Historic Places the following year.
According to the city registry, the Walgreens store’s opening was seen as “a sign of confidence” in the future of the young city, battered not just by the Depression but also by the local land-boom collapse that preceded it.
At the time it was the largest Walgreens store in the country and featured an 88-foot-long soda fountain counter inside its three-story interior atrium. The Miami Architecture AIA Guide says it “endures as one of the grandest retail spaces” in the city.
The lunch counter, called The Rail, was popular with office workers downtown, said Miami historian Paul George. He recalls being awed by the store, where his uncle would send him to pick up prescriptions as a youngster.
“That Walgreen was a marvel,” George said, using the singular, historic company name.
The building had an unusual feature for Miami, George said: A basement, where the pharmacy was located. The basement was sealed off at some point, George said.
Besides the historic Walgreens building, Stambul also owns the 119-year-old former U.S. Post Office building in Downtown Miami, which is set to open before summer, Aviñó said. Biscayne Bay Brewing is the tenant. Stambul also renovated and reopened the neighborhood’s Langford Hotel.
This article was updated to include the response from Stambul representative Javier Aviñó.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
