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

Malachi Leo 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.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Photos by Wayne W. Wood.