February 2014

1. A Tampa Immigrant’s Business Story of the Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families Kenneth C. Ferlita, AIA February 2014

2. FICARROTTA FAMILY Santo Stefano Quisquina, Sicily Family relatives in Sicily [circa late 800s] Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

3. FICARROTTA - FERLITA WEST TAMPA – YBOR CITY Giuseppe R. Ficarrotta [1868-1909] Giuseppe R. Ferlita 1886- 1949 Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

4. TIMELINE CHART Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families Ferlita Macaroni Factory expands to larger factory. 633 Union St, West Tampa Giuseppe Ficarrotta killed. Giuseppe Ficarrotta immigrated to Florida [Worked in St. Cloud Sugar Mills] Giuseppe Ferlita dies Ferlita Macaroni Factory expands to 644 Main Street,, next to family bakery in West Tampa Ferlita Family Move out of Ybor factory into a South Tampa Home Ferlita Macaroni Factory expands to Ybor City into new building Ferlita Macaroni Factory forced to relocate to 2001 N Tampaina, West Tampa Ferlita Macaroni Factory est. 1912 in Ferlita’s home on 518 Green St., West Tampa Inter-national Bank ‘s Loan Due Giuseppe Ferlita immigrated to Tampa 1915 1891 1909 1912 1924 1940 1944 1949 1905 1936 1800s 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950s WEST TAMPA YBOR CITY WEST TAMPA

5. WEST TAMPA FLORIDA Main Street, West Tampa [circa 1895] Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

6. Giuseppe R. Ficarrotta 1868- 1909 Giuseppe Ficarrotta immigrated from Santo Stefano Quisquina, Sicily to the United States in 1891 and after working at the St. Cloud Sugar Mills for about a year, settled in West Tampa. His wife Maria NicolinaPirello joined him in 1892. Within 10 years he had prospered to open a bakery and a feed store . He was a founding member, along with Hugh MacFarlane to establish the West Tampa Building & Loan with a stock capitol of $900,000. He served on the West Tampa City Council. His murder was never solved but the newspaper accounts indicated because he was one of West Tampa’s wealthiest businessman, two unidentified men approached him to extort $10,000 to aid id bribing a criminal friend from jail, but because he refused was killed. Giuseppe R. Ficarrotta West Tampa City Councilman Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

7. WEST TAMPA 1909 Murder 1910 Ficarrotta & Albano Lynching [Howard and Kennedy] Tampa Police Department 1900s www.WestTampaMurder.com Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

8. WEST TAMPA Condolence Letters Maria Pirello Ficarrotta Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

9. WEST TAMPA 1909 Murder Acting Municipal Judge Granville Larimore West Tampa Constable Fernandez Gonzalez www.WestTampaMurder.com Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

10. WEST TAMPA FLORIDA G. Ficarrotta & Co. Bakery – Rosario Ferlita Bakery Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

11. WEST TAMPA FLORIDA MAIN STREET Bakery & Macaroni Factory Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

12. Giuseppe R. Ferlita 1886 - 1949 Giuseppe R. Ferlita immigrated from Santo Stefano Quisquina, Sicily to USA in 1905. He first worked as a cigar maker until his father purchased a bakery in West Tampa . With a loan from his brother-in-law, James Ficarrotta, and assistance from good friends like Angelo Mortellaro a businessman and founding member of the Italian Club, his macaroni factory was on Main St in a building owned by his in-laws. The business continued to grow and relocated to a new factory on 22nd Street and 6th Avenue. As pasta shipments expanded as far north as Georgia, again the factory was in need of expansion. In the late 1930s the business moved Union Street in West Tampa, but was forced to relocate again due to a new Public Housing development. Shortly after the final move to Tampaina Avenue ,WWII broke out and other finances difficultness began to strain the business. The bank called in the loan to buy the business for the banker’s son and within five years Giuseppe Ferlita died in 1949. Giuseppe R. Ferlita Ferlita Macaroni Co. Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

13. WEST TAMPA FLORIDA 1911 1920 Giuseppe Ferlita marriage to Vicenta Ficarrotta Giuseppe Ferlita marriage to Maria Paola Ficarrotta Maria Paola Ficarrotta was separated from her parents at the age of four and wasn’t reunited until she was fifteen years old. She married her childhood friend in Tampa at the age of 23,. Sadly her life was cut short at only 30 when she died of Spanish Flu. That same week the Ficarrotta Family lost two other siblings also to the flu. Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

14. FERLITA FAMILY 1920 L-R: Vincenta Ficarrotta, Mary, Rosario (standing), Paul, Joseph, Jr. and Giuseppe Ferlita Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

15. FERLITA FAMILY Giuseppe and Vincenta Ferlita Certificate of Citizenship - 1938 Certificate of Naturalization - 1942 Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

16. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Ferlita Macaroni Factory [1930s] Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

17. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Paul Ferlita standing on truck [1928] Ferlita Macaroni Delivery Truck [1930s] Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

18. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Ferlita Macaroni Factory Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

19. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Ferlita Macaroni Factory – Ybor City Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

20. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Ferlita Macaroni Factory & Family Residence – Ybor City Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

21. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Ybor location “For Sale” after the factory was relocated to West Tampa Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

22. WEST TAMPA FLORIDA Ferlita Macaroni Factory – Union Street Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

23. WEST TAMPA FLORIDA Ferlita Macaroni Factory – Union Street Diesel Generator Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

24. WEST TAMPA FLORIDA Angelo Massari 1883 - 1970 International Bank of Tampa 300 West Fortune Street 1946 Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

25. FERLITA MACARONI FACTORY REBIRTH Before Restoration of the Ferlita Macaroni Factory [2009] Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

26. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Restoration of the Ferlita Macaroni Factory [2010] Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

27. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Before Restoration of the Ferlita Macaroni Factory [2009] Old Residential Entrance Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

28. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Ferlita Macaroni Factory – 2009 Ferlita Macaroni Factory – Today Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

29. YBOR CITY FLORIDA Ferlita Macaroni Factory “Then & Now” - Ybor City Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

30. Questions Thank you – Kenneth Ferlita, AIA www.Ferlita.com February 2014

31. West Tampa's birth came fast on the heels of this new burst of economic activity. Hugh C. Macfarlane (1851-1935), a transplanted Scotsman, moved to Tampa in 1883 after hearing about the real estate growth while practicing law in New Orleans. After arriving in Tampa to practice law and he rose quickly in the community and in 1887 was appointed City Attorney. In 1892, Macfarlane purchased and platted 200 acres of land just west of the Hillsborough River for development. Macfarlane began offering factory sites and three story brick buildings to manufacturers. To encourage factories to relocate to West Tampa he and some investors, built an iron drawbridge across the Hillsborough River at Fortune Street and later financed a streetcar line. Dozens of cigar companies and thousands of people moved into the new city resulting in capital investments of over $2 million in West Tampa, a staggering sum in those bygone days. Three short years later, on May 18, 1895, West Tampa was incorporated, boasting 3,500 residents with businesses and community services. WEST TAMPA FLORIDA Hugh MacFarlane 1844 - 1896 Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families

32. ST. CLOUD FLORIDA Hamilton Disston 1844 - 1896 Hamilton Disston, was an industrialist and real-estate developer who purchased four million acres of Florida land in 1881, an area larger than the state of Connecticut, and reportedly the most land ever purchased by a single person in world history. Ficarrotta – Ferlita Families