A church that dates back to the beginning of the Spanish-American War is now a residence, and it's for sale in the historic Port Tampa neighborhood.
Located at 7002 S Shamrock Rd, the building was originally built in 1898 and was used as the Port Tampa Episcopal Church. It's unknown exactly when it was converted to a home, though the earliest residential records for the property date back to 1931.
The home's current owner, Beth Larcom, told Creative Loafing Tampa it was "a mess" when she and her husband first purchased it in 1979."We owned it for five years before we even lived there," said Larcom. "It had all these little rooms and an 8-foot drop ceiling. Well, as you can see we now have 22-foot ceilings after we stripped it all away."
Though there's been quite a few upgrades, the home still maintains the historic front door and beams. However, the original stained glass windows from the church were removed, but can still be found at the St. James Episcopal House of Prayer, also known as the "Rock Church," in Tampa Heights.
The 2,173-square-foot house sits on an oversized corner lot, and comes with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as hardwood floors, a loft, a two car garage, and plenty of "sanctuary."
"We’ve had lots of great times in the house," added Larcom, who is moving to North Carolina with her husband. "We’ve had weddings, New Year's Eve parties, memorials, birthday parties, it’s just such a great house for a gathering. It's really a one-of-a-kind house.”
The home is currently asking $425,000, and the listing agent is Robert Keppel of Smith & Associates Real Estate.
