This 34,903 sq. ft. building at 1202 N Howard Ave. was constructed in 1904 after George and Lettie Benjamin deeded four parcels of land to Samuel I. Davis for $16,600.  The Samuel I. Davis & Co. was its first occupant in 1904 when they moved from the Joyce Cigar Co. factory building on Rock Road between Tampa and Ybor City. On October 2, 1910 the building was damaged by fire due to arson during the 1910 workers strike which lasted from July 1910 until January 1911.  After the strike was over and Samuel I. Davis & Co. vacated the building.

The Balbín brothers; Gabriel (1847-1913), Benigno (1852-1926) and Miguel (1853-1920) were Spanish immigrants from Asturias, sons of Joseph Balbín and Vicenta Espina.  They emigrated to Cuba from where they arrived in New York City between 1874 and 1877 where they received their US citizenship in the late 1880s. Originally involved in the tobacco leaf import business in New York, the Balbin Bros. Cigar Co. started their manufacturing operation in Tampa at a factory on Franklin St. in downtown Tampa. In 1904 they moved to a factory building on the corner of Howard Ave. & St. John St. previously occupied by A. Santaella & Co.  The factory at Howard Ave. & St. John St. burned to the ground during the 1910 labor strike. In 1911 the Balbín brothers acquired this building which as stated above was damaged by fire and vacated by Samuel I. Davis in 1911. Because one of the brands produced by Balbín Bros. Co. was Elisardo, the building was sometimes referred to as the Elisardo Factory Building.

The Tampa-Cuba Cigar Co. was incorporated September 28, 1891 by businessmen from the Wholesale Druggist Association of America H.B. Guilford and Ernest Berger and Cuban cigar man Emilio Pons (1857-1914).  On January 6, 1915 the Tampa-Cuba Cigar Co. acquired Balbin Bros. Co. and its subsidiary the Diaz-Havana Cigar Co.  As a result, Tampa-Cuba Cigar Co. became the largest cigar manufacturer in West Tampa.  The company remodeled and expanded the factory building and made significant changes to its exterior.  It was then known as the Tampa-Cuba Cigar Factory Building. 

In December 1923, Balbin Bros. Co. and Diaz-Havana Cigar Co. were dissolved and Tampa-Cuba Cigar Co. continued operations at this site until it closed down on May 16, 1934.  Between 1929-1933 the building was co-occupied by Gradiaz, Annis Co. before relocating to the Gradiaz, Annis Co. building in Ybor City.  Throughought the years, Tampa-Cuba Cigar Co. shared the building with Tampa Grande Cigar Co., Elmerbrink Co. and Preston Cigar Co.  The name Diaz Havana Co., can still be seen on the side of the building. 

Between 1934 and 1936, the DeSoto Brewing Co. owned and operated the building.  Between 1937 and 1975, Fred and Mack Perlman of Davis Island owned the building and used it for their enterprises which included the Empire Mercantile Co., Supreme Manufacturing Co., Sunstate Slacks, Inc. and Fremac’s - a chain of 24 men’s and boys’ clothing stores.  Between 1978 and 2005 members of the Freeman family owned the buildng and used if for their enterprises which included EverWear Products, Inc., Royal Kitchens, Inc., and Daystar International. 

In June 2005, Karyn and Glenn Freeman sold the building to North Hyde Park Lofts, LLC of Concord, Mass.  In January, 2006 Intelident Solutions, parent company of Coast Dental Services, purchased the building which according to a press release in September 2006 was to be renovated to house its corporate headquarters.  These renovations never took place. In November 2016 the building was acquired for $1.4 million by My Hospitality Hotels of Jackson, MS in partnership with a Tampa hotelier. Plans were for the structure to become a boutique hotel but as of June 2022 these plans had not materialized and the property was still vacant and abandoned.

In September 2023 local TV channel Fox News 13 aired a segment announcing that renovation work had begun on the site to convert the old cigar factory to a seventy room boutique hotel.  The last picture in the gallery below shows how work was progressing as of December 2023.  Plans are for the new hotel to open in March 2025.