Driving Survey: Piglet's Pantry and The Drawer, Mount Dora, Florida

The area surveyed was that of the commercial downtown area of Mount Dora, Florida, which stretches from McDonald Street to Baker Street (a four-block stretch from west to east) and Fifth Avenue to Third Avenue (a three-block stretch from north to south). Within this area there are several historic buildings, although not all have been completely rehabilitated, and there are still many vacancies in the area.

The two structures chosen for this assignment were that of Piglet’s Pantry et al. and The Drawer. These two buildings are located directly across from one another, along one of the main streets, Donnelly Street, and the cross street, Fourth Avenue. They were chosen because of their historic significance to the area, as both were early additions to the town.

Piglet’s Pantry et al, formerly Rehbaum’s Hardware, was built in a masonry vernacular style in 1914 and functioned as a town hardware supply store with apartments on the second floor. Rehabilitations were made in 1924 and again in 1950, as the second story porch was removed from the front facade along with additions to the rear of the building. The additions housed a small drugstore and furniture store. Since 1997 it has functioned as a dog bakery called Piglet’s Pantry and other retail spaces including a wine bar and a shoe store, with apartments/office space for rent on the second floor. These businesses have remained in place for a while, with great success for the dog bakery and wine bar, although not as fortunate for the case of the shoe store. The apartments/office space rentals on the second floor have been vacant for the most part.

The Drawer, a masonry vernacular building built in 1880, was originally a general store. Additions were made in the mid-1920s as it later became Crane’s Furniture, which was an operation originally commenced at Rehbaum’s Hardware, but since space was lacking it was moved across the street. Since 1984, with the introduction of another rear addition, it has functioned as a women’s clothing and accessories retail store. The Drawer been a successful operation and receives a lot of business locally and from the surrounding area.