Webb's City

File:Webbscity.jpg

Webb's City was a one-stop department store of sorts that was located in St. Petersburg, Florida and was touted as "the World's Most Unusual Drug Store".

It was started in the mid-1920s by James Earl "Doc" Webb in a building 17 by 28 feet (5.2 by 8.5 m) (45 m² (480 sq ft)). At its peak Webb's City had 77 departments and measured seven city blocks. It was considered a forerunner to the shopping center.

Webb was taken to court for selling Ipana toothpaste below Bristol-Meyers' suggested retail price. The case went all the way to the Florida Supreme Court which ruled in Webb's favor. A few years later several distilleries also took Webb to court for similar reasons. The courts again ruled in Webb's favor.

Webb's had a gift shop, hardware store, meat market, beauty salon, travel agency, clothing departments, cafeteria, multiple coffee shops and soda fountains and of course, a drugstore. Webb's City is credited as having implemented a new idea in the checkout aisle, the express lane, 10 items or less.

Sales reached $4 million a year in 1941. As shopping centers became popular, business dwindled at Webb's City. It was eventually closed in 1979.

External links

• an article about Doc Webb and his city