The Sponge Industry: Selling Sponges
In 1908 the Sponge Exchange was founded as a cooperatively owned space and system for buying and grading sponges. It hosted sponge auctions every Tuesday and Friday. After the Sponge Exchange was demolished in 1981 and replaced with boutiques, sponge harvests were displayed on the docks so that merchants could offer a bid to the owner.
Merchants are central to domestic and international sponge distribution. Often they belong to families that have worked in every aspect of the business for generations. Some are so knowledgeable that they can discern where a sponge came from and when it was harvested.
In the past, there were many independent local sponge buyers, as well as agents of larger international merchant houses. Today the few active large-scale buyers have close personal or business ties with distributors in Greece or other parts of Europe. Most merchants buy less expensive sponges from the Bahamas in addition to those produced by local spongers.
In the distributors’ warehouses, sponges are processed or cut according to order specifications. Some are sold in their natural state, but may be trimmed to a size appropriate to the intended function. For cosmetic and other uses, sponges are bleached in successive chemical baths, trimmed to small sizes, compacted into bales by a sponge press, and shipped.
Men gather to survey heaps of large sponges in the yard of the Sponge Exchange. The early wooden buildings indicate that this is ca. the 1910s, before the sturdier brick buildings were constructed. Courtesy of Dr. Themistocles J. Diamandis.
This early image of a sponge packing house is associated with the name Trefon Constantinou. Hampton
Dunn Collection of Florida Postcards; Special Collections Tampa Library, University of South Florida.
Sponge warehouses of the Greek-American Sponge Company of Chicago and the American Sponge & Chamois Company of New York, October 1932. In the past, there were both independent local buyers and agents of large international companies. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.
Respected community leader George Emmanuel (1887-1968) with his family, wife Alexandra and children Michel George Emmanuel and Helen Emmanuel, outside their warehouse on Safford Avenue. George and his father Michalis emigrated from Aegina in 1906. Courtesy of Martha Emmanuel.
The Tsourakis sponge warehouse at 106 West Park Street was originally the E.R. Meres Sponge Packing House. Built about 1905, it is the oldest extant example of a sponge packing plant recently in operation. Photo by Robert L. Stone; State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
The Gulf of Mexico Sponge Co. warehouse was built at 122 Roosevelt Boulevard around 1930 by Drosos Alahuzos. After his death in 1955, the Kousaleos family purchased it, and donated it to Pinellas County's Heritage Village in 2004. Photo by Tina Bucuvalas/Florida Folklife Program.
The N. G. Arfaras Sponge Packing Plant at 23 West Park Street was among the last sponge packing plants built before the decline of the sponge industry in the late 1940s. 2005. Photo by Tina Bucuvalas/Florida Folklife Program.
The Samarkos Sponge Warehouse on Pinellas Avenue was owned and operated by the Samarkos family, many of whom were captains, divers, and merchants. Signs in this image from November 26, 1972 indicate that it also sold tourist items. It closed ca. 2010. Courtesy of Tampa Tribune.
On the Sponge Docks across from the Sponge Exchange, men examine enormous piles of strung sponges harvested on recent trips. In 1921, the wooden buildings had been replaced with brick. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Special Collections, Tampa Library, University of South Florida.
Sponges fill the courtyard of the Sponge Exchange on an auction day in 1921. Most of the men appear to be Greek, except for the African American man walking towards the camera--one of many in the sponge industry. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Special Collections, Tampa Library, University of South Florida.
The Sponge Exchange was an organized cooperative warehouse and distribution system established around 1908. At this time, iron-grilled klouves (storage cells) separated the catches around the perimeter. Auctions were held Tuesdays and Fridays. Courtesy of Heritage Village Archives.
The elevated view reveals the sponge fleet at the Sponge Docks and the Sponge Exchange and view of bridge and surrounding area in 1932. Note the boat yard to the right of the Docks. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.
Sponge brokers examine the piles of sponges for sale in the Sponge Exchange courtyard on November 6, 1936. Many are taking notes in preparation for the silent auction. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.
Men view sponges to be auctioned in the Sponge Exchange on July 24, 1937. By 1940, there were over 1,000 men engaged in the sponge industry. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.
Sponge acution inside Sponge Exchange, 194-. Photo by Joseph Janney Steinmetz, 1905-1985. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
The Sponge Exchange in Tarpon Springs, 1960. Photo by Donald J. Marks. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
Buyers examine sponge lots during a large sale at the Sponge Exchange on June 19, 1978. Photo by Dan Fager; Tampa Tribune.
Auctioneer and former diver Costas Klimantos accepts a bid from potential buyer George Smitzes at the Sponge Exchange on June 19, 1978. Photo by Dan Fager; Tampa Tribune.
Aerial view of the demolition of the Sponge Exchange, 1981. The Sponge Exchange was sold to private owners who wanted to create a shopping complex. Many Greek community members and preservationists opposed the demolition, but were unable to halt it. Photo by Morris of Selbypic; Tampa Tribune.
On the site of the Sponge Exchange, a complex of boutique shops in a faux Cyclades Island style opened on March 16, 1983. Several klouves on the north sidewere retained, originally intended for use by sponge fisherman. To highlight local heritage, the owners restored and displayed the sponge boat Apalachicola, renamed Aegean Isles. Photo by Bob Westenhouse; Tampa Tribune.)
Merchant Michail Koutouzis (right) surveys sponges brought back by Ali Ozuboylu, 2008. Sales are now conducted where the boats dock. Photo by Tina Bucuvalas/Florida Folklife Program, Dept of State.
Michael Cantonis, founder of Acme Sponge & Chamois Co.,began working in the sponge industry in the 1930s. 2007. Photo by Tina Bucuvalas/Florida Folklife Program, Dept of State.
Michail Koutouzis (1942-2013), Natural Sponge Wholesale, was part of a family of sponge merchants in Kalymnos and the U.S. 2008. Photo by Tina Bucuvalas.
George Billiris (1927-2016) worked in his family's St. Nicholas Boat Lines and then in the sponge business. 2007. Photo by Tina Bucuvalas/Florida Folklife Program, Department of State.