Dreka Building
1882
On this site in 1882 George A. Dreka built his 2-story department store that later was expanded to four floors to also hold the Carrolton Hotel. In the 1886 fire that consumed much of the town, blankets were hung from the balconies and kept wet by a bucket brigade using water from a tank on the roof. In 1909 Dreka then moved the building and, for an estimated $75,000, erected the current structure designed by L M Wethers, which was the first reinforced concrete building in Volusia County. A brilliant entrepreneur, Dreka became the largest merchant in the area. His store's slogan was "everything to eat, wear, and use."
Marker is on South Woodland Boulevard (U.S. 17/92) south of New York Avenue (State Road 44).
Courtesy hmdb.org
