On the block

[Times photo: Skip O'Rourke]

The auction floor at Auctions by Peacock is crowded with items for sale and willing buyers. The building was originally a power plant, built in 1923 to serve a movie studio. Jim Peacock has owned the business for 40 years and moved it to the Sun City building in 1998.

By JANET ZINK
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 7, 2003

The historic auction house, with its arching stained-glass windows, is up for sale. The asking price: $350,000.

SUN CITY -- A brand new leather sofa for $30. A pickled wood entertainment center for $175. A pine-topped kitchen table with iron base for $45.

The prices seem too good to be true, but the sound of auctioneer Richard McCoy calling out "Sold!" confirms that the deal has been closed.

Peacock Auctions, named for founder Jim Peacock, has been making bargains available to furniture dealers and homeowners for 40 years. Peacock started off in Largo, and in 1998 brought the auction closer to his 100-acre ranch in Parrish, where he lives and raises Tennessee Walking horses and Brahman cattle.

Dealers come all the way from Jacksonville, Orlando and Ocala to beef up their own inventory for retail sale, Peacock says.

The auctions are held in a building on Old U.S. 41 that was constructed in 1926 as a power station to provide electricity to the Sun City Studio, which its developers hoped would make Sun City the "Hollywood of the east," says area historian Aleta Jonie Maschek.

[Times photo: Skip O'Rourke]

Stained glass peacocks adorn the windows at Auctions by Peacock on Old U.S. 41. Owner Jim Peacock bought the 6,000 square-foot building in 2000 and spent $10,000 restoring it.

Now Peacock is selling the building and seeking landmark status for it. He decided to downsize after being diagnosed with lung cancer last year.. His asking price is $350,000, and prospective buyers include a Tampa couple who might make the 6,000-square-foot structure their home.

Streets named for stars and studios of the day, including Chaney, Barrymore, Metro and Goldwyn drives, still wind through the surrounding neighborhood.

[Times photos: Skip O'Rourke] Auctioneer Richard McCoy sells a piece of furniture at a recent auction.

Statue of two elephants is held for bidders to see at at a recent auction.

Two movies were made at the studio, which was purchased and torn down by Palmetto Lumber Co.in the 1930s.

The Speedling Co., a containerized plant grower, bought the power station and used it for a machine shop until Peacock bought it in 2000.

"It was in pitiful shape," says Peacock.

He and his family got busy on a $10,000 restoration, removing gray paint to expose the red brick interior walls, replacing the windows and installing stained glass peacocks in the arched windows that nearly span the 36-foot height of the walls.

"When I got started some people came, not to buy, but to see the building," Peacock says.

Peacock is also selling the building on River Drive where he holds estate auctions. That one was built in 1954 as a fish-processing plant before net fishing was banned in Florida. He's asking $800,000 for the 10,000-square-foot building.

Hillsborough County is considering the old power plant in Sun City for Local Historic Landmark designation and nomination for the National Registry of Historic Places, says Parviz Moosavi, a historic preservation planner in the county's Planning and Growth Management department.

The Historic Resources Review Board will take up the matter at its meeting March 17. The Hillsborough County Commission will make a final decision in August.

The county has designated 18 properties as historic landmarks since initiating the program in 1994 with the last one, the Brandon Women's Club, making the list in 1999. The designation offers a building's owners some tax advantages.

The Peacock Auctions will continue at another location, Peacock says, after he sells his properties, although they might not happen as frequently.

[Times photo: Skip O'Rourke]

Hillsborough County is considering the auction house in Sun City for Local Historic Landmark designation and nomination for the National Registry of Historic Place, a county official says.

On a recent Thursday, wooden birdhouses and ceramic statues had their turn on the block alongside leather sofas, mirrors, bedroom sets and dining tables. A contemporary Italian armoire with in-laid wood that might retail for as much as $700 went for $110.

LaWanda McCarter furnished her St. Petersburg home with items from Peacock Auctions. She bought a queen-sized mattress and box spring for $40 and a metal-framed, cushioned patio set with a table, two chairs, love seat and chaise lounge for $65.

The auction inventory includes overstocked, slightly damaged or discontinued items from major manufacturers.

The thought of putting the buildings themselves on the auction block has crossed his mind.

"I'd probably get more for them."

[Times photo: Skip O'Rourke]

Rene Arnada, left and Bill Fisher hod up an ornate mirror for bidders at Auctions by Peacock. The auction business will continue, the owner said, but at a different location.

-- Janet Zink can be reached at 661-2441 or jzink@sptimes.com .