Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Robbins, Pamela D.
Author's Email Address	probbins@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
URN	etd-11142003-220231
Title	"Stack 'em High and Sell 'em Cheap": James "Doc" Webb and Webb's City, St. Petersburg, Florida
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	History, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Maxine D. Jones Committee Chair James P. Jones Committee Member Joe M. Richardson Committee Member Maxine Montgomery Committee Member Valerie Jean Conner Committee Member
Keywords	James
Date of Defense	2003-10-27
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This study documents the story of James Earl “Doc” Webb and his business, Webb’s City, between the years 1926-1982. Starting in 1926 as a small 17 by 28 foot store, Webb’s City soon grew to a multi-million dollar business known as “The World’s Most Unusual Drug Store.” By 1970, the business grew to encompass ten city blocks, with seventy-two individual stores therein, including parking for 3,000 cars. Doc Webb’s business empire included gas stations, an Outpost in Tampa, and a second “city” in Pinellas Park. At its peak it employed over 1,700 people. This work focuses on Doc Webb’s innovation in the business field, his fight against price-fixing and Fair Trade Laws, his influence on St. Petersburg, his customers –primarily African Americans and the elderly –and his role in advertising and self-promotion. Doc Webb and Webb’s City’s long lasting legacy in St. Petersburg and in business history is also discussed in this study.
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