PUEBLO ARCADE

By  Mike Miller November 5, 2025

Pueblo Arcade is a historic building in downtown Vero Beach, Florida, not a video arcade. Arcades were the precursors to shopping plazas.

The structure was built by contractors Blackford and Davis in 1926. This two-story masonry building features an open passage for stores. It links to the rear alley.

The design shades shoppers from the sun and rain. Stucco walls cover the exterior. A flat roof tops the frame. The site joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and is still in use today.

Pueblo Arcade in Downtown Vero Beach

Arthur M. Hill Sr. owned the land. Hill moved to Vero in 1917 and led the Vero Finance and Improvement Corporation. He oversaw wetland drainage for groves.

The arcade met rising demand for retail space after a city fire. It was built in the Mission/Spanish Revival style in 1926 by local contractors Blackford and Davis.

The structure was very popular among the citizens of Vero Beach before the advent of air conditioning due to its ingenious design that provided shade. 

It had arcades with shop doorways opening onto a single hallway which opened to the street.

The location served as the flagship store for DuBose Jewelers, a regional jewelry store chain which opened in Vero in 1912.

Pueblo Arcade housed DuBose Jewelers as soon as it began leasing space. Dr. James C. DuBose ran the store and sold jewelry and offered optometry services.

The store stayed until the 1990s. In 1997 the structure was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, after restoration by developer Robert L. Brackett.

Various shops have been housed there throughout the years, and offices are on the second floor.

It has tile floors and stucco walls. The foyer has "Pueblo Arcade" etched in the hexagonal tiles.

The arcade stands at 2044 14th Avenue in Vero Beach, 32960. It borders 21st Street and can be reached via U.S. 1 to 14th Avenue.

You can park on nearby streets and walk the passage to browse downtown stores. The exterior of the Pueblo Arcade is available for viewing at any time.

The shop "Tea and Chi" is currently in the Arcade. To see inside the building, just visit the shop and enjoy some tea.

• The arcade links directly to the 1924 Vero Theater through an arch. It stands as Vero Beach's sole surviving commercial arcade.  

• A 1940 enclosure blocked the entrance; restorers reopened it. 

• The design drew from European covered streets for Florida's climate. 

Florida is the fastest-growing state in the United States and also the fastest-changing.  If you see anything in this article that has changed or is in error, please let me know.

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