Tampa ( ) is a Gulf Coast city in the U.S.
state of Florida
.
It serves
as the county seat for Hillsborough
County
. Tampa is located on the west coast of
Florida. The population of Tampa in 2000 was 303,447. According to
the 2008 estimates, the city's population had grown to 340,882,
making it the
53rd largest city
in the United States.
Tampa is a
part of the metropolitan area most commonly referred to as the
Tampa Bay
Area
. For U.S.
Census purposes, Tampa is part of the
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida
MSA
. The four-county area is composed of roughly
2.7 million residents, making it the second largest metropolitan statistical
area (MSA) in the state, and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States,
behind Miami
, Washington,
D.C.
, and Atlanta
.
The
Greater Tampa Bay area has just over 4 million residents and
generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota
metro
areas. The Tampa Bay Partnership and U.S. Census data showed
an average annual growth of 2.47 percent, or a gain of
approximately 97,000 residents per year. Between 2000 and 2006, the
Greater Tampa Bay Market has experienced a combined growth rate of
14.8 percent, growing from 3.4 million to 3.9 million and hitting
the 4 million people mark on April 1, 2007.The Tampa Bay
Designated Market Area (DMA) is the
largest media market in the state of Florida and the fourteenth
largest media market in the United States.
In 2008, Tampa was ranked as the 5th best outdoor city by
Forbes.
A 2004 survey by the NYU
newspaper ranked Tampa as a top city for
"twenty-somethings".
History
The word "Tampa" may mean "sticks of fire
" in the language of
the Calusa, a Native American tribe
that once lived south of today’s Tampa Bay
. This might be a reference to the many
lightning strikes that the area receives during the summer months.
Other historians claim the name means "the place to gather
sticks".
Toponymist George R. Stewart writes that the name was the
result of a miscommunication between the Spanish and the Indians,
the Indian word being "itimpi", meaning simply "near it". The name
first appears in the "Memoir" of
Hernando de Escalante
Fontaneda (1575), who had spent 17 years as a Calusa captive.
He calls it "Tanpa" and describes it as an important Calusa town.
While "Tanpa" may be the basis for the modern name "Tampa",
archaeologist Jerald Milanich places
the Calusa village of Tanpa at the mouth of
Charlotte Harbor, the original
"Bay of Tanpa". A later Spanish expedition did not notice Charlotte
Harbor while sailing north along the west coast of Florida and
assumed that the current Tampa Bay was the bay they sought. The
name was accidentally transferred north.
Map makers were using the term Bay or Bahia Tampa as early as
1695.
Early explorations
Hernando de Soto.
Not much is known about the cultures who called the Tampa Bay area
home before European contact.
When Spanish
explorers
arrived in the 1520s, they found a ring of Tocobaga villages around the northern half of Tampa
Bay from modern-day Pinellas County
to Tampa and Calusa villages
along the southern portion of the bay in modern-day Manatee County.
Expeditions led by
Pánfilo de
Narváez and
Hernando de
Soto landed near Tampa to look for
gold and
possibly start a
colony. Neither
conquistador stayed in the region for long once
it became clear that the local riches were only abundant fish and
shellfish. The native inhabitants, who derived most of their
resources from the sea, repulsed any Spanish attempt to establish a
permanent settlement or convert them to
Catholicism.
The newcomers brought a weapon against which the natives had no
defense: infectious disease. Archeological evidence reveals a total
collapse of the native cultures of Florida in the years after
European contact. The Tampa area was depopulated and ignored for
more than 200 years.
Seasonal residents and U.S control
In the mid-1700s, events in England’s American colonies drove the
Seminole Indians into the wilds of north
Florida. During this period, the Tampa area began receiving
(seasonal) residents:
Cuban fishermen.
They
stayed in temporary settlements on the shore of Tampa Bay along a
small freshwater stream near today’s Hyde
Park
neighborhood.
In 1821,
the United
States
purchased Florida from Spain (see Adams-Onís Treaty), partly to reduce
Indian raids, and partly to cut down slave escapes from
Georgia. One of the first U.S. actions in its new territory
was a raid which destroyed Angola, a village built by escaped
slaves on the eastern shore of Tampa Bay.
Frontier days
The
Treaty of Moultrie
Creek (1823) created a large
Indian reservation in the interior of the
peninsula of Florida. As part of efforts to establish control over
the vast
swampy wilderness, the U.S. government built a series of
forts and trading posts in the new territory.
"Cantonment Brooke"
was established in 1823 by Colonels George Mercer Brooke and James Gadsden at the mouth of the Hillsborough
River on Tampa Bay, at the site of the Tampa
Convention Center
in Downtown
Tampa
. In 1824, the post was officially named
Fort
Brooke
.
Tampa was very much an isolated frontier outpost during its first
decades of existence. The sparse civilian population practically
abandoned the area when the
Second
Seminole War flared up in late 1835. After almost seven years
of vicious fighting, the Seminoles were forced away from the Tampa
region and many settlers returned.
The
Territory of Florida had
grown enough by 1845 to become the 27th state.
Four years after statehood, on January 18, 1849, Tampa had also
grown enough to officially incorporate as the "Village of Tampa".
Tampa was home to 185 inhabitants, not including military personnel
stationed at Fort Brooke. The city's first
census count in 1850, however, listed
Tampa-Fort Brooke as having 974
residents, inclusive of the military personnel.
Tampa was reincorporated as a town on December 15, 1855 and Judge
Joseph B. Lancaster became the first Mayor in 1856.
Tampa during the Civil War
Barracks and tents at Fort
Brooke
During the
American Civil War,
Florida seceded along with most of the southern states to form the
Confederate States of
America. Fort Brooke was manned by Confederate troops, and
martial law was declared in Tampa in
January 1862. Tampa's city government ceased to operate for the
duration of the war.
In late
1861, the Union Navy set
up a blockade around many southern ports to
cut off the Confederacy from outside help, and several ships were
stationed near the mouth of Tampa Bay. Blockade runners based in Tampa were able
to repeatedly slip through the blockade to trade cattle and citrus
for needed supplies, mainly with Spanish Cuba.
Union gunboats sailed up Tampa Bay to bombard Fort Brooke and the
surrounding city of Tampa. The
Battle of
Tampa on June 30 to July 1, 1862 was inconclusive, as the
shells fell ineffectually, and there were no casualties on either
side.
More damaging to the Confederate cause was the
Battle of Fort Brooke on October 17 to
October 18, 1863. Two Union gunboats shelled the fort and
surrounding town and landed troops, who found blockade runners
hidden up the
Hillsborough River,
and destroyed them.
The local militia mustered to intercept the Union troops, but they
were able to return to their ships after a short skirmish and
headed back out to sea.
The
war
ended
in Confederate defeat in April 1865. In May
1865, federal troops arrived in Tampa to occupy the fort and the
town as part of
Reconstruction. They
remained until August 1869.
The Lean Years
The Reconstruction period was hard on Tampa. With little industry,
and land transportation links limited to bumpy wagon roads from the
east coast of Florida, Tampa was a fishing village with very few
people, and poor prospects for development. Throughout its history,
Tampa had been affected by
yellow fever
epidemics borne by mosquitoes from the surrounding swampland, but
the sickness was particularly widespread during the late 1860s and
1870s. The disease was little understood at the time, and many
residents simply packed up and left rather than face the mysterious
and deadly peril.
In 1869, residents voted to abolish the City of Tampa government.
The population of "Tampa Town" was below 800 in the official 1870
census count and had fallen further by 1880 (see demographics,
below).
Fort Brooke, the seed from which Tampa had germinated, had served
its purpose and was decommissioned in 1883.
Except for two
cannons displayed on the nearby University
of Tampa
campus, all traces of the fort are gone. A
large downtown parking garage near the old fort site is called the
Fort Brooke Parking Garage.
Phosphate, Railroads, and Cigars: Tampa Finally Prospers
Tampa's fortunes took several sudden turns for the better. First,
phosphate was discovered in the
Bone Valley region southeast of Tampa in 1883.
The mineral, vital for the production of fertilizers and other
products, was soon being shipped out from the Port of Tampa in
great volume. Tampa is still a major phosphate exporter.
Henry B. Plant's
railroad line
reached Tampa and its port shortly thereafter, connecting the small
town to the country's railroad system. Tampa finally had the
overland transportation link that it needed. The railroad enabled
phosphate and
commercial fishing
exports to go north, brought many new products into the Tampa
market, as well as its first tourists.
The new railroad link enabled another important industry to come to
Tampa.
In
1885, the Tampa Board of Trade helped Vicente Martinez Ybor move his
cigar manufacturing operations to Tampa from
Key
West
. Nearness to Cuba made imports of tobacco
easy by sea, and Plant's railroad made shipment of finished cigars
to the rest of the US market easy by land.
Since Tampa was still a small town at the time (population less
than 5000), Ybor built hundreds of small houses around his factory
to accommodate the immediate influx of mainly
Cuban and
Spanish cigar
workers.
Other cigar factories soon moved in, and
Ybor
City
(as the approximately settlement was dubbed)
quickly made Tampa a major cigar production center. Many
Italian and a few eastern European
Jewish immigrants also arrived starting in the late
1880s, operating businesses and shops that catered to the cigar
workers.
The majority of Italian immigrants came from
Alessandria
Della Rocca
and Santo Stefano Quisquina
, two small Sicilian towns
with which Tampa still maintains strong ties.
In 1891,
Henry B. Plant built a lavish 500+ room, quarter-mile
(400 m) long, Moorish Revival style
luxury resort hotel called the Tampa Bay Hotel
among of manicured gardens along the banks of the
Hillsborough River. The
eclectic structure cost US$2.5 million to build. Plant filled his
expensive playground with exotic art collectibles from around the
world and installed electric lights and the first elevator in
town.
The resort did well for a few years, especially during the
Spanish-American War (see below). With
Plant's death in 1899, the hotel's fortunes began to fade. It
closed in 1930.
In 1933 the stately building reopened as the
University
of Tampa.
Mainly because of Henry Plant's connections in the War Department,
Tampa was chosen as an embarkation center for American troops in
the
Spanish-American War.
Lieutenant Colonel
Theodore
Roosevelt and his
Rough Riders were
among the 30,000 troops who waited in Tampa for the order to ship
out to Cuba during the summer of 1898, filling the town.
The founding of Ybor City, the building of Plant's railroad and
hotels, and the discovery of phosphate - all within a dozen years
in the late 1800s - were crucial to Tampa's development. The town
expanded from a village to bustling town to small city.
The 20th century
Franklin Street, looking North, Tampa
c.
During the first few decades of the 20th century, the
cigar making industry was the backbone of Tampa's
economy.
The factories in Ybor City and West Tampa made an enormous number of cigars—in
the peak year of 1929, over 500,000,000 cigars were hand rolled in
the city.
In 1904, a local civic association of local businessmen dubbed
themselves
Ye Mystic Krewe of
Gasparilla (named after local mythical pirate Jose Gaspar), and
staged an "invasion" of the city followed by a parade. With a few
exceptions, the
Gasparilla
Pirate Festival has been held every year since.
Bolita & the Mob
Beginning in the late 1800s, illegal
bolita
lotteries were very popular among the Tampa working classes,
especially in Ybor City. In the early 1920s, this small-time
operation was taken over by Charlie Wall, the rebellious son of a
prominent Tampa family, and went big-time. Bolita was able to
openly thrive only because of kick-backs and bribes to key local
politicians and law enforcement officials, and many were on the
take.
Profits from the bolita lotteries and
Prohibition-era bootlegging led to the
development of several
organized
crime factions in the city. Charlie Wall was the first major
boss, but various power struggles culminated in consolidation of
control by
Sicilian mafioso Santo
Trafficante, Sr. and his faction in the 1950s.
After his death in
1954 from cancer, control passed to his son
Santo Trafficante, Jr., who
established alliances with families in New York
and extended his power throughout Florida and into
Batista-era Cuba
.
The era of rampant and open corruption ended in the 1950s, when the
Senator Kefauver's traveling
organized crime hearings came to town and
were followed by the sensational misconduct trials of several local
officials. Although many of the worst offenders in government and
the mob were not charged, the trials helped to end the sense of
lawlessness which had prevailed in Tampa for decades.
Panorama of Downtown Tampa taken in
1913.
Mid to Late 20th century
Tampa grew considerably as a result of
World War II.
Prior to the United States' involvement
in the conflict, construction began on MacDill Field
, the predecessor of present day MacDill Air
Force Base
. MacDill Field served as a main base for
Army Air Corps-
Army Air Force operations, with multiple
auxiliary airfields around the Tampa Bay area and surrounding
counties. At the end of the war, MacDill remained as an active
military installation while the auxiliary fields reverted to
civilian control.
Two of these auxiliary fields would later
become the present day Tampa International Airport
and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International
Airport
.
Four attempts have been made to consolidate Tampa with Hillsborough
County (1967, 1970, 1971, and 1972), all of which failed at the
ballot box; the greatest loss was also the most recent attempt in
1972, with the final tally being 33,160 (31%) in favor and 73,568
(69%) against the proposed charter.
The
biggest recent growth in the city was the development of New
Tampa
, which started in 1988 when the city annexed a
mostly rural area of between I-275 and I-75.
East Tampa, historically a mostly black community, was the scene of
several
riots, mainly due to problems
between residents and the
Tampa police.
Geography and weather
Tampa is
located on the West coast of Florida at
(27.970898, -82.464640).
Topography
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
170.6 square miles (441.9 km²), of which
112.1 square miles (290.3 km²) is land and
58.5 square miles (151.6 km²) (34.31%) is water. The
highest point in the city is only .
Tampa is bordered by two bodies of water,
Old Tampa
Bay
and Hillsborough
Bay, both of which flow together to form Tampa Bay, which in turn flows into the Gulf of
Mexico
. The
Hillsborough River flows out
into Hillsborough Bay, passing directly in front of Downtown Tampa
and supplying Tampa with its main source of fresh water. Palm River
is a smaller river flowing from just east of the city into McKay
Bay, which is a smaller inlet, sited at the northeast end of
Hillsborough Bay. Tampa's cartography is marked by the Interbay
Peninsula which divides Hillsborough Bay (the eastern) from Old
Tampa Bay (the western).
Climate
Tampa has a
humid subtropical
climate (Koppen
Cfa), with hot summer days, frequent
thunderstorms in the summer (rain is less frequent in the fall),
and a threat of a light winter freeze from November 15 through
March 5, and even then not every year.
It is listed as
USDA
zone 10, which is about the northern limit of where
coconut palms and royal palms can be grown. Highs usually
range between 65 and 95
°F (18 and 35
°C) year round. Surprising to some, Tampa's
official recorded high has never hit 100 °F (38 °C) - the all-time
record high temperature is 99 °F (37 °C), recorded on June 5,
1985.
Temperatures are hot from around mid-May through early October,
which coincides approximately with the rainy season. Summertime
weather is very consistent, with highs in the low 90s °F (32-34
°C), lows in the mid-70s °F (21 - 23 °C), and high
humidity.
Afternoon thunderstorms, generated by the
interaction of the Gulf and Atlantic
sea breezes, are such a
regular occurrence during the summer that the Tampa Bay area is
recognized as the "Lightning Capital of North America". Every year, Florida
averages 10 deaths and 30 injuries from lightning strikes, with
several of these usually occurring in or around Tampa.
In the winter, the low in Tampa drops below freezing (32 °F , 0 °C)
on average three times per year, though this does not occur every
season. Since the Tampa area is home to a diverse range of
freeze-sensitive
agriculture and
aquaculture, major freezes, although
very infrequent, are a major concern. The lowest temperature ever
recorded in Tampa was 18 °F (-7.8 °C) on December 13, 1962.
the
Great Blizzard of 1899,
Tampa experienced its one and only known
blizzard, with
"bay
effect" snow coming off Tampa Bay. The last measurable snow in
Tampa fell on January 19, 1977. The accumulation amounted to all of
, but the city, unprepared for and unaccustomed to wintry weather,
came to a virtual standstill for a day. Three major freezes
occurred in the 1980s. The losses suffered by farmers forced many
to sell off their citrus groves, which helped fuel a boom in
subdivision development in the 1990s and 2000s.
Yearly precipitation trends
Because of the frequent summer
thunderstorms, Tampa has a pronounced wet
season, receiving an average of about 28 inches of rain from
June to September but only about 18 inches during the
remaining eight months of the year. The historical averages during
the late summer, especially September, are augmented by passing
tropical systems, which can easily dump many inches of rain in one
day. Outside of the summer rainy season, most of the area's
precipitation is delivered by the occasional passage of a
weather front.
Average number of rainy days per month:
January - 7February - 7March - 7April - 5May - 6June - 12July -
16August - 17September - 13October - 7November - 5December -
6
Surrounding communities
Northwest: Oldsmar , Palm Harbor , Tarpon Springs , Westchase , Town 'N' Country , New Port Richey |
North: Lutz , Land O' Lakes , Egypt Lake , Northdale , Carrollwood |
Northeast: Temple
Terrace , New Tampa , Thonotosassa , Wesley Chapel , Mango , Zephryhills , Dade City |
West: Clearwater , Largo , Clearwater
Beach |
Tampa |
East: Brandon , Gibsonton , Seffner , Valrico , Plant City , Lakeland , East Tampa , Winter Haven |
Southwest: St.
Petersburg , St. Pete Beach , Indian Rocks Beach , Pinellas Park |
South: Bradenton , Apollo Beach , Ruskin , Sun City
Center |
Southeast: Riverview, Gibsonton, Boyette , Fish Hawk , Wimauma |
Cityscape
Architecture
Tampa displays a wide variety of architectural designs and styles.
Most, if not all of Tampa's high rises demonstrate
Post-modern architecture.
The
design for the renovated Tampa Museum of Art
, displays Post-modern architecture, while the city
hall and the Tampa
Theatre
belong to Art Deco
architecture.The Tampa mayor as of 2008, Pam Iorio, has made the redevelopment of Tampa's
downtown, especially
bringing in residents to the decidedly non-residential area, a
priority. Several residential and mixed-development
high-rises are in various stages of planning or construction, and a
few have already opened. Another of Mayor Iorio's initiatives is
the Tampa Riverwalk, a plan which intends to make better use of the
land along the Hillsborough River in downtown where Tampa began.
Several
museums are part of the plan, including new homes for the Tampa Bay
History Center, the Tampa Children's Museum, and the Tampa Museum
of Art.
Tampa is the site of several
skyscrapers.
Overall, there are 18 completed buildings that rise over high.
The city
also has 69 high-rises, more than any
other city in Florida after Miami
.
The
tallest building in
the city is 100 North
Tampa
, formerly the AmSouth Building, which rises 42
floors and in Downtown Tampa.
The
structure was completed in 1992, and is the tallest building in
Florida outside of Miami and Jacksonville
.
Neighborhoods and Surrounding municipalities
Hyde Park Village in Tampa's Hyde Park neighborhood.
The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were
towns and unincorporated communities that were annexed by the
growing city.
Generally, the city is divided into the
following areas: Downtown
Tampa, New Tampa, West Tampa
, East Tampa
, North Tampa
, and South Tampa
.
Some
well-known communities of Tampa include Ybor
City
, Forest Hills
, Ballast Point
, Sulphur Springs
, Seminole Heights
, Tampa Heights
, Palma
Ceia, Hyde Park, Tampa Palms
, College Hill
and non-residential areas of Gary
and the Westshore Business District
Landmarks
The
Sulphur
Springs Water Tower
, a landmark in Sulphur
Springs section of the city, dates back to the late
1920s. This era also saw the construction of
Bayshore Boulevard, which
parallels Hillsborough Bay from downtown Tampa to areas in South Tampa. The road has a
continuous sidewalk on the eastern end, the longest in
theworld.
Ybor City is home to several buildings on the National
Register of Historic Places and a National Historic
District. Most notable among these structures are the
social clubs
built in the early 1900s.
Babe Zaharias Golf Course in the
Forest
Hills area of Tampa has been designated a Historical
Landmark by the National Register of
Historic Places. It was bought in 1949 by the famous
'Babe', who had a residence nearby,
and closed upon her death. In 1974, the City of Tampa opened the
golf course to the public
The Story of Tampa, a public
painting by Lynn Ash, is a 4' x 8' oil on masonite mural that
weaves together many of the notable aspects of Tampa's unique
character and identity. It was commissioned in 2003 by the city's
Public Art Program and can be found in the lobby of the Tampa
Municipal Office Building.
Park Tower (originally the First
Financial Bank of Florida) is the first substantial skyscraper in
downtown Tampa. Completed in 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in
Tampa until the completion of One Tampa City Center in 1981. The
Rivergate building, a cylindrical building known as the "Beer Can
building", was featured in the movie
"The Punisher".
Spanning the southern part of Tampa Bay, is the massive steel-span
Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Government
Tampa's city hall.
Tampa is governed under the
strong
mayor form of government. The
Mayor
of Tampa is the chief executive officer of city government and
is elected in four year terms, with the maximum of two terms. The
City Council is a legislative
body served by seven members, in which four are elected from
specific areas of town and the other three are
At-Large
(serving citywide).
Pam Iorio is the
current mayor, serving as Tampa's 57th mayor. She is also Tampa's
second female mayor. She is finishing her second and last term of
mayor, primarily focusing on
light rail
mass transit service for Tampa, and
ultimately, reaching the entire Tampa Bay area. In her first term
of mayor, she primarily focused on the renovation of the downtown
area.
Education
Higher education
University of Tampa's Plant Hall
University
of South Florida
is currently ninth in the nation in terms of
enrolled students, with a total of 44,891 students for the 2007
academic year. Its mascot is the
Brahman Bull, with green and gold as its
colors.
University
of Tampa, located across the Hillsborough River from downtown Tampa,
is a private university accredited by the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools. UT has over 5,500
students attending.
Its mascot is the Spartan
, with scarlet,
black, and gold as
its school colors.
Other colleges and universities include:
Primary and secondary schools
Public primary and secondary education is operated by
Hillsborough County Public
Schools, officially known as the School District of
Hillsborough County (SDHC).
It is ranked the eighth largest school
district in the United
States, with around 189,469 enrolled students. SDHC
runs 206 schools, 133 being elementary, 42 middle, 25 High Schools,
2 K-8's, and 4 Career centers. There are 73 additional schools in
the district that are charter, ESE, alternative, etc. 12 out of 25
High schools in the SDHC are included in
Newsweek's list of America's Best High
Schools.
Public libraries
Tampa's library system is operated by the Tampa-Hillsborough Public
Library System. THPLS operates 28 libraries throughout Tampa and
Hillsborough County, including the John F. Germany Main Library in
Downtown Tampa. The Tampa library system first started in the early
1900s, with the West Tampa Library, which was made possible with
funds donated by
Andrew
Carnegie.
Healthcare and utilities
Tampa and its surrounding suburbs are host to over 20 hospitals and
four trauma centers. Three of the area's hospitals were ranked
under "America's best hospitals" by
US News and World Report. It is
also home to many health research institutions.
Water in the area is managed by the
Southwest Florida
Water Management District. The water is mainly supplied by the
Hillsborough River, which in turn
arises from the
Green Swamp, but several
other rivers and
desalination plants in
the area contribute to the supply. Power is mainly generated by
TECO Energy.
Phone service is provided by
Verizon and
Bright House Networks. Cable
TV and internet are also provided by these companies.
Culture
Arts and Entertainment
It is
home to a variety of performance halls and theaters, including the
Tampa
Bay Performing Arts Center
, the Jobsite Theater, the Tampa Theatre, the Tampa Museum of Art, the Stageworks Theater Company, the Gorilla Theatre, and the USF Contemporary
Art Museum. The
Florida
Orchestra also is based in the Tampa Bay area.
The Tampa Bay
Performing Arts Center is the largest performing art center south of
the Kennedy Center.
In addition, since the mid 1980's, Tampa has been known worldwide
as the cradle of
Death metal, an extreme
form of
Heavy metal that evolved
from the
Thrash Metal sound that was
common at the time. Many of the genre's pioneers and foremost
figures are based in and around the city. Chief among these are
Death,
Deicide,
Cannibal
Corpse,
Six Feet Under,
Obituary,
Morbid
Angel. The Tampa scene grew quickly with the birth of
Morrisound Studios, which quickly established itself as an
international recording destination for metal bands.
Tampa is home to nightlife throughout the city limits and beyond.
Current
popular nightlife districts include Channelside
, Ybor City, SoHo
, International Plaza and Bay
Street
, and Seminole Hard
Rock. Downtown Tampa also contains some nightlife, and there are more
clubs/bars to be found in other areas of the city. According
to
Maxim, Tampa is ranked 6th in
the entire nation for its party scene.
The underground rock band, the
Baskervils, got their start in Tampa.
They
played the Tampa Bay area between 1994-1997 and then moved to
New York
City.
Museums
The Tampa area is home to a number of museums that cover a wide
array of subjects and studies.
Perhaps the most well known of these is the
Museum of Science &
Industry
. It is home to one of the 250
IMAX dome theaters in the world, the only one in
Florida. It also houses Tampa's planetarium.
Tampa is also home to
the SS
American Victory
, a former World War
II Victory Ship which has now been
preserved as a museum ship.
Other
museums in the area include the Tampa Museum of Art and the Tampa Bay History Center, a complex in
Tampa's Channel District displaying the area's unique history and
culture. The Salvador Dali Museum
is located to the southwest of the city, in
St.
Petersburg, Florida
.
Tourism and Recreation
The Channelside Entertainment Complex in Tampa's Chanel
District.
The city of Tampa operates over 165 parks and beaches covering
within city limits; 42 more in surrounding suburbs covering , are
maintained by Hillsborough County.
These areas include the Hillsborough River State
Park
, just northeast of the city. Tampa is also home to
a number of attractions and theme parks, including Busch
Gardens Tampa Bay
, Adventure Island
, Lowry
Park Zoo
, and
Florida
Aquarium
Tampa's
Lowry Park
Zoo features over 2,000 animals, interactive exhibits,
rides, educational shows and more. The Zoo serves as an
economic, cultural, environmental and educational anchor in the
City of Tampa.
Busch
Gardens Tampa Bay is a African-themed park located near the University
of South Florida. It features many thrilling roller coasters,
for which it is known for, and hosts a number of African wildlife,
which one could tour and interact.
Adventure
Island is a water park just
adjacent to Busch Gardens. It features many water rides,
dining, and other attractions typical to a water park.
The
Florida
Aquarium is a aquarium located in the Channel
District of Tampa. It hosts over 20,000 species
of aquatic plants and animals. It is known for its unique glass
architecture. Just adjacent to the Aquarium is the SS American
Victory, a
World War II Victory ship preserved as a
museum ship.Several large scale malls call Tampa
and its surrounding areas home.
Well-known shopping areas include International Plaza and Bay
Street, WestShore Plaza
, SoHo district, and Hyde Park Village
. Palma
Ceia is also home to a shopping district, called Palma Ceia
Design District.
[13921] Previously, Tampa had also been
home to the Floriland Mall (now an office park), Tampa Bay Center
(demolished and replaced with the new
Tampa Bay Buccaneers training facility,
known as "One Buc Place"), and East Lake Square Mall (now an office
park)
Tampa is
also home to the Tampa Convention Center.
Events
Downtown during Gasparilla
Perhaps the most well known and celebrated event is the
Gasparilla Pirate Festival,
usually referred to simply as Gasparilla. It has been held yearly
since 1904. Gasparilla, often referred to as the
Mardi Gras of Tampa, is usually held on the last
Saturday of January. The invasion-themed event has an attendance of
over 400,000 people and impacts over 23 million dollars to the city
of Tampa. The
Sant'Yago Knight
Parade, or Gasparilla Night Parade is usually held one week to
a few weeks after. It is considered more adult-oriented.
Other
notable events include the Outback
Bowl, which is held New Year's Day at Raymond
James Stadium
. The Florida State Fair
in mid-February, also brings in an attendance of
around 400,000, and Guavaween, an open
street Halloween celebration with Latin
flavor taking place in Ybor
City. Also in Ybor is "GaYbor Days", an annual
four-day street party in the
GLBT-friendly
GaYbor district.
[13922]
Media
Major daily newspapers serving the city are
The Tampa Tribune and
The St. Petersburg Times.
La Gaceta is the nation's
only trilingual newspaper, written in English, Spanish and Italian.
There is also a wide variety of smaller regional newspapers,
alternative weeklies and magazines, including the
Florida
Sentinel Bulletin (which focuses coverage on the
African American community in Tampa),
Creative Loafing,
Reax Music Magazine,
Tampa Bay Times,
The
Oracle,
Tampa
Bay Business Journal, and
MacDill Thunderbolt.
Centro Mi Diario is a free Spanish-language newspaper
published by
The Tampa Tribune.
Airlock Alpha is based in Tampa, as is
its owner, Quantum Global Media.
Major television affiliates include
WFTS
28 (ABC), WTSP
10
(CBS), WFLA
8 (NBC), WTVT
13
(Fox), WTOG
44
(The CW), WTTA
38
(MyNetworkTV) and WVEA
62
(Univision).
Religion
Tampa's first church was the First
Methodist Church, founded in a cabin by
circuit rider J.C. Lay in 1846. The most famous church, however, is
the
Sacred
Heart Catholic Church, which officially opened in 1905. The
city also contains the St. Paul
A.M.E.
Church which was founded by Reverend
Thomas W. Long in 1870 and is Tampa's oldest
African-American congregation, and First
Presbyterian Church which is
housed in a Spanish mission style building from 1930. There are
also many other churches such as St. Patrick
Catholic Church and Christ the King Catholic
Church.
Sports
Tampa is represented by teams in three major professional sports
leagues: the
NFL, the
NHL,
and
Major League Baseball.
Tampa was also represented in the
Arena Football League before the
league ceased operations.
Two of the teams play in Tampa proper, while
the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League
Baseball play across the bay in St. Petersburg
. All of the teams are considered to represent
the entire Tampa Bay
metropolitan area.
The
Tampa Bay
Rowdies of the North
American Soccer League (NASL) were the area's first major
sports franchise, beginning play in Tampa Stadium
in 1975. The Rowdies were an immediate
success, drawing good crowds and winning the inaugural
Soccer Bowl in their first season to bring Tampa
its first professional sports championship. Though the NASL ceased
operations in 1984, the Rowdies continued play in various indoor
and outdoor soccer leagues until finally folding in 1993.
The
Tampa Bay Buccaneers began
in 1976 as an expansion team of the
NFL. They
struggled mightily at first, losing their first 26 games in a row
to set a league record for futility. After a brief taste of success
in the late 70s, the Bucs again returned to their losing ways, and
at one point lost 10+ games for 12 seasons in a row. The hiring of
Tony Dungy in
1996 started an improving trend that
eventually led to the team's first
Super Bowl title in
2003 under coach
Jon
Gruden.
The
NHL's Tampa Bay
Lightning was established in 1992, and currently play their
home games in the St. Pete Times Forum
, located in the Channelside district of downtown
Tampa. The team won their first
Stanley Cup championship in Tampa against the
Calgary Flames in
game 7 of the
2004
Stanley Cup Finals.
There was
some cross-bay competition for a Major League Baseball franchise
throughout the 1980s and '90s until the Tampa Bay Rays (originally "Devil Rays")
began play in nearby St. Petersburg in 1998. The Rays struggled through their
first decade of existence, finishing last in the
American League's East Division in nine of those
ten seasons. However, the Rays finally tasted success in
2008, winning their first
division title and the
AL pennant to earn
a spot in the
World Series.
According to the
Tampa Tribune, there
is currently a movement underway to develop a new Rays stadium in
downtown Tampa. This effort is being led by the community based
group
BuildItDowntownTampa.org.
The St. Pete Times Forum
The
Tampa Bay Storm played in the
Arena Football League before
it suspended operations.
Originally playing in Pittsburgh
, the team moved to Tampa in 1991. The Storm
won their first
Arena Bowl championship
in 1991, and have won four subsequent championships in 1993, 1995,
1996, and 2003, more than any other AFL team.
Since 1997, the team
has played its home games in the St. Pete Times Forum.
The
United Soccer Leagues
First Division formally announced
that Tampa would receive an expansion franchise to be named the
Tampa Bay Rowdies after the
area's old NASL team. These new Rowdies are scheduled to play at a
new
soccer-specific stadium
beginning in 2009.
Tampa also has a
Roller Derby team
called the Tampa Bay Derby Darlins.
The home games are played at USA
Skateplex in Temple Terrace. [13923] [13924]
College sports
The USF Sundome
football program at the
University of South Florida played its first season in 1997. After
competing their first four years as a
Division I-AA
(now Division I FCS) independent, the
Bulls moved to Division I-A,
now Division I FBS, in 2001 but remained independent. They joined
Conference USA in 2003 until becoming
a member of the
Big East in
2005. Under
Jim Leavitt, the only
head coach in the program's history, the
Bulls have become a major college program. The 2007 season was the
most successful so far, as the team reached as high as 2nd in the
BCS rankings and received much community
support.
The
University
of Tampa Spartans, located in downtown Tampa, are the oldest
active sports organization in the city, having begun play in
1933. UT competes at the NCAA Division II level in the
Sunshine State Conference
(SSC). UT is among the top schools in the SSC in both championships
and student-athletes named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Spartan teams have won NCAA-II titles in men's soccer (1981, 1994
and 2001), women's soccer (2007), baseball (1992, 1993, 1998,2006
and 2007), golf (1987 and 1988), and volleyball (2006). With their
win in 2007 the UT baseball team became the first team in Div.
II
baseball to win consecutive titles since UT won in 1992 and
1993.[1] The University of Tampa fielded a highly successful men's
football team from 1933 to 1974 winning against then rivals
University
of Florida
and other major college teams, and was the first
sports team to call Tampa
Stadium home.
Other sports & events
The
Tampa Bay Bandits of the
defunct
United States
Football League (USFL) began play in 1985, and played three
seasons in Tampa Stadium before the league and the team folded.
Coached by
Steve Spurrier, their
crowd-pleasing style of play was known as "Banditball". The
Tampa Bay Mutiny of
Major League Soccer began play at Tampa
Stadium in 1996, and continued through 2001 before folding.
Tampa has hosted four Super Bowls: Super Bowl XVIII (1984), Super
Bowl XXV (1991), and Super Bowl XXXV, which was played in the newly
built Raymond James Stadium in 2001, and Super Bowl XLIII in
February 2009.
The Tampa Bay Area also hosts a number of
Major League Baseball teams for
spring training, as well as several
minor league baseball teams.
The
New York Yankees of Major League Baseball play spring
training games at George M.
Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
The NCAA
football Outback Bowl at Raymond
James Stadium is held in Tampa each January. The USHRA holds an event every January at Raymond
James Stadium.
Economy
Service,
retail, finance,
insurance, and
real
estate play a vital role in the area's economy. Hillsborough
County alone has an estimated 740,000 employees, a figure which is
projected to increase to 922,000 by 2015. Many corporations, such
as large banks and telecommunications companies, maintain regional
offices in Tampa. Several
Fortune 1000
companies are headquartered in the metropolitan area, based on 2007
rankings:
Downtown Tampa is undergoing significant development and
redevelopment in line with a general national trend toward urban
residential development. The Tampa Downtown Partnership notes
development proceeding on 20 residential, hotel, and mixed-use
projects as of April 2007. Many of the new downtown developments
are nearing completion in the midst of a housing market slump,
which has caused numerous projects to be delayed or revamped, and
some of the 20 projects TDP lists have not broken ground and are
being refinanced. Nonetheless several developments are nearing
completion, which city leaders hope will make downtown into a
24-hour neighborhood instead of
9 to 5
business district.Tampa's port is now the seventh largest in the
nation and Florida’s largest tonnage port, handling nearly half of
all seaborne commerce that passes through the state. Tampa
currently ranks second in the state behind Miami in terms of cruise
ship travel. Besides smaller regional cruise ships such as Yacht
Starship and SunCruz Casino, Tampa also serves as a port of call
for three cruise lines: Holland America's MS Veendam, Royal
Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas, and Carnival's Legend and
Inspiration.
The main
server farm for Wikipedia and other Wikimedia
Foundation
projects is located in Tampa, with additional
servers in Amsterdam
and Seoul
.
Demographics
At the 2005–2007 American Community Survey Estimates, the city's
population was 67.2% White (47.8% non-Hispanic White alone), 26.3%
Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native,
3.6% Asian, 0.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 3.8%
from some other race and 1.7% from two or more races. 22.1% of the
total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
[13925]
As of the
census of 2000, there were 303,447
people, 124,758 households, and 71,236 families residing in the
city. The
population density was
2,707.8 people per square mile (1,045.4/km²). There were 135,776
housing units at an average density of 1,211.6/sq mi
(467.8/km²).
The racial makeup of the city was 64.2%
White (51.0% White Non-Hispanic), 26.1%
Black or
African American, 0.4%
American Indian and
Alaska Native, 2.2%
Asian, 0.1%
Native Hawaiian and Other
Pacific Islander, 4.17% from
other races, and 2.9%
from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 19.3% of the
population. The largest ancestries are
German (9.2%),
Irish (8.4%),
English (7.7%),
Italian (5.6%), and
French (2.4%).
There were 124,758 households out of which 27.6% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were
married couples living together, 16.1% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families.
33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age
of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to
64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
34.7 years old. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.
In 2006, the median income for a household in the city was $39,602,
and the median income for a family was $45,823. Males had a median
income of $40,461 versus $29,868 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$26,522. 20.1% of the population and 16.4% of families were below
the
poverty line. 31% of those under
the age of 18 and 13.6% of those 65 and older are living below the
poverty level.
As of 2000,
English spoken as a
first language accounted for 77.43%
of all residents, while 22.56% spoke other languages as their
mother tongue. The most significant
was
Spanish speakers who made up
17.76% of the population, while
French came up as the third most spoken
language, which made up 0.63%, and
Italian was at fourth, with 0.56% of the
population.
A 2006
study by UCLA
suggests
that Tampa has one of the highest GLBT
populations per capita with 6.1% of citizens polled identifying as
gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The Tampa Bay metropolitan area
also ranks 5th of all major metropolitan areas with 5.9% being
GLBT.
Infrastructure
Roads
Three
motor vehicle bridges cross Tampa Bay to Pinellas County
: the Howard
Frankland Bridge (I-275), the Courtney Campbell Causeway
(SR-60) and the Gandy Bridge (US
92). The old Gandy Bridge was completely replaced by new
spans during the 1990s, but a span of the old bridge was saved and
converted into a pedestrian and biking bridge renamed The
Friendship Trail. It is the longest overwater recreation trail in
the world. However, the bridge was closed in 2008 due to structural
problems.
There are two major expressways (toll) bringing traffic in and out
of Tampa.
The Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown
Expressway (SR-618) (also known as the Crosstown Expressway),
runs from suburban Brandon at its eastern terminus, through Downtown Tampa, to
the neighborhoods in South Tampa (near MacDill Air
Force Base) at its western terminus. The Veterans Expressway (SR-589),
meanwhile connects Tampa International Airport and the bay bridges to the northwestern suburbs as
Carrollwood
, Northdale, New Port Richey, and Brooksville
.
Three
interstate highways
run through the city.
Interstate 4 and
Interstate 275 cut across
the city and intersect near downtown.
Interstate 75 runs along the east
side of town for much of its route through Hillsborough
County until veering to the west to bisect New
Tampa.
Along with highways, major surface roads serves as main arteries of
the city. These roads are
Hillsborough Avenue,
Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Florida Avenue,
Fowler Avenue,
Dale Mabry Highway, Busch Boulevard,
Nebraska Avenue, Kennedy Boulevard,
Adamo Drive, and Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Airports
Tampa has a long history of air travel. Just ten years after the
historic first flight by the Wright Brothers in Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, the St. Petersburg Tampa Bay Airboat Line of Tony Jannus
became the first passenger airline in the world. The first flight
was on January 1, 1914. The airline flew from roughly what is now
St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport in St. Petersburg,
Florida, across the bay to just south of where Tampa International
Airport sits today.
There is a memorial in Tampa
International Airport commemorating this event. Also for this
reason, nearby St. Petersburg has earned the distinction as the
"Birthplace of Scheduled Air Transportation".
Train stations
Amtrak services Tampa via the Tampa
Union Train Station
, located in a historic building near the port
between downtown and Ybor City. The
Silver Star reverses its
direction at Tampa Union Station on its way between Miami and New
York.
Seaports
Since Tampa Bay was first spotted by Spanish explorers in the
1500s, sailors have admired its wide, sheltered beauty. However,
its shallow nature has always presented a navigability problem; the
bay is less than deep almost everywhere and considerably less than
that in many places near the coast, including the approach to the
city of Tampa.. By the late 1800s, typical cargo ships had grown
large enough that they were not able to navigate upper Tampa Bay
and reach the ports of Tampa at all.
In 1899, however, the US Congress authorized the dredging of a 27'
deep channel to Port Tampa, Henry Plant's rail-to-ship facility
just west of Tampa. In 1917, another channel was dredged out to the
Port of Tampa proper, instantly making
Tampa an important shipping location.
The bay bottom is very sandy, and the ship channels need constant
dredging to keep them navigable to the largest modern cargo ships.
Every
year, the US Army Corps of
Engineers dredge up enough sediment from the bay to fill
Raymond
James Stadium 10 times.
Today, the Port of Tampa is the largest port in Florida in
throughput tonnage, making it one of the busiest commercial ports
in North America. Traditionally, the largest bulk of shipments
passing through the port have been phosphate and related materials,
but petroleum products recently took over the mantle with an annual
tonnage of over 19 million tons.
Several
cruise ships also make use of
the Port of Tampa.
Tampa's cruise ship terminals, located in
the Channel
District
, are home to several Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Holland America ships which regularly
depart on Mexican and Caribbean sailings.
Mass transit
The
Hillsborough Area
Regional Transit Authority (HART) operates
streetcars as well as the
bus
system.
HART has a signed transit deal with the
University
of South Florida, allowing students to ride for free on most bus
routes. In addition, students from several other colleges
and universities can purchases passes at 25% discount from their
school.
The
TECO Line Streetcar
System, which links Ybor
City, the Channel District and Downtown Tampa, began operating on Saturday, October 19,
2002. Despite the system's limited reach and comparatively
slow speed (about 10-15 mph), the air-conditioned cars do
offer a nostalgic method of getting around in far greater comfort
than was possible a century ago. The line is intentionally
reminiscent of Tampa's extensive early twentieth-century streetcar
network, albeit much smaller in scope at present (2007). Currently,
the line has 10 stops along its 2.4 mile (3.9 km) route.
There is
also an "In-Town" trolley that takes passengers between Downtown, Channelside, and Harbour Island
. [13926] In addition, NEVs that are operated by
local upstarts shuttle passengers between these areas as well as
Hyde
Park and SoHo. [13927] Water
taxis have also been used for tours and transport
downtown.
[13928][13929]
On July
1, 2007, an intermodal transportation authority was created to
serve the seven county Tampa Bay area
. The
Tampa Bay Area
Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) was formed to
develop bus,
rapid transit, and other
transportation options for the region.
MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base, located in south Tampa, was constructed as
MacDill Field just prior to World War II. During the 1950s and
1960s, it was a
Strategic Air
Command base for
B-47 and
B-52 bombers. In the 1960s, it transitioned to a
Tactical Air Command
installation for
F-4 Phantom II
fighters, followed by
F-16s in the 1980s. It is
currently an
Air Mobility
Command installation, home to the
6th Air Mobility Wing, and includes
both the 310th Airlift Squadron, flying the
C-37, and the 91st Air Refueling Squadron,
flying the
KC-135. MacDill AFB is also home
to the headquarters for two of the U.S. military's joint
warfighting commands: Headquarters,
United States Central Command
(CENTCOM), and Headquarters,
United States Special
Operations Command (SOCOM). Both commands are independent from
one another and each is commanded by a respective 4-star general or
admiral. Like Tampa's seaport, MacDill AFB could also potentially
be a target for terrorism.
The
MacDill AFB flight line was temporarily closed and the 56th Fighter Wing transferred to Luke AFB, Arizona
following the 1991 round of base closings under
the Base
Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) discussions; at the
time, the base was used for F-16 fighter
training and operations and increasing level of civilian air
traffic in the Tampa Bay area was considered detrimental to
training. The noise produced by the fighter aircraft was
also considered inappropriate in a densely populated area. However,
despite committee recommendations, the base remained open to house
and support CENTCOM and SOCOM under the cognizance of the
newly-activated 6th Air Base Wing. With the disestablishment of
Tactical Air Command a few months later, claimancy for MacDill
passed to the newly-created
Air
Combat Command.
The
MacDill flight line was initially reopened in 1992 to temporarily
support F-16 aircraft from the 31st Fighter Wing and the Air Force Reserve's 482d Fighter Wing, following the
destruction of their home station, Homestead AFB
, Florida in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. In 1993, the MacDill
flightline was permanently reopened for NOAA
WP-3D "hurricane hunter" operations, which had
relocated from Miami International Airport
.
In 1996,
the 91st Air Refueling Squadron moved to MacDill from Malmstrom Air Force Base
, Montana
, the 6th Air Base Wing was renamed the 6th Air
Refueling Wing (later 6th Air
Mobility Wing) and the installation officially came under the
Air Mobility
Command.
Approximately 14,000 people work at MacDill Air Force Base, with a
significant number of military personnel and their families living
on base in military housing, while remaining servicemembers and
military families live off base in the Tampa Bay area. MacDill AFB
is a significant contributor to Tampa's economy and the city is
very supportive of the military community. In 2001 and 2003, the
Tampa Bay area was awarded the
Abilene
Trophy, which annually honors the most supportive Air Force
city in
Air Mobility
Command.
MacDill also hosts an annual air show that is enjoyed by thousands
of spectators each year. However, there were no shows in 2002 and
2003 due to 9/11. The 2006 show was also canceled due to security
concerns on base, but was reinstated in 2008.
In 2008, pursuant to
BRAC 2005, the Air Force
Reserve Command's 927th Air
Refueling Wing (927 ARW) relocated without aircraft or
equipment from Selfridge Air National Guard
Base
, Michigan to MacDill AFB, where it became an
"Associate" wing to the 6th Air
Mobility Wing sharing the same KC-135R Stratotanker
aircraft.
Sister cities
Tampa has formalized
sister city
agreements with the following cities:
See also
References
Bibliography
- Brown, Cantor. Tampa Before the Civil War. University Press of
Florida.
- Deitche, Scott M. Cigar City Mafia : A Complete History of
the Tampa Underworld (2004), Barricade Books ISBN
1-56980-266-1.
- Lastra, Frank. Ybor City: The Making of a Landmark
Town. 2006. University of Tampa Press.
- Stewart, George R. Names
on the Land, Houghton Mifflin
Company: Boston (1967).
External links
Tampa
International Airport
Knight Airport
near downtown.
(Formerly Vandenberg Airport) (IATA: VDF, ICAO: KVDF) is another option for general
aviation fliers.
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