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By ADAM EMERSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2007

Interactive Map Of Tampa Landmarks

Since 1933, the University of Tampa has been caretaker of what has become an iconic image on postcards and coffee mugs.

The Moorish-style minarets of Plant Hall have poked through the downtown skyline for more than a century - ever since a railroad magnate had a vision of luxury in what was once a sleepy, swampy town.

What most people don't know, however, is that the university can't knock down so much as a wall without first consulting several groups that have a vested interest in preserving the architectural imaginings of Henry B. Plant.

So a private university that has doubled in growth in the past decade spends about $2 million annually to help keep its central office building looking as it did at the turn of the 20th century, when it was known as the Tampa Bay Hotel.

Not that the school is complaining. Even though UT gets little in monetary value out of Plant Hall - it gets about $38,000 a year to rent out the ballroom and other spaces for weddings and parties - the university has adopted the minarets as its brand.

When prospective students or potential donors receive a letter from the university, the first image they see is that of the onion-shaped silver domes emblazoned on the letterhead.

"As many campuses I've been on, I'm not sure I can recall any building more unique," said Dan Gura, the university's vice president of development.

City leaders share that belief and infuse it into their political affairs. Mayor Pam Iorio's plan for a new downtown art museum calls for demolishing the current museum building next year for a park with an unobstructed view of the minarets across the Hillsborough River.

In the past, some city council members fought the university's attempts to expand upward. In 2001, construction of what is today the nine-story Vaughn Center angered Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, who said the new boxy building sullied the view of the minarets at sunset.

Gura said recently of his university's custodial role, "If you're going to be the steward, that would bring with it some unique challenges."

Debt And Disrepair

Those challenges started as soon as UT moved in.

The grand days of the old Tampa Bay Hotel drew celebrities such as Babe Ruth to its opulent rooms and headquartered the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War in 1898. It was never a financial success, however.

After Plant died in 1899, the city of Tampa acquired the hotel, which continued operating until 1930. By 1933, when UT had moved in, it had fallen into disrepair.

The university's first president, Frederic Spaulding, paid only $1 a year then to lease the space for his growing school. But he dumped money into renovating the building and put his fledgling school deep into debt.

By 1935, Spaulding owed local merchants $10,000. He resigned that year.

The building's appearance worsened for 24 more years. Its salvation turned about by the industry of former UT President David Delo and his wife, Sunny, who was experienced in furniture refinishing.

Sunny Delo began chipping away at the gray paint that covered fireplace tiles. Faculty helped restore furniture. The Delos, however, soon realized they needed help, and Sunny recruited other leading women in the city to form a club for the cleanup project.

They called themselves The Chiselers.

The Chiselers Inc. today boasts 200 active members and sponsors an annual flea market that raises about $200,000 every year for the restoration of Plant Hall. The group has raised more than $3.25 million since Sunny Delo founded it nearly 50 years ago.

"It is an extremely valuable piece of property," said Pauline Crumpton, a member of The Chiselers and a former president of the group. "The building itself is an art piece."

Change And Preservation

The university must consult with The Chiselers if it wants to make changes to that art piece to accommodate its administrative offices and classrooms. It also checks with the H.B. Plant Museum Society, the Tampa Historical Society, the Tampa Bay Hotel Advisory Council and the Preservation Roundtable, among other charitable groups.

And the university isn't the only resident of the historic hall. In another wing, the Henry B. Plant Museum showcases original artwork and furniture found in the days of the old hotel.

The museum draws 50,000 people every year, including about 15,000 during its annual Victorian Christmas Stroll, the museum's primary fundraiser that continues through Sunday.

Although its mission is different from the university, the museum's leaders say its vision is the same: To give visitors a sense of a different time when they stare up at its minarets and inside at its elegance.

The city's efforts to open up the vista of its landscape will only draw more visitors, said Sally Shifke, the museum's relations director.

Just the sight of the building "is one of the biggest reasons people come," Shifke said.

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285 or aemerson@tampatrib.com.

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