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The Waterfront: Revisited

The Burgett Brothers Collection

Spectators watch the 1922 Gasparilla invasion from the Lafayette Street Bridge. The Tampa Bay Hotel is in the background.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 3, 2009

From humble beginnings to what Tampa city leaders hope will become the cultural center of the region, the downtown waterfront has played a significant role in shaping the city. Here's a look from June 1887, when the city was established to what is next.

The Industrial Era:

The Railroad

In the early 1880s, the town of Tampa needed a way to ship out and bring in goods for its residents. The race was on between the South Florida and Florida Transit & Peninsular Railroad. In December 1883, the South Florida Railroad, led by railroad and steamboat mogul Henry B. Plant, won the race to Tampa. On this land, Plant built a freight warehouse and shipping wharf to ship goods across the Gulf of Mexico. Later, the railroad was extended to Port Tampa and the wharf was removed.

Tampa began to boom. In 1885, Vicente M. Ybor moved his cigar factories here from Key West because of the railways, climate and proximity to the Gulf. In 1893, Plant added the South Florida Railroad to the Plant System by merging it with the Savannah Florida and Western Railroad.

Plant died in 1899, and the Plant System was bought by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The Atlantic Coast Line continued to use the land as a freight depot and built another depot and more rail lines, bringing in more shipping business. ACL merged with Seaboard Coastline Railroad in 1967 and eventually became CSX Railroad. There is still a train line that runs underneath the Poe Garage.

Business

Warehouses made up most of the businesses. The Tampa Ice Company was the first in the 1880s. The last, Jackson Grain Co., was torn down in 1962.

The Bridges

The Lafayette Street Bridge was built in 1890 to accommodate the new luxury Tampa Bay Hotel (now Plant Hall at the University of Tampa) and promote western expansion of the city. A new bridge made out of steel and wood had to be built six years later due to poor construction.

In 1913, the city built a drawbridge at a cost of $250,000 to accommodate larger boats. The bridge and street were renamed after John F. Kennedy in 1964 and are still in use.

The current CSX Railroad Bridge was built in 1915. The Cass Street Bridge was built in 1926 to ease congestion on the Lafayette Street Bridge.

Spectators of the Gasparilla invasion from the Lafayette Street Bridge in 1922. Tampa Bay Hotel is in the background.

The Convention Hall Era:

Then-Mayor Nick Nuccio, who pushed for many public works projects during his administration, wanted to build a convention center on the recently purchased municipal riverfront property. Construction began in 1964 on Curtis Hixon Hall, named for former the former mayor who died in office in 1956. It opened in 1965.

The hall held 7,000 people and was home to sporting events, concerts and trade shows. It was the first home of the University of South Florida's basketball teams. Famous music acts included Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Jimi Hendrix and the Greatful Dead. The hall was torn down in 1993 after the Tampa Convention Center was built.

Ships

Two ships docked near Curtis Hixon Hall. The Jose Gasparilla, the pirate ship that leads the Gasparilla Pirate Festival invasion, was docked here during the late 1960s and 1970s. Also, a World War II-era Tench-class submarine, the USS Requin, was docked here from 1972 to 1990. The submarine was open for tours until 1986.

The Cultural Arts Era:

Tampa Museum of Art

The Tampa Museum of Art, which opened in 1979, sat behind Curtis Hixon Hall on the Hillsborough River. Known for its Greek and Roman permanent collections, it also exhibited nationally traveling art shows. The building was razed in and will be replaced by a 66,000-square-foot facility designed by San Francisco architect Stanley Saitowitz. It is under construction and is scheduled to open in the fall.

The old Tampa Museum of Art, top, was torn down and will be replaced by a bigger museum this year.

Rivergate Tower

The only skyscraper built on this land opened in 1988. Known as "the beer can building," the limestone structure was designed by architect Harry Wolf to symbolize a lighthouse.

Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park

Originally opened in 1995, Curtis Hixon offered little more than greenspace for recreation and festivals. Mayor Pam Iorio wanted to turn the park into the "Central Park of Tampa." New York Landscape Architect Thomas Balsley came up with a design for the 6-acre park that includes mist fountains, an information center, a pavilion, a dog park, several gardens and greenspace. Total cost is at a reported $15 to $25 million.

Glazer Children's Museum

In the spring of 2010, the Tampa Children's Museum will move from its former location near Lowry Park into its new 55,000-square-foot facility just east of the Tampa Museum of Art. It was renamed in honor of the Glazer Family foundation after it donated $5 million. Children can play with interactive exhibits and paddle a Native American canoe. There is also space for traveling exhibits.

Sources: City of Tampa, University of South Florida Special Collections Department, Sanborn Insurance maps, Stanley Saitowitz Natoma Architects Inc., Burgert Brothers Photographic Collection, TapLines.net, Glazer Children's Museum, Wikipedia, Tribune archives

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