Tampa is a United States city in Hillsborough County, on the west coast of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County.[3]. The population of Tampa in 2000 was 303,447. According to the 2007 estimates, the city has a population of 342,060 [4].
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 3 million residents, making it the second largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the state, and the third largest in the Southeastern United States behind Miami 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.[5] The Tampa Bay Designated Market Area(DMA) is the largest media market(DMA in the state of Florida and the thirteenth largest DMA Market in the United States which includes the Greater Tampa Bay Metro market.
In 2008 Tampa was ranked as the 8th cleanest city in America by Yahoo! Real Estate [6] and 5th best outdoor city by Forbes.[7] A 2004 survey by the NYU newspaper ranked Tampa as a top city for 20-somethings. [8]
History
-
The word "Tampa" is believed to mean "sticks of fire" in the language of the Calusa, a Native American tribe that once lived south of today’s Tampa Bay. This may 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" (Stewart, pg. 231).
Early explorations
Because they did not leave written records, not much is known about the cultures who called the Tampa Bay area home before European contact. When the first 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 [9].
Expeditions led by Pánfilo de Narváez and Hernando de Soto landed near Tampa to look for gold and possibly start a colony. But neither conquistador stayed in the region for long once it became clear that the only riches to be found in the area was the abundant fish and shellfish in the waters of the bay. The native inhabitants, who derived most of their resources from the sea, were not interested in sharing and repulsed any Spanish attempt to establish a permanent settlement or convert them to Catholicism.
However, 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. Its native villages abandoned and disregarded by its colonial owners, the Tampa area would be 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. These visitors stayed in temporary settlements on the shore of Tampa Bay along a small freshwater stream near today’s Hyde Park neighborhood. They would spend several weeks catching a large haul of fish from the teeming waters of the bay, then take them back to sell in Spanish Cuba.[10]
In 1821, the United States purchased Florida from Spain (see Adams-Onís Treaty), mainly to end frontier Indians raids and to stem the tide of escaped slaves fleeing into Florida from neighboring states. In fact, one of the first official U.S. actions in the new territory was a raid which destroyed Angola, a village built by escaped slaves on the eastern shore of Tampa Bay.
Frontier days
Birth of a pioneer town
The Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823) created a large Indian reservation in the interior of the peninsular 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 throughout 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 what is now the site of the Tampa Convention Center in Downtown Tampa. In 1824, the post was officially christened Fort Brooke.
Tampa, as the tiny village of settlers near the fort was dubbed, 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. Tampa had grown enough by 1849 to officially incorporate as the "Village of Tampa" on January 18. Tampa was home to 185 inhabitants, excluding military personnel stationed at Fort Brooke. The city's first census count in 1850 listed Tampa-Fort Brooke as having 974 residents.[11] 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 in Tampa Bay
During the American Civil War, Florida seceded along with the rest of the South to form the Confederate States of America. Fort Brooke was manned by Confederate troops and martial law was declared in Tampa in January of 1862. Tampa's city government ceased to operate for the duration of the war.[12] 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. However, 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.[13]
Trying to put a stop to this, Union gunboats sailed up Tampa Bay to bombard Fort Brooke and the surrounding city of Tampa. The Battle of Tampa on June 30-July 1, 1862 was inconclusive, as the shells fell ineffectually and there were no casualties on either side.[14][15]
Much more damaging to the Confederate cause was the Battle of Fort Brooke on October 17-18, 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.[16]
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, federal troops arrived in Tampa to occupy the fort and the town as part of Reconstruction. They would remain until August, 1869.[16]
The Lean Years
A Ft. Brooke cannon displayed across the river from downtown
The years after the Civil War were difficult ones in Tampa. With little industry and land transportation links limited to bumpy wagon roads from the east coast of Florida, Tampa was a small sleepy fishing village with very few people and poor prospects for development.
Then came yellow fever. Borne by mosquitos from the surrounding swampland, Tampa was hit by wave after wave of yellow fever epidemics and scares throughout 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.
A telling moment occurred in 1869, when residents voted to abolish the City of Tampa government.[17] The population of "Tampa Town" was below 800 in the official 1870 census count and had fallen further by 1880. (see demographics, below). The little village was dying.
Another blow was to come. 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. In an odd nod to history, a large downtown parking garage near the old fort site is called the Fort Brooke Parking Garage.[18]
Phosphate, Railroads, and Cigars: Tampa Finally Prospers
Franklin Street, looking North, Tampa c. 1910s-1920s
Then, out of the blue, 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, which is vital for the production of fertilizers and other products, was soon being shipped out from the Port of Tampa in ever increasing volume. Tampa is still one of the world's leading phosphate exporters. 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 had been so sorely lacking. The railroad enabled phosphate and commercial fishing exports to go north [19], brought many new products into the Tampa market, and started the first real tourist industry: visitors coming in modest numbers to Henry Plant's first Tampa-area resort built literally on Tampa Bay on stilts. (This was not the still-standing Tampa Bay Hotel, which came a few years later).
The new railroad link enabled another important industry to come to Tampa. In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade helped broker a land deal with Vicente Martinez Ybor to move his cigar manufacturing operations to Tampa from Key West. Close proximity 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 40-odd acre settlement was dubbed) quickly made Tampa a major cigar production center. To round out the town's population, many Italian and a few eastern European Jewish immigrants also arrived starting in the late 1880s, mainly 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 long, Moorish Revival style luxury resort hotel called the
Tampa Bay Hotel among 150 acres (0.61 km²) of manicured gardens along the banks Hillsborough River. The eclectic structure cost $2.5 million to build, a huge sum in those days. Plant filled his expensive playground with exotic art collectables from around the world and installed electric lights and the first elevator in town.
The resort did great business for a few years, especially during the Spanish-American War (see below). But with Plant's death in 1899, the hotel's fortunes began to fade. It closed in 1930. In 1933, however, 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 Teddy 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 to bursting [20]. Those months, while unpleasant for the troops wearing thick wool uniforms in the oppressive Florida heat, were a great boon to Tampa's growing economy. It was also the only time when Plant's Tampa Bay Hotel was full to capacity.
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 suddenly expanded from sleepy backwater village to bustling town to small city. Except for temporary bumps along the way, this growth has continued unabated.
The 20th century
During the first few decades of the 20th century, the cigar making industry continued to be 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.[21] As the market for cigars began to wane during the Great Depression, other industries came to the fore, especially shipping and, of course, tourism.
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.[22][23]
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. Though 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.
Mid-Late 20th century
The University of South Florida was established in 1956, sparking development in northern Tampa and nearby Temple Terrace.
There were four attempts to consolidate Tampa with Hillsborough County (1967, 1970, 1971, and 1972), all of which failed at the ballot box; the biggest margin was 33,160 for and 73,568 against the proposed charter in 1972.[24]
The biggest recent growth in the city was the development of New Tampa, which started in 1988 when the city annexed a 24-square mile (mostly rural) area between I-275 and I-75. Since then, many subdivisions and thousands of homes and businesses have filled in, accounting for much of Tampa's population growth over that time.
East Tampa, which has historically been a mostly black community, was the scene of several riots, mainly due to problems between residents and the Tampa police.
The 21st century
On January 5, 2002, just four months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 15-year-old amateur pilot Charles Bishop stole a Cessna plane and flew into the Bank of America Tower in Downtown Tampa. Bishop died, but there were no other injuries (because the crash occurred on a Saturday, when few people were in the building). A suicide note found in the wreckage expressed support for Osama bin Laden. Bishop had been taking a prescription medicine for acne called Accutane that may have had the side effect of depression or severe psychosis. His family later filed a lawsuit against Hoffman-La Roche, the company that makes Accutane, for $70 million despite the fact that an autopsy found no traces of the drug in the teenager's system. The suit was dropped on June 26, 2007, by Bishop's mother, who stated she was physically and emotionally unable to continue the action.
Geography & Climate
Tampa is located on the West coast of Florida at 27°58′15″N, 82°27′53″W (27.970898, -82.464640).[25]
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 in the forties. Tampa is bordered by two bodies of water: Old Tampa Bay and Hillsborough Bay, which both flow to form Tampa Bay, which 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 water. The Palm River is a smaller river flowing from just east of the city into Hillsborough Bay.
Climate
In the summer, temperatures can reach as High as 95 °F
Tampa has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), with hot summer days and a threat of winter frost only about every 2-3 years. Highs usually range between 65 and 95 °F (18 and 35 °C) year round. Surprisingly 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.[26]
In the winter, the low rarely drops below freezing (32 °F , 0 °C), an occurrence which happens, on average, once every other year. Since the Tampa area is home to a diverse range of freeze-sensitive agriculture and aquaculture, cold snaps are a major worry. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Tampa was 18 °F (-7.8 °C) on December 13, 1962.[27] Usually, the highs are around 70 °F (20 - 22 °C) with sunny skies in the winter, with the occasional passage of a cold front bringing the temperature down for a few days.
In the Great Blizzard of 1899, Tampa suffered its one and only known blizzard, with "bay effect" snow coming off Tampa Bay.[28] [3] The last measurable snow in Tampa fell on January 19, 1977. The accumulation amounted to all of 0.2 inches (5.1 mm), but the city, unprepared for and unaccustomed to wintry weather, came to a virtual standstill for a day.[29]
Temperatures are hot from around mid-May through mid-October, which coincides approximately with the rainy season. Summer days usually have highs in the low 90s °F (32-34 °C) with high humidity. The summer nighttime temperature usually drops into the mid 70s °F (21 - 23 °C).[30]
Thunderstorms are a common summertime feature in Tampa. These afternoon boomers can sometimes become severe, bringing gusty winds, small hail, and torrential rain. Tornadoes are rare, but not unheard of. The biggest danger they bring is lightning.
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.[31] With each thunderstorm capable of unleashing thousands of individual bolts, weather safety experts recommend staying inside until the weather clears.[32]
The most common summertime weather pattern is for heat-produced thermals to turn puffy white cumulus clouds into threatening thunderheads over the interior of the Florida peninsula. The typical wind pattern usually pushes these storms slowly westward toward the Tampa area. Sometimes they rain themselves out before making it to the coast; on many summer days in Tampa Bay, a stormy afternoon is followed by a pleasantly clear and cooler (though not exactly cool) evening. But occasionally the storms survive to move out over the Gulf of Mexico at night, where they can be seen from the beaches as spectacular light shows.
A westerly or southwesterly wind flow, however, will bring even more humidity than usual into the air. On those days, rain and thunder can strike anywhere at any time around Tampa Bay.
Because of these regular summer storms, Tampa has a pronounced wet season, averaging 20.6 inches (524 mm) between July and September, but only 6.2 inches (157 mm) between November and January. The wettest month is August, which averages 7.6 inches (193 mm). (August and especially September rain totals are augmented by tropical systems, which easily can dump many inches of rain in one day.) November is Tampa's driest month, averaging only 1.6 inches (41 mm). During the winter, most of the area's precipitation is delivered by the occasional cold front. Yearly precipitation averages 44.8 inches (1137 mm).[33]
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Avg high °F (°C) |
70
(21) |
72
(22) |
76
(24) |
82
(27) |
87
(30) |
90
(32) |
90
(32) |
90
(32) |
89
(31) |
84
(28) |
78
(25) |
72
(22) |
82
(27) |
| Avg low temperature °F (°C) |
50
(10) |
52
(11) |
56
(13) |
61
(16) |
67
(19) |
73
(22) |
74
(23) |
74
(23) |
73
(22) |
66
(18) |
57
(13) |
52
(11) |
63
(17) |
| Rainfall in. (cm) |
2.1
(5) |
2.9
(6) |
3.2
(8) |
2.0
(4) |
2.7
(7) |
6.6
(14) |
7.4
(18) |
7.9
(20) |
6.3
(16) |
2.3
(5) |
1.8
(4) |
2.0
(5) |
46.3
(128) |
| Source: Monthly Climate Summary |
Cityscape
-
- See also: Neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida
Harbor Island (right), Channelside (center) and Tampa's skyline (right).
Architecture
Left to right: Park Tower, Rivergate Building, and 100 North Tampa
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 Theater 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.[34] 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. [35]
Tampa is the site of several skyscrapers. Overall, there are 18 completed buildings that rise over 250 feet (76 m) in height. The city also has 69 high-rises,[36] 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 579 feet (176 m) in Downtown Tampa.[37] The structure was completed in 1992, and is the tallest building in Florida outside of Miami and Jacksonville.[37]
Neighborhoods and Surrounding municipalities
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, Sulphur Springs[38], Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, Palma Ceia, Hyde Park, Tampa Palms, College Hill and non-residential areas of Gary and the Westshore Business District Bolded indicates principal city of the Metropolitan Area.
| Northwest: Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Dunedin |
North: Lutz, Land O' Lakes |
Northeast: Temple Terrace, Thonotosassa, Wesley Chapel |
| West: Clearwater, Largo |
Tampa |
East: Brandon, Seffner, Valrico, Plant City, Lakeland |
| Southwest: St. Petersburg |
South: Apollo Beach, Ruskin, Sun City Center |
Southeast: Riverview, Gibsonton, Boyette |
Landmarks
Portion of the Tampa skyline.
- See also: List of tallest buildings in Tampa
Tampa also has significant 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 6-mile (9.7 km) continuous sidewalk on the eastern end, the longest in the world.[39][40] 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 [41] 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 of Tampa's Public Art Program and can be found in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building.[42] Park Tower (originally the First Financial Bank of Florida), 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.[43]
One obvious feature of the skyline is the Rivergate building, a cylindrical building across from the University of Tampa. The building is affectionately known as the "Beer Can building" and was featured in the movie "The Punisher".
Future landmarks may include The Tampa Riverwalk, a proposed continuous pedestrian walkway along the eastern end of the Hillsborough River. The sidewalk will extend from the Channelside district to Tampa Heights.[44] The schedule time for completion is around 2010.[45].
Other landmarks within the city include the Tampa Theatre, Museum of Science and Industry (which include the IMAX dome theater), Fun-Lan Drive-In (drive-in theater), and Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
Downtown Tampa boasts a number of landmark high-rises, including the SunTrust Building, Sykes Building, SkyPoint Condominium, Towers of Channelside, and the Bank of America Building.
South of Tampa, spanning the southern part of Tampa Bay, is the massive steel-span Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Culture
Arts and Entertainment
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
The outside of the IMAX Dome at MOSI
Tampa is known to have a lively and diverse culture. It is home to a variety of performance halls and theaters, including the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, the Tampa Theater, 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. Tampa is also home to many cultural and arts groups.
Tampa became noted in the late 1990s for Southern hip hop music, a variant of the "Dirty South" or Southern hip hop genre. Several different artists from the area began to gain national recognition. These artists include Khia, Tampa Tony, Rated R and various others that were signed to national record labels but were later dropped. East coast rap is still popular in Tampa although the southern hip hop has slowly taken over the radio stations.
In addition, since the mid 1980's, Tampa has been known world-wide as the unofficial birthplace of Death metal, an extreme form of Heavy metal. Many of the genre's pioneers and foremost figures are based in and around the city. Chief among these are Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under, Death, Obituary, & Morbid Angel. Tampa's Death metal scene had also adopted The Brass Mug, a bar that showcases local music acts, crowning it as a mecca for extreme music in the world metal community, & attracting metal fans from around the world.
Tampa is home to a vibrant 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. [46]
Tourism and Recreation
The Tampa Convention Center
The city of Tampa operates over 165 parks and beaches covering 2,286 acres within city limits; 42 more in surrounding suburbs covering 70,000 acres, 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 Africa, Adventure Island, Lowry Park Zoo, and Florida Aquarium
Busch Gardens Africa is a 335 acre 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 30 acre 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 250,000 sq ft 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 Second World War 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, University Mall, Westfield Brandon, and Westfield Citrus Park. Well known Hyde Park Village is an upscale open-air shopping center residing in the neighborhood of Hyde Park. 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.
Media
-
- See also: List of films set in Tampa
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[47] (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[48]. Centro Mi Diario is a free Spanish-language newspaper published by The Tampa Tribune.[49] SyFy Portal, SyUniverse Group Inc., parent corporation, is based in Tampa as is its owner. Major television affiliates include WFTS 28 (ABC), WTSP 10 (CBS), WFLA 8 (NBC), WTVT 13 (FOX), WTOG 44 (The CW), and WTTA 38 (My Network TV).
Religion
Sacred Heart Church, Tampa, FL
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 was 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 four major professional sports leagues: the NFL, the NHL, Major League Baseball, and the Arena Football League. Three 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.
Buccaneer game action at Raymond James Stadium
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the area's first major sports franchise in 1976, and brought the area its first major sports championship at the end of the 2002 season, winning Super Bowl XXXVII against the Oakland Raiders.
The NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning was established in 1992, and currently play their 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 in game 7 against the Calgary Flames at the end of the 2003-2004 NHL season.
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 10 years of existence (finishing last in the American League's East Division in nine of those ten seasons) but are currently vieing for their first ever playoff birth.
The Tampa Bay Storm play in the Arena Football League. 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, winning 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 an expansion franchise, called the Tampa Bay Rowdies, that will play at a new soccer-specific stadium in the Tampa area for the 2009 season.
College sports
Inside the St. Pete Times Forum
The University of South Florida started its football program in 1998. 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
Other sports teams include:
- The Bay Area Pelicans Rugby Football Club
- The Bay Area Krewe rugby union team, who play at Skyview Park
- The Tampa Bay Terminators, a women's professional football franchise
Tampa has hosted several franchises of other professional leagues over the years. The first of these was the Tampa Bay Rowdies, started in 1975 as an expansion franchise of the defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). They played their games at Tampa Stadium. The Rowdies won the inaugural Soccer Bowl in 1975, bringing Tampa Bay its first professional sports championship. The NASL folded in 1984, while the Rowdies continued play in other indoor soccer leagues before folding in 1993. 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 three 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. Tampa is slated to host 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. Playing in the spring training Florida Grapefruit League are:
Minor League Baseball Florida State League (Single-A baseball) teams comprise:
Other notable sporting events:
Current sporting venues in Tampa, Florida
|
|
|
|
|
Economy
Service, retail, finance, insurance, and real estate play a vital role in the area's economy.[50] Hillsborough County alone has an estimated 740,000 employees, a figure which is projected to increase to 922,000 by 2015.[51] 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:[52]
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.[53] Many of the new downtown devel |
