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Tampa, Florida

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"Tampa" redirects here. For other uses, see Tampa (disambiguation).
Tampa, Florida
Flag of Tampa, Florida
Flag
Official seal of Tampa, Florida
Seal
Nickname(s): 
Cigar City", " The Big Guava", "T-Town
Location in Hillsborough County and the state of Florida.
Location in Hillsborough County and the state of Florida.
Country
State
Counties		United States
Florida
Hillsborough
Government
 • MayorPam Iorio
Population
 (2005)
 • City
333,040
 • Metro
2.6 million
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Websitehttp://www.tampagov.net/
Franklin Street, looking North, Tampa c. 1910s-1920s

Tampa is a major United States city located in Hillsborough County, on the west coast of Florida. It serves as its county seatTemplate:GR. The population within the city limits in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, was 321,772; making it the third largest city in the state, following Jacksonville and Miami.

Tampa is a part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the "Tampa Bay area". The four-county area is composed of roughly 2.6 million residents, making it the second largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the state behind Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, the third largest in the Southeastern United States, and the twelfth largest DMA Market in the United States.

History

Main article: History of Tampa

The word "Tampa" is an American Indian word used to refer to the area when the first European explorers arrived in Florida. Its meaning, if any, has been lost to the ages, though it is sometimes claimed to mean "sticks of fire" in the language of the Calusa, a Native American tribe. Other historians claim the name refers to "The place to gather sticks". "Sticks of fire" may also relate to the high concentration of lightning strikes that Tampa Bay receives every year during the hot and wet summer months. The name first appears in the "Memoir" of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda (1575), the author of which had spent 17 years as a Calusa captive. He calls it "Tanpa" and describes it as an important Calusa town.

Spanish conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez was the first European known to have visited the Tampa area, on April 8, 1528. Hernando de Soto arrived a year later to rescue the only remaining living member of de Narváez's expedition. A peace treaty was conducted with the local Indians and a short-lived Spanish outpost was established, but this was abandoned when it became clear that there was no gold in the area, and that the local Indians were not interested in converting to Catholicism and were too skilled as warriors to easily conquer.

When England acquired Florida in 1763, the bay was named Hillsborough Bay, after Lord Hillsborough, Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Spain transferred Florida to the United States in 1821 (see Adams-Onis Treaty). An Indian reservation was established in what is now north Tampa. As part of efforts to firmly establish United States control over southern Florida, then a vast swampy wilderness with sparse Seminole Indian population, a military outpost ("Cantonment Brooke") was established at what is now the Tampa Convention Center in downtown Tampa in 1823 by Colonels George Mercer Brooke and James Gadsden. In 1824, the post was renamed Fort Brooke. It was a vital military asset in the Seminole Wars. The village of Tampa began to grow up around the fort, which was decommissioned in 1883. Except for two cannons now on the University of Tampa campus, all traces of the fort are gone.

Tampa was incorporated on January 18, 1849 with 185 inhabitants (excluding military personnel stationed at Fort Brooke). The city's first census came in 1850 when Tampa-Fort Brooke accounted for 974 residents. Tampa was reincorporated as a town on December 15, 1855, and Judge Joseph B. Lancaster became the first Mayor in 1856. During the Civil War, Fort Brooke was occupied by Confederate troops, and martial law was declared in Tampa. In 1862, a Union gunboat shelled the city during the Battle of Tampa. Union forces took Fort Brooke in May of 1864, and occupied the town for the next year.

Phosphate was discovered in the Bone Valley region near Tampa in 1883. Tampa is now one of the world's leading phosphate exporters. Henry B. Plant's railroad reached the town shortly thereafter, enabling the commercial fishing industry to thrive.

In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade persuaded Vincente M. Ybor to move his cigar manufacturing operations to Tampa from Key West. The Ybor City district was built to accommodate the factories and their workers. Tampa soon became a major cigar production center. Thousands of Italian (the majority coming from Alessandria Della Rocca and Santo Stefano, two small Sicilian towns which Tampa maintains strong ties with) and Cuban immigrants came to Tampa to work at the factories.

Henry B. Plant built a lavish luxury hotel in the city in 1883, which is now the campus of the University of Tampa.

Tampa was an embarkation center for American troops during the Spanish-American War. Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were part of the 30,000 troops stationed in Tampa for training.

In 1904, local civic association Ye Mystic Krewe "invaded" the city for the first time, establishing the yearly Gasparilla Pirate Festival.

Illegal bolita lotteries became very popular among the Tampa working classes, especially in Ybor City, where many gambling parlors sprang up. Profits from the bolita lotteries and Prohibition-era bootlegging led to the development of several organized crime factions in the city. The first boss of Tampa's organized crime world was Charlie Wall, 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 University of South Florida was established in 1956, sparking development in northern Tampa and nearby Temple Terrace.

The biggest development of the city was the development of New Tampa that started in 1988 when the city annexed a 24-square mile (mostly rural) area between I-275 and I-75. Today, the district boasts over 22,000 inhabitants.

With the advent of air conditioning, thousands of new residents have arrived in Tampa from the northern United States. The population continues to grow rapidly, and construction is proceeding rapidly on new housing developments around Tampa.

On January 5, 2002, just four months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 15-year-old amateur pilot Charles Bishop flew a Cessna plane into the 42-story Bank of America Plaza building 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 sued Hoffman-La Roche, the company that makes Accutane, for $70 million; however, an autopsy found no traces of the drug in the teenager's system.

Landmarks

  • Sunshine Skyway Bridge is Florida's largest bridge, and the world's longest cable-stayed bridge. The Hillsborough County line extends throughout the bay and to the Gulf of Mexico which is part of the city's water area. The current bridge replaced a cantilever bridge that fell when the freighter Summit Venture collided with it on May 9th 1980, killing 35 people. The remaining roadway from the original bridge was turned into two fishing piers, one each on the north and south end of the bridge. The southern pier, at 1.5 miles long, is the longest fishing pier in the world.
  • Babe Zaharias Golf Course in the Forest Hills area of Tampa has been designated a Historical Lankmark and is also an enjoyable golf course. It was bought in 1949 by the famous 'Babe' who had a residence nearby and closed at her death. In 1974 the City of Tampa opened the golf course as a public facility for the enjoyment of golfers. It has received the designation of a Historical Landmark.
  • 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 commission in 2003 by the City of Tampa's Public Art Program and can be found in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building.

The city of Tampa is proposing building a more recognizable landmark in the downtown area - and two ideas that have been proposed is a Space Needle building similar to that of Seattle's. Another plan calls for four large fabric "gates" to be placed at four areas leading into the downtown area that would be illuminated at night and would be recognizable to outside visitors welcoming them into the downtown area.

Geography

Tampa is located on the West coast of Florida at 27°58'15" North, 82°27'53" West (27.970898, -82.464640)Template:GR. It 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 (Florida) flows out into Tampa bay, passing directly in front of Downtown Tampa and supplying Tampa with it's main source of water.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 441.9 km² (170.6 mi²). 290.3 km² (112.1 mi²) of it is land and 151.6 km² (58.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 34.31% water.

Landmarks

Population and demographics

City of Tampa
Population by year [1], [2]

1850 - 974 (Z)
1860 - not returned
1870 - 796
1880 - 720
1890 - 5,532
1900 - 15,839
1910 - 37,782
1920 - 51,608
1930 - 101,161
1940 - 108,391
1950 - 124,681
1960 - 274,970
1970 - 277,714
1980 - 271,523
1990 - 280,015
2000 - 303,447
2004 - 321,772 (Est.)
2005 - 333,040 (Est.)
(Z): Population including Fort Brooke.

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 303,447 people, 124,758 households, and 71,236 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,045.4/km² (2,707.8/mi²). There were 135,776 housing units at an average density of 467.8/km² (1,211.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.22% White (51.0% White Non-Hispanic), 26.07% Black or African American, 0.38% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.15% Asian, 0.09% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 4.17% from other races, and 2.92% from two or more races. 19.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race, most of them Puerto Ricans. There are significant populations of Cuban, Mexican, Italian, Peruvian, and Colombian descents within the city limits as well.

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 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,415, and the median income for a family was $40,517. Males had a median income of $31,452 versus $26,133 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,953. 18.1% of the population and 14.0% of families were below the poverty line. 26.8% of those under the age of 18 and 15.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty level.

Economy

International Plaza and Bay Street.

Like much of Florida, Tampa's economy is heavily based on services and tourism. There is a huge net influx of cash into the area. Many wealthy people have winter houses here, and the upscale Tampa Palms neighborhood is a desirable destination for retired professional athletes. Many corporations, such as large banks and telecommunications companies, maintain regional offices in Tampa, and the city is an extremely popular location for call centers.

The downtown area is also undergoing a large transformation to be mostly completed in time for the hosting of the Superbowl in 2009 with over 43 condo, hotel, and mixed-use developments proposed/approved/under construction as of October 2005. An earlier list by the city of Tampa includes large developments that have been approved and/or are under construction. A large portion of these projects have multiple towers to compensate for the high land values in Downtown Tampa. The next tower currently under construction in the central business district is the Trump Tower Tampa, the largest residential tower on the Gulf Coast according to The Tampa Bay Business Journal.

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. Here the cruise industry thrives.[1]

Fortune 500 company Publix, a supermarket chain, is headquartered in nearby Lakeland, Florida.

Municipal Government

Tampa is governed under the strong mayor form of government. The current Mayor of Tampa is the chief executive officer of city government. The City Council is a legislative body. Pam Iorio is the mayor of Tampa.

The city web site City of Tampa Web site has won awards for excellence.

Weather and climate

Tampa's climate is subtropical, with a threat of frost about once every 2-3 years. Highs usually stay between 65 and 95 °F (18 and 35 °C) year round, and lows rarely go below 32 °F (0 °C). These rare freezes are an enormous threat to area agriculture and aquaculture. Likewise, summer temperatures are predictable, and have never risen above 100 °F (38 °C). The all-time record high temperature in downtown was 99 °F (37 °C), recorded on June 5, 1985. [3]

Fog can also be an occasional problem in the winter and spring. Temperatures are hot May through October, which coincides with the rainy season. These summer days have highs around 90 °F (32 °C) and high humidity. The summer nighttime temperature drops to only around 75 °F (23 °C).[4] Other times of the year, the temperatures are moderate and sunshine is abundant.

Thunderstorms are a major concern on summer afternoons. High winds, small hail, and torrential rain often accompany these common afternoon thunderstorms which can be severe. Tornadoes are not unheard of. These storms often move out over the Gulf of Mexico at night, where they are easily seen from land as spectacular light shows.

Another major concern for Tampa is the Atlantic hurricane season which runs from June 1st to November 30th and peaks in September [5]. It has been more than 70 years since Tampa has had a direct hit from a hurricane. Tampa also is popularly known as the "Lightning Capital of the World", due in part to the frequent, dangerous and (on rare occasions) deadly lightning strikes.

Education

Institutions of Higher Learning

File:USFseal-ortho.jpg
The seal of the University of South Florida

Schools

Tampa's public schools are operated by the Hillsborough County Schools.

List of schools in Tampa and surrounding Hillsborough County




Attractions and points of interest

Centro Ybor complex with a TECO Line car passing in front
Street festival in Ybor Historic District
  • Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center at http://tbpac.org is the largest performing arts complex in the Southeast, presenting high quality performing arts programming from major Broadway tours to grand opera, dance, cabaret, comedy and concerts to the region. TBPAC is also home to the Patel Conservatory, which opened in 2004.
  • Historic Hyde Park is a historical district in South Tampa with many fine archetectual exampes.
  • The Skatepark of Tampa is a world-famous skatepark, with many professional skateboarders flocking to it in January for the Tampa Am, and in March, for the Tampa Pro.
  • Tampa Union Station is an historic train station between downtown and Ybor City.
  • Ybor City is a National Historic Landmark District near downtown. It is a hotspot at night (especially on the weekends due to the many nightclubs, bars, restaurants and other entertainment venues in the area). Ybor City and Tampa in general were an integral part of the Florida death metal scene.
  • West Tampa south of Raymond James Stadium, includes many Cuban and Spanish businesses, along Columbus Drive. Columbus Drive is also known as Boliche Boulevard after a famous Cuban dish. La Teresita, La Ideal, Lincoln Restaurant, The Italian American Club, and the Letter Carriers Hall are some of the well known local gathering places in Tampa. The "Brothers to the Rescue" Corner monument is in West Tampa at Dale Mabry Highway and Columbus Drive.
  • The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg runs in neighboring St. Petersburg.
  • Channelside located next to the Tampa Bay, it contains many arcades,shops,resturants and bars, and an Imax theatre
  • Horse Racing at Tampa Bay Downs, in Oldsmar, first opened in 1926. The Tampa Bay Downs live racing season is from December to May with simulcasting year round. They also have a card room offering poker games.
  • Greyhound Racing at Tampa Greyhound Track, in Tampa, first opened in 1933. They have live racing from June to December, with simulcasts year round. They also have a card room offering poker games.

Cinemas

  • Tampa Theatre is a historic movie palace that shows a wide range of independent, foreign and classic films in addition to an occasional live show. It also is the home of several film festivals that occur throughout the year.
  • Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) has an IMAX dome theater
  • The Fun-Lan Drive-In is the only drive-in theater left in Tampa. Fun-Lan has four screens each showing first-run movies. There is also a flea market in the morning five days per week. (The Ruskin area just south of the city is home to the Ruskin Drive-In, one of America's oldest.)

Live theatre

Galleries and museums

A list of upcoming and ongoing art events in Tampa can be found at the website Tampa Bay and Beyond.

Shopping centers

  • International Plaza and Bay Street, located in the Westshore business district, is home to many stores (which some may consider) upscale: (with Nordstrom, Dillard's, Robb & Stucky Interiors and Neiman Marcus as anchors) as well as a hotel that was recently built on the premises.
  • WestShore Plaza is an upper-middle class shopping center, one mile away from International Plaza and Bay Street. On the middle class end, the mall is anchored by Sears and JCPenney, and on the higher end, anchored by Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue.
  • University Mall, in the northern part of the city near the University of South Florida, with Sears, Macy's, Dillard's, Steve and Barry's University Sportswear, and Burlington Coat Factory as anchors.
  • Westfield Shoppingtown Brandon, A fairly large mall located in an eastern suburb, Brandon, with Sears, Dillards, Macy's, and JCPenney as anchors.
  • Westfield Shoppingtown Citrus Park, A mid-size mall located in the north western part of the county. Though this mall maintains a Tampa mailing address, it lies outside of the city of Tampa's borders (as it is north of Hillsborough Avenue, and west of Armenia Avenue).
  • Old Hyde Park Village, a small collection of specialty boutiques anchored by Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and Williams-Sonoma. It has a pleasant park-like setting and Sunrise Theaters, which runs a nice mix of first-run headline movies and arts films. Hyde Park is accessible by trolley from downtown, the Cruise Port and Ybor City.

Sports

Club Sport League Stadium
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Football National Football League (NFL) - NFC Raymond James Stadium
Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey National Hockey League (NHL) - Eastern Conference St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Baseball Major League Baseball - AL Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg
Tampa Bay Storm Arena Football Arena Football League (AFL) St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa Bay Strong Dogs Basketball American Basketball Association (ABA) TBA

Tampa is represented by teams in four major professional sports. Three play in Tampa proper, while the Tampa Bay Devil 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 Buccaneers became the area's first major franchise in 1976, and brought the area its first major sports championship at the end of the 2002 season, winning Super Bowl XXXVII. The NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning were established in 1991, and currently play their games in the St. Pete Times Forum. The team won their first Stanley Cup championship at the end of the 2003-2004 NHL season. The Devil Rays began play in 1998, and have yet to be a major contender - finishing last in the American League's East Division in seven of the eight seasons they have played. The Tampa Bay Storm play in the lesser-known 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. Since the relocation, the Storm have qualified for the playoffs every season. Since 1997, the team has played its home games in the St. Pete Times Forum, which is located in Tampa.

(Many entrance signs in Tampa now read Tampa: City of Champions due to the previous championships of the Buccaneers, Lightning, and Tampa Bay Storm. Recently, the issue of adding the New York Yankees to the signs have been raised, raising controversy on whether the team should be considered since it only holds spring training in Tampa. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio disagrees with this idea stating that the Tampa Bay region already has its own baseball team, and that the signs do not name specific teams, they name the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, and Arena Bowl championships.)

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.

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:

And playing in the Minor League Baseball Florida State League (Single-A baseball) are:

College sports teams include:

Sporting Events:

Zoological gardens and aquaria

Local media

Newspapers

Daily

Weekly

Television

Radio

Yearly events

Downtown Tampa during Gasparilla

MacDill Air Force Base

MacDill Air Force Base, located in south Tampa, is home to CENTCOM, the Central Command of the United States military; and SOCOM, the Special Operations Command. The base is run by 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.

The base flightline was closed in the 1991 round of base closings under the Base Realignment and Closure committee discussions; at the time, the base was used for F-16 training and the air traffic in the Tampa area was considered detrimental to training; the noise produced was also considered inappropriate in a densely settled area. However, despite committee recommendations, the base remained open to house and support CENTCOM and SOCOM. The flightline was reopened in 1993 for NOAA operations, and in 1996 the air refueling squadron moved to the base from Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.

Approximately 14,000 people work at MacDill Air Force Base. It is a significant contributor to Tampa's economy, and the city is very supportive of the military community. In 2003 and 2004, the Tampa Bay area was awarded the Abilene Trophy, which annually honors the most supportive Air Force city in the country.

Transportation

HARTline logo
A TECO streetcar picking up passengers in Ybor City.

Airports

Train stations

Amtrak services Tampa via the Tampa Union Train Station, located in a historic building near downtown.

Seaports

Several cruise ships make use of the Port of Tampa, located in the Channel District.

Mass transit

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HARTline) operates the streetcars as well as the bus system. HARTline has signed transit deals with both the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa, allowing HARTline buses to transfer students from the two campuses to other areas of Tampa free of charge as long as proof of affiliation with the school is presented. Starting in December 2005, faculty from both schools now have to pay 25 cents.

The TECO Line Streetcar System, which links Ybor City, the Channel District and downtown Tampa, began operating on Saturday, October 19, 2002. Although quite limited in the scope of areas that it services, and its slow speed (about 10-15 mph), the air-conditioned cars do offer a comfortable and nostalgic method of getting around. The line is similar to the streetcar network in Tampa in the early 20th century.

Major roads

Tampa in television and films/ Novels

Sister cities

Tampa is a sister city with

See also


References

  1. ^ "NOAA Brownfield: Pilot Port, Tampa Bay, FL". noaa.gov. Retrieved 2006-05-13. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)

Books

  • Cigar City Mafia : A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld (2004), Scott M. Deitche, Barricade Books ISBN 1569802661

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