Fort Brooke was decommissioned in , further impacting the local economy in the short run but opening up the waterfront for development. Except for two cannons displayed on the University of Tampa campus, all traces of the fort are gone. In the mids, Tampa's fortunes took several sudden turns for the better. First, phosphate was discovered in the Bone Valley region southeast of Tampa in The mineral, vital for the production of fertilizers and other products, was soon being shipped from the Port of Tampa in great volume.
Tampa is still a major phosphate exporter.
Tampa, Florida - Wikipedia
The discovery of phosphate, the arrival of Plant's railroad, and the founding of Ybor City and West Tampa—all in the mids—were crucial to Tampa's development. The once-struggling village of Tampa became a bustling boomtown almost overnight and had grown into one of the largest cities in Florida by Henry B. Plant 's narrow-gauge South Florida Railroad reached Tampa and its port in late , finally connecting the small town to the nation's railroad system after years of efforts by local leaders.
Previously, Tampa's overland transportation links had consisted of sandy roads stretching across the Florida countryside. Plant's railroad made it much easier to get goods in and out of the Tampa Bay area. Phosphate and commercial fishing exports could be sent north by rail, [42] and many new products were brought into the Tampa market, along with the first tourists. The new railroad link enabled another important industry to come to Tampa.
Proximity to Cuba made importation of "clear Havana 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 5, , Ybor built hundreds of small houses around his factory to accommodate the immediate influx of mainly Cuban and Spanish cigar workers.
Ybor City 's factories rolled their first cigars in , and many different cigar manufacturers moved their operations to town in ensuing years. Many Italian and a few eastern European Jewish immigrants arrived starting in the late s, opening businesses and shops that catered to cigar workers. By , over 10, immigrants had moved to the neighborhood. Several thousand more Cuban immigrants built West Tampa , another cigar-centric suburb founded a few years later by Hugh MacFarlane.
Between them, two "Latin" communities combined to exponentially expand Tampa's population, economic base, and tax revenues, as Tampa became the "Cigar Capital of the World". 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 , over ,, cigars were hand rolled in the city. With a few exceptions, the Gasparilla Pirate Festival has been held every year since. Beginning in the late 19th century, illegal bolita lotteries were very popular among the Tampa working classes, especially in Ybor City.
In the early s, 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. After his death in from cancer, control passed to his son, Santo Trafficante Jr. The era of rampant and open corruption ended in the s, when Estes 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.
Tampa grew considerably as a result of World War II. Prior to the United States' involvement in the conflict, construction began on MacDill Field , which served as a main base for Army Air Corps and later Army Air Forces operations just before and during World War II, with multiple auxiliary airfields around the Tampa Bay area and surrounding counties.
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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. Pete—Clearwater International Airport. With the establishment of an independent U. During the s and s, Tampa saw record-setting population growth that has not been seen since.
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This growth spurred expansion of the city's highways and bridges, bringing thousands into the city and creating opportunities for Tampa business owners, who welcomed the influx of tourists and new residents. Many of the well-known institutions that play an important role in the economic development of the city were established during this time period. Overall, Tampa continued to expand away from the city center during the s as new hospitals, schools, churches and subdivisions all began appearing to accommodate the growth.
Many business offices began moving away from the traditional downtown office building into more convenient neighborhood office plazas. In , the U. Census Bureau reported city's population as East Tampa , historically a mostly black community, was the scene of several race riots during and for some time after the period of racial segregation, mainly due to problems between residents and the Tampa Police Department.
According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of The Hillsborough River flows into Hillsborough Bay, passing directly in front of Downtown Tampa and supplying Tampa's main source of fresh water. The 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 climate generally features hot and humid summers with frequent thunderstorms and dry and mild winters. According to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Tampa is listed as USDA zone 9b north of Kennedy Boulevard away from the bay and 10a near the shorelines and in the interbay peninsula south of Kennedy Boulevard, Zone 10a is about the northern limit of where coconut palms and royal palms can be grown, although some specimens do grow in northern Tampa. Recently, certain palm tree species in the area, along with the rest of the state, have been and continue to be severely affected by a plant disease called Texas phoenix palm decline , which has caused a lot of damage to various local palm tree landscapes and threatens the native palm tree species in the region.
Though threatened by tropical systems almost every hurricane season which runs from June 1 to November 30 , Tampa seldom feels major effects from tropical storms or hurricanes. No hurricane has made landfall in the immediate Tampa Bay area since the Tampa Bay hurricane made landfall near Tarpon Springs and caused extensive damage throughout the region.
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Three major hurricanes have seriously threatened Tampa in the ensuing decades. Hurricane Donna , Hurricane Charley , and Hurricane Irma were each forecast to make landfall in Tampa Bay from the southwest, a worst-case track that would result in maximum storm surges throughout the region. Irma had the greatest effect on Tampa. It made landfall near Marco Island on September 10, and moved due north, passing through eastern Hillsborough County as a Category 1 storm. Irma caused substantial damage to the area, particularly to the electrical grid.
Because of tremendous population growth and coastal development since the last hurricane strike combined with rising sea levels due to climate change , Tampa and the entire Tampa Bay area is considered one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to a direct hit from a major storm. Summertime weather patterns predominate from around mid-May through mid-October, which roughly coincides with the rainy season. Afternoon thundershowers occasionally intensify into a severe thunderstorm , bringing heavy downpours, frequent lightning, strong straight-line winds, and sometimes hail.
Average temperatures gradually fall beginning in September, and average daily rainfall amounts also decrease as autumn progresses; November is usually Tampa's driest month. However, rain totals in the fall can be augmented by passing tropical systems, which can dump several inches of rain. Winter in the area is generally dry and mild.
Tampa averages two days of frost per year, although a winter or two may pass without any frost. Since the Tampa area is home to a diverse range of freeze-sensitive agriculture and aquaculture , hard freezes, although quite rare, are a major concern. Tampa sees a slow increase in average temperatures beginning in mid-February, and spring brings mostly warm and sunny weather to the area. While temperatures in late spring approach summertime values, the rainy season does not usually begin until June, leading to the threat of brush fires from approximately late March until May.
Occasionally, a late-season cold front pushes through the area, potentially bringing a brief round of severe weather followed by a few days of unseasonably cool temperatures. The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns and unincorporated communities annexed by the growing city. Tampa displays a wide variety of architectural designs and styles. Most 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 Pam Iorio made the redevelopment of Tampa's downtown , especially residential development, a priority. Another of Mayor Iorio's initiatives was the Tampa Riverwalk , a mixed-use path along the Hillsborough River in downtown. Channelside was recently approved to undergo major renovations by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik along with Bill Gates and other investors.
Tampa is the site of several skyscrapers. Bank of America Plaza One Tampa City Center SunTrust Financial Centre The Sunshine Skyway Bridge Downtown Tampa as seen from Bayshore Boulevard.
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Fountains at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. Sulphur Springs Water Tower. The Sulphur Springs Water Tower , a landmark in the Sulphur Springs section of the city, stands feet tall and was built by Grover Poole in the late s. The Italian Club mission "is to preserve and honor the culture, traditions and heritage of the Italian Community and to maintain the historical facility as a functioning memorial to the working class immigrants.
It was bought in by the famous "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias , who had a residence nearby, and closed upon her death. In , the city of Tampa opened the golf course to the public.
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The Story of Tampa , a public painting by Lynn Ash, is a 4-byfoot 1. Completed in , it was the tallest skyscraper in Tampa until the completion of One Tampa City Center in Tampa is home to the Bro Bowl , one of the last remaining skateparks built during skateboarding's "Golden Era" in the s. It opened in and was constructed by Tampa Parks and Recreation. It was the first public skatepark to be constructed in Florida and the third on the East Coast.
Other Tampa landmarks include the Tampa Riverwalk , which is a 2. As of , the largest European ancestries in the city were German 9. As of , there were , households out of which In , The average household size was 2. In , the city's population was spread out with The median age was For every females, there were For every females age 18 and over, there were As of , those who spoke only English at home accounted for The most significant was Spanish speakers who made up Communities of faith have organized in Tampa from , when a Methodist congregation established the city's first church, [87] to , when a year-old Billy Graham began his career as a spiritual evangelist and preacher on downtown's Franklin Street, [88] and through to today.
Among Tampa's noteworthy religious structures are Sacred Heart Catholic Church , a downtown landmark noted for its soaring, Romanesque revival construction in granite and marble with German -crafted stained glass windows, [89] the distinctive rock and mortar St. Paul AME church, which has seen the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There is also at least one congregation of Messianic Jews in Tampa. The Church of Scientology , based in nearby Clearwater , maintains a location for its members in Tampa. Only the Portland, Oregon area is less observant. Finance, retail, healthcare, insurance, shipping by air and sea, national defense , professional sports, tourism, and real estate all play vital roles in the area's economy.
Downtown Tampa is undergoing significant development and redevelopment in line with a general national trend toward urban residential development.
In April , the Tampa Downtown Partnership noted development proceeding on 20 residential, hotel, and mixed-use projects.