Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It was founded in the 1880s by
Vicente Martinez-Ybor
Vicente Martinez Ybor (7 September 1818 – 14 December 1896), was a Spanish entrepreneur who first became a noted industrialist and cigar manufacturer in Cuba, then Key West, and finally Tampa, Florida.
Martinez Ybor is best known for his found ...
and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. For the next 50 years, workers in Ybor City's cigar factories rolled hundreds of millions of cigars annually.
Ybor City was unique in the
American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
as a successful town almost entirely populated and owned by immigrants. The neighborhood had features unusual among contemporary communities in the south, most notably its multiethnic and multiracial population and their many
mutual aid societies
A benefit society, fraternal benefit society, fraternal benefit order, friendly society, or mutual aid society is a society, an organization or a voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit, for instance insurance for relief fr ...
. The cigar industry employed thousands of well-paid workers, helping Tampa grow from an economically depressed village to a bustling city in about 20 years and giving it the nickname "Cigar City".
Ybor City grew and flourished from the 1890s until the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the 1930s, when a drop in demand for fine cigars reduced the number of cigar factories and
mechanization in the cigar industry greatly reduced employment opportunities in the neighborhood. This process accelerated after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and a steady exodus of residents and businesses continued until large areas of the formerly vibrant neighborhood were virtually abandoned by the late 1970s. Attempts at redevelopment failed until the 1980s, when an influx of artists began a slow process of
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
. In the 1990s and early 2000s, a portion of the original neighborhood around 7th Avenue developed into a nightclub and entertainment district, and many old buildings were renovated for new uses. Since then, the area's economy has diversified with more offices and residences, and the population has shown notable growth for the first time in over half a century.
Ybor City has been designated as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
District
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
, and
several structures in the area are listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. In 2008, 7th Avenue, Ybor City's main commercial thoroughfare, was recognized as one of the "10 Great Streets in America" by the
American Planning Association
The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...
. In 2010
Columbia Restaurant
The original Columbia Restaurant, located in Ybor City in Tampa, Florida, is the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida. It is also the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States, and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world. ...
, which is Florida's oldest restaurant, was named a "Top 50 All-American icon" by ''
Nation's Restaurant News
''Nation's Restaurant News'' (''NRN'') is an American trade publication, founded in 1967, that covers the foodservice industry, including restaurants, restaurant chains, operations, marketing, and events. It was owned by Penton Media (acquired by ...
'' magazine.
History
Establishment
In the early 1880s, Tampa was an isolated village with a population of less than 1000 and a struggling economy. However, its combination of a good port,
Henry Plant's new railroad line, and humid climate attracted the attention of
Vicente Martinez Ybor
Vicente Martinez Ybor (7 September 1818 – 14 December 1896), was a Spanish entrepreneur who first became a noted industrialist and cigar manufacturer in Cuba, then Key West, and finally Tampa, Florida.
Martinez Ybor is best known for his found ...
, a prominent Spanish
cigar
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
manufacturer.
Ybor had moved his cigar-making operation from
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
to
Key West, Florida
Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...
, in 1869, due to political turmoil in the then-Spanish colony. But, labor unrest and the lack of room for expansion had him looking for another base of operations, preferably in his own
company town
A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...
.
![Jose Marti in Ybor City](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Jose_Marti_in_Ybor_City.jpg)
Ybor considered several communities in the southern United States and decided that an area of sandy scrubland just northeast of Tampa would be the best location. In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade helped broker an initial purchase of of land, and Ybor quickly bought more.
However, Ybor City very nearly didn't happen at all. Vicente Ybor initially failed to come to an agreement with the owner of the 40 acre parcel. The Tampa Board of Trade was horrified to find that the purchase had failed and hatched a plan to get the buyer and seller back together. Vicente Ybor was sitting in the train station on his way to Jacksonville to look at more property when the Board of Trade (a group of five, one of whom was Frederick Salomonson, future 3-time mayor of Tampa) arrived and persuaded Ybor to reconsider and the deal went forward from there, the birth of Ybor City.
Cigar making was a specialized trade, and Tampa did not possess a workforce able to man the new factories. To attract employees, Ybor built hundreds of small houses for the coming influx of mainly
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
and
Spanish cigar workers, many of whom followed him from Key West and Cuba. Other cigar manufacturers, drawn by incentives provided by Ybor to further increase the labor pool, also moved in, quickly making Tampa a major cigar production center.
Italians were also among the early settlers of Ybor City. Most of them came from a few villages in southwestern Sicily. The villages were
Santo Stefano Quisquina
Santo Stefano Quisquina ( Sicilian: ''Santu Stèfanu Quisquina'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about north of Agrigento.
It has strong ties with T ...
,
Alessandria della Rocca
Alessandria della Rocca ( Sicilian: ''Lisciànnira di la Rocca'') is a ''comune'' and small agricultural town located in the northern part of the Province of Agrigento, west central Sicily, southern Italy.
The remains of the 14th century Caste ...
,
Bivona
Bivona is an Italian ''comune'' in the Province of Agrigento, Sicily.
Geography
Bivona is located at the foot of Monti Sicani, in the mainland of Agrigento, on the boundary with the province of Palermo. The communal territory is crossed by the A ...
,
Cianciana
Cianciana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located in the middle valley of the Platani river, about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. The Monte Cammarata, elevation abo ...
, and
Contessa Entellina
Contessa Entellina ( sq, Kuntisa) is a small ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy.
Is located in the "Valle del Belìce" at above sea level in the mountains called ''Brinjat'', is situated 80 km from ...
. Sixty percent of them came from Santo Stefano Quisquina. Before settling in Ybor City, many first worked in the sugar cane plantations in St. Cloud, central Florida. Some came by way of Louisiana. A number of families migrated from New Orleans after the lynching of eleven Italians in 1891 during the "Mafia Riot".
[Mormino and Possetta, ''The Immigrant World of Ybor City'', 82.] Italians mostly brought their entire families with them, unlike other immigrants.
The foreign-born Italian population of Tampa grew from 56 in 1890 to 2,684 in 1940.
[Mormino and Possetta, ''The Immigrant World of Ybor City'', 55.] Once arriving in Ybor City, Italians settled mainly in the eastern and southern fringes of the city. The area was referred to as La Pachata, after a Cuban rent collector in that area. It was also called "Little Italy".
Unlike Cubans and Spaniards, the Italians arrived in the cigar town without cigar-making skills. When the early Italians entered the factories, it was at the bottom of the ladder, positions which did not involve handling tobacco. Working beside unskilled Cubans, mainly Afro-Cubans, they swept and hauled and were porters and doorkeepers. In time, many did become cigar workers, including Italian women. The majority of the Italian women worked as cigar strippers in 1900, an undesirable position mainly held by women who could find nothing else. However, eventually many of them became skilled cigar makers, earning more than the male Italian cigar makers. Other Italian immigrants started small businesses built around the cigar industry, such as cafés, food stores, restaurants, and boardinghouses.
The least known of the immigrants that came to Ybor City are the Germans, the Romanian Jews, and the Chinese. The Chinese and Jews were employed mainly in service trades and retail businesses. The Germans arrived after the 1890s, and most were businessmen. In the cigar factories, they worked as managers, bookkeepers, and supervisors. Cigar boxes were made by German-owned factories. Several early cigar box labels were made by German lithographers. The Germans formed their own club, the Deutsch Amerikanischer Verein. The club building is still standing o
Nebraska and 11th Avenue It contained a restaurant open to the public that served German food. In 1919, because of anti-German feelings from World War I, they sold the building to the Young Men's Hebrew Association. The building is now used as offices for the City of Tampa.
In 1887, Tampa annexed the neighborhood. By 1900, the rough frontier settlement of wooden buildings and sandy streets had been transformed into a bustling town with brick buildings and streets, a streetcar line, and many social and cultural opportunities. Largely due to the growth of Ybor City, Tampa's population had jumped to almost 16,000.
The Golden Age
Ybor City grew and prospered during the first decades of the 20th century. Thousands of residents built a community that combined Cuban, Spanish, Italian, and Jewish culture. "Ybor City is Tampa's Spanish India," observed a visitor to the area, "What a colorful, screaming, shrill, and turbulent world."
An aspect of life were the mutual aid societies built and sustained mainly by ordinary citizens. These clubs were founded in Ybor's early days (the first was the
Centro Español, established in 1891) and were run on dues collected from their members, usually 5% of a member's salary. In exchange, members and their whole family received services including free libraries, educational programs, sports teams, restaurants, numerous social functions like dances and picnics, and free medical services. Beyond the services, these clubs served as extended families and communal gathering places for generations of Ybor's citizens.
There were clubs for each ethnic division in the community – the Deutscher-Americaner Club (for German and eastern Europeans), L'Unione Italiana (for Italians),
El Circulo Cubano (for light-skinned Cubans),
La Union Marti-Maceo
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
(for Afro-Cubans), El Centro Español (for Spaniards), and the largest,
El Centro Asturiano, which accepted members from any ethnic group
Although there was little racism in Ybor City, Tampa's
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
at the time forbade
Afro-Cubans
Afro-Cubans or Black Cubans are Cubans of West African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community and the combining of native African and other cultural ele ...
from belonging to the same social organization as their more Europoid countrymen. Sometimes, differences in skin color within the same family made joining the same Cuban club impossible. In general, the rivalries between all the clubs were friendly, and families were known to switch affiliations depending on which one offered preferred services and events.
![Cuban Club Ybor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Cuban_Club_Ybor.jpg)
Cigar production reached its peak in 1929, when 500 million cigars were rolled in the factories of Ybor City.
[Lastra] Not coincidentally, that was also the year that the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
began.
Decline and rebirth
The Depression was a major blow to cigar manufacturers. Worldwide demand plummeted as consumers sought to cut costs by switching to less-expensive cigarettes, and factories responded by laying off workers or shutting down. This trend continued throughout the 1930s as the remaining cigar factories gradually switched from traditional hand-rolled manufacturing to cheaper mechanized methods, further reducing the number of jobs and the salaries paid to workers.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, many returning veterans chose to leave Ybor City due to a lack of well-paying jobs and a US
Veterans Administration
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...
home loan program that was only applicable to new homes, of which there were few in the neighborhood. In fact, the home stock was aging poorly, as many of the structures built in the early days of Ybor City were still in use.
As the historic neighborhood continued to empty out and deteriorate through the 1950s and 1960s, the federal
Urban Renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
program sought to revitalize the area by demolishing older structures and encouraging new residential and commercial development. The demolition took place, but due to a lack of funds, the redevelopment did not happen. The primary legacy of the program was blocks of vacant lots which remained empty for decades. The construction of
Interstate 4
Interstate 4 (I-4) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning along a generally southwest–northeast axis, I-4 is entirely concurrent wi ...
through the center of the neighborhood during this period also resulted in the destruction of many buildings and cut most of the north–south routes through the area.
By the early 1970s, very few businesses and residents remained, most notably the
Columbia Restaurant
The original Columbia Restaurant, located in Ybor City in Tampa, Florida, is the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida. It is also the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States, and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world. ...
and a few other businesses along 7th Avenue.
File:7th Ave Sign.jpg, 7th Ave Sign in Ybor City
File:Colorful 7th Ave.jpg, 7th Ave Ybor City
File:Traffic.jpg, Traffic in Ybor City
File:YborAug2008CentroYborA.jpg, Centro Ybor, a restored shopping area on 7th Ave
File:The Italian Club of Tampa.jpg, alt=, The Italian Club of Tampa - 2014
File:Ybor City Food Mart.jpg, alt=, Ybor City Food Mart - 2014
Recovery
In the early 1980s, an influx of artists seeking interesting and inexpensive studio quarters started a slow recovery, followed by a period of commercial
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
. By the early 1990s, many of the old long-empty brick buildings on 7th Avenue had been converted into bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other nightlife attractions. Traffic grew so much that the city built parking garages and closed 7th Ave. to traffic to deal with the visitors.
Since around 2000, the city of Tampa and the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce have encouraged a broader emphasis in development. With financial help from the city, Centro Ybor, a family-oriented shopping complex and movie theater, opened in the former home of the Centro Español social club.
The Florida Brewing Company building was restored into a commercial building in 2001. New apartments, condominiums and a hotel have been built on long-vacant lots, and old buildings have been restored and converted into residences and hotels. New residents began moving into Ybor City for the first time in many years.
The blocks surrounding 7th Avenue also thrive with restaurants, nightlife and shopping. Reflecting the district's status as a party destination, Ybor City is referenced extensively in the lyrics of Brooklyn-based rock band
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), ...
. The song "Killer Parties", for instance, contains the line "Ybor City is très
speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
y, but they throw such killer parties." In May 2009
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
super-retailer
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
opened its long-awaited Tampa location in the southern edge of Ybor City.
The local museum is the
Ybor City Museum State Park
Ybor City Museum State Park is a Florida State Parks, Florida State Park in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida's Ybor City. The museum occupies the former Ferlita Bakery (originally La Joven Francesca) building at 1818 9th Avenue in the Ybor City His ...
in the former Ferlita Bakery building (originally La Joven Francesca) building on 9th Avenue. Tours of the gardens and the "casitas" (small homes of cigar company workers) are provided by a ranger. Exhibits, period photos and a video cover the founding of Ybor City and the cigar making industry.
Boundaries
Historically, the boundaries of "Greater Ybor City" stretched from
Tampa Bay on the south to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (formerly Buffalo Avenue) on the north, and from Nebraska Avenue on the west to 40th Street on the east.
This eventually included all of today's neighborhoods of Historic Ybor,
East Ybor,
VM Ybor, and Ybor Heights plus a portion of
East Tampa
East Tampa is a district within the city limits of Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore o ...
. The
Ybor City Historic District encompasses the central portion of that area, approximately straddling
Interstate 4
Interstate 4 (I-4) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning along a generally southwest–northeast axis, I-4 is entirely concurrent wi ...
, which bisected the neighborhood in the 1960s.
The official boundaries of the Historic Ybor neighborhood are I-4 to the north, 22nd Street to the east,
Adamo Drive to the south, and Nebraska Avenue to the west. The area of this district is about 1 square mile (about 2.6 km
2). Though modern Ybor City also includes some of the surrounding area, its exact dimensions are loosely defined and subject to debate.
Population
At the height of its life as a thriving immigrant community, Ybor City's population was numbered in the tens of thousands. In the lowest point in the late 1970s, perhaps 1000 residents called the neighborhood home.
In recent years, the numbers have begun to climb once more. Ybor City's population grew an estimated 42.5% between 2000 and 2003, mainly as a result of new condominium and apartment construction. As of 2003, approximately 2,900 residents lived in the area.
Economy and land use
Ybor City is one of the oldest sections of Tampa and is almost entirely an urban,
built-up area. Commercial property comprises almost 50% of the land, institutional use (including the
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Operations Center and a satellite campus of
Hillsborough Community College) 16%, residential use about 23%, and industrial use about 7%
According to a 2003 survey, the top five business types in the area were professional services (22.8%), retail (18.4%), manufacturing (14.0%), wholesale/distribution (13.2%), and restaurants & bars (11.4%).
Transportation
![Interior of a historic streetcar, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Interior_of_a_historic_streetcar%2C_Ybor_City%2C_Tampa%2C_Florida.jpg)
For the most part, Ybor City still uses the
gridded street system laid out by Gavino Guiterrez in 1885. Many roadways are now paved with modern materials, though a few
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
streets remain.
Because 21st and 22nd Streets, which cut north–south through the area, were once the main traffic routes between
Interstate 4
Interstate 4 (I-4) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning along a generally southwest–northeast axis, I-4 is entirely concurrent wi ...
and the
Port of Tampa Bay
Port Tampa Bay, known as the Port of Tampa until January 2014, is the largest port in the state of Florida and is overseen by the Tampa Port Authority, a Hillsborough County agency. The port is located in Tampa, Florida near downtown Tampa's Cha ...
, there was a large volume of
semi-trailer truck traffic funneling through the historic district for many years. This caused damage to narrow city roads, was a danger to pedestrians, and sometimes resulted in trucks colliding with historic buildings. In 2014, the elevated
I-4/Selmon Expressway Connector
The I-4/Selmon Expressway Connector (also known as the Crosstown Connector) is a toll road that between I-4, the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway (SR 618), and the Port of Tampa east of Ybor City in the city of Tampa, Florida. It primarily compris ...
was built to siphon heavy truck traffic away from the historic district.
![Streetcar 431 at Centro Ybor, July 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Streetcar_431_at_Centro_Ybor%2C_July_2013.jpg)
The
TECO Line Streetcar, which links Ybor City, the
Channelside District
Channel District is a residential neighborhood in the City of Tampa that includes an entertainment complex, just east of Downtown Tampa, Florida. It is bordered by Ybor Channel on the east and Garrison Channel on the south. Channelside is a nic ...
and
Downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.
It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown ...
, began operating in October 2002. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (
HARTline
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (also known as the Hillsborough Transit Authority (HART)) provides public transportation for Hillsborough County, Florida. The agency provides fixed-route local and express bus service, door-to-door paratransit ...
) operates the
streetcars as well as the bus system. Small startups have also begun utilizing
NEVs
NEVS AB (an abbreviated form of "National Electric Vehicle Sweden") is a Swedish electric car manufacturer which acquired the assets of Saab Automobile from a bankruptcy estate in 2012. NEVS is the trademark of the company's products includin ...
to shuttle passengers between Tampa's core neighborhoods including Ybor.
Museums
*Cigar Museum And Visitor Center, Ybor City
*
Ybor City Museum State Park
Ybor City Museum State Park is a Florida State Parks, Florida State Park in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida's Ybor City. The museum occupies the former Ferlita Bakery (originally La Joven Francesca) building at 1818 9th Avenue in the Ybor City His ...
*TECO Line Streetcar Museum
*Tampa Baseball Museum
Nightclubs
*The Castle
*The Ritz
*Club Prana
*Southern Nights, Tampa
*Bradley's on 7th
Annual events
*
Sant'Yago Knight Parade
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is a large parade and a host of related community events held in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida almost every year since 1904. The theme of the festivities is a friendly invasion by the mythical pirate José Gaspar (al ...
(sometimes known as Gasparilla Night Parade) - usually held two weeks after the
Gasparilla Pirate Festival in mid to late February
*
Guavaween - daytime events and nighttime parade in October, named for Tampa's "
The Big Guava" nickname
*Historic Ybor City's Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony - began in 2010 and held each year in November
Notable people
![Estatua de Jose Marti en Ybor City](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Estatua_de_Jose_Marti_en_Ybor_City.jpg)
*
Braulio Alonso
Braulio Alonso (December 16, 1916 – June 5, 2010) was a high school and junior high school teacher and principal. He served as the first Hispanic president of the National Education Association.National Education Association"NEA - Answering the C ...
, first
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
president of the
National Education Association
*
Dick Greco
Richard Attilio Greco (born September 14, 1933) is a politician, businessman, and civic activist from Tampa, Florida.
Early life
Dick Greco was born in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, where his Italian-American father owned a hardware s ...
, multi-term
mayor of Tampa
The Mayor is the highest elected official in Tampa, Florida. Since its incorporation in 1856, the town has had 59 mayors. Tampa had no mayor from 1862 until 1866, during which time the city government was temporarily suspended during and immediate ...
*
Evelio Grillo
Evelio Grillo (June 4, 1919 - December 28, 2008) was an American writer and community organizer. He is a well-known advocate for civil rights. He is best known for his book ''Black Cuban, Black American: A Memoir''.
Early life and education
Gril ...
, writer and community organizer
*
Marcelino Huerta Marcelino is a surname that originated in Spain. There are also several families with the Marcelino surname in Philippines, Portugal, and the Americas (North, Central, and South).
* San Marcelino, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zam ...
,
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
coach
*
KJ-52
Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino (born June 26, 1975), better known by his stage name KJ-52, is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J. Mac," , influential Christian hip-hop artist, whose debut album was named
7th Avenue after Ybor City's main commercial street
*
Joe Lala, musician and actor
*
Victor Licata
Victor Licata (c. 1912 – December 4, 1950) was an American mass murderer who used an axe to kill his family in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, on October 16, 1933. The killings, which were reported by the media as the work of an "axe-murdering mari ...
,
axe murderer whose 1933 killings influenced the idea that
marijuana causes criminal insanity
*
Al López, first Tampa native to play
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, manage a major league team, and be inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
*
Baldomero Lopez Baldomero is a given name. Related names include Voldemar (Estonian), Waldemar and Woldemar (German) and Vladimir (Slavic).
Notable people with the name include:
*Baldomero Aguinaldo (1869–1915), leader of the Philippine Revolution
*Baldomero Es ...
,
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
recipient during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
*
Nick Nuccio
Nicholas Chillura Nuccio (October 24, 1901 – August 26, 1989) was a two-time mayor of Tampa, Florida in the 1950s and 60s. He was the Tampa's first mayor of "Latin" (specifically Sicilian Americans, Sicilian) descent, having been born and raise ...
, first
Italian mayor of Tampa
The Mayor is the highest elected official in Tampa, Florida. Since its incorporation in 1856, the town has had 59 mayors. Tampa had no mayor from 1862 until 1866, during which time the city government was temporarily suspended during and immediate ...
*
Ferdie Pacheco
Fernando Pacheco Jimenez, M.D. (December 8, 1927 – November 16, 2017) known publicly as Ferdie Pacheco, was the personal physician and cornerman for world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali as well as numerous other boxing champions. ...
,
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
personality, artist, and author
*
Frank Ragano
Frank Ragano (January 25, 1923 – May 13, 1998) was a self-styled "mob lawyer" from Florida, who made his name representing organized crime figures such as Santo Trafficante, Jr. and Carlos Marcello, and also served as lawyer for Teamsters lea ...
, "mob lawyer", author
*
Santo Trafficante Sr. and Jr., alleged
Mafia bosses
*
Jose Yglesias
Jose Yglesias (November 29, 1919November 7, 1995) was an American novelist and journalist.
Life and career
Yglesias was born in the Ybor City district of Tampa, Florida. His father was from the Spanish region of Galicia and his mother was a na ...
, author
*
Cesar Gonzmart César Gonzmart (March 6, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was a concert violinist and entertainer, Spanish "nobleman" and energetic chairman of the $42 million Columbia Restaurant Group (1991).
Early years
Gonzmart was born César Gonzalez Martinez in T ...
concert violinist and entertainer, Spanish "nobleman" and energetic chairman of the $42 million
Columbia Restaurant
The original Columbia Restaurant, located in Ybor City in Tampa, Florida, is the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida. It is also the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States, and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world. ...
Group
In popular culture
Music
*
Jason Isbell references Ybor City in the song "Traveling Alone" from the album
Southeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
released in 2013.
*
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), ...
also reference Ybor City in several of their songs. Some examples are "Killer Parties", "Slapped Actress", "The Cattle And The Creeping Things" and "Most People are DJs".
*
JJ Grey & MOFRO references Ybor City in a song of that title on their album
Orange Blossoms.
Literature
*Ybor City natives
Jose Yglesias
Jose Yglesias (November 29, 1919November 7, 1995) was an American novelist and journalist.
Life and career
Yglesias was born in the Ybor City district of Tampa, Florida. His father was from the Spanish region of Galicia and his mother was a na ...
and
Ferdie Pacheco
Fernando Pacheco Jimenez, M.D. (December 8, 1927 – November 16, 2017) known publicly as Ferdie Pacheco, was the personal physician and cornerman for world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali as well as numerous other boxing champions. ...
have each written several books and stories set in their hometown. Most notably, Yglesias' debut novel is entitled ''A Wake in Ybor City'', while Pacheco's memoir of his early life is called ''Ybor City Chronicles''.
*''
Anna in the Tropics
''Anna in the Tropics'' is a play by Nilo Cruz. It won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Plot
The play is set in Ybor City, a section of Tampa and the center of the cigar industry. When Cuban immigrants brought the cigar-making industry to Flori ...
'', the winner of the 2003
Pulitzer Prize for Drama written by
Nilo Cruz, is set in the cigar factories of Ybor City.
*Ybor City and Tampa are prominently featured in the novels ''Live by Night'' and its sequel ''World Gone By'' by
Dennis Lehane.
*Ybor City and the greater Tampa Bay area is the setting for the novel ''Only Dangerous In The Breeding Season'' by John Callaghan.
Film
*The 2016 film
''Live by Night'' (based on the books of Dennis Lehane) is centered on an Ybor City
bootlegger who becomes a notorious
gangster during
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
. The
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
was written, directed, and co-produced by
Ben Affleck, who also played the starring role. Although the movie is almost entirely set in Tampa during the early 1930s, much of it was shot in and around
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick () is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Sa ...
due to movie production
tax incentives offered by the state of Georgia and the town's proximity to Affleck's home. Ybor City-inspired signage and decorations were added to buildings in downtown Brunswick, and several new buildings based on locations in Tampa were constructed on empty lots to add to the "fake Ybor City" setting.
Television
*In 2016, the
Ad Council and the non-profit Love Has No Labels produced a
public service announcement promoting diversity and inclusion starring
John Cena that used Ybor City as a backdrop for a commercial which premiered on July 4, 2016 to coincide with Pride Month. The PSA promotes the importance of acceptance of all communities, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age and ability.
See also
*
Channelside
Channel District is a residential neighborhood in the City of Tampa that includes an entertainment complex, just east of Downtown Tampa, Florida. It is bordered by Ybor Channel, Tampa, Ybor Channel on the east and Garrison Channel, Tampa, Garrison ...
*
Downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.
It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown ...
*
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
*
SoHo
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
*
Tampa Heights
Tampa Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits of Tampa, situated in the central part of the city. As of the 2000 census, the neighborhood had a population of 16,393.
Historic buildings in the area include the Tampa Free ...
, historic neighborhood bordered to the northwest
*
West Tampa
West Tampa is one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits of Tampa, Florida, United States. It was an independently incorporated city from 1895 until 1925, when it was annexed by Tampa.
West Tampa is located west of the Hillsborough ...
, historic district a few miles northwest with similar
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
roots.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Burgert Brothers Ybor CollectionAn interactive map of Ybor City where historic photos were taken by the Burgert Brothers.
Ybor City Development CorporationYbor City Chamber of CommerceLa Gaceta newspaper*
ttp://digital.lib.usf.edu/?C61 University of South Florida Libraries: The Columbia Restaurant & Gonzmart Family Collection, 1903-br>
"Preserving the Memory of Ybor City, Florida" ''Southern Spaces'', 22 December 2009.
{{authority control
Neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida
History of Tampa, Florida
Cuban-American culture in Tampa, Florida
Italian-American culture in Tampa, Florida
Spanish-American culture in Tampa, Florida
Company towns in Florida
Populated places established in 1885
Spanish communities in the United States