Drew Park
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Drew Park is a neighborhood 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 of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
. As of the 2010 census the neighborhood had a population of 1,780. The ZIP Codes serving the neighborhood are 33607 and 33614.


Geography

Drew Park boundaries are
Hillsborough Avenue Hillsborough Avenue is a major east–west arterial road in Hillsborough County, Florida, also designated as Florida State Road 580, State Road 580, U.S. Route 41 in Florida, U.S. Highway 41 or U.S. Route 92 in Florida, U.S. Highway 92 in var ...
to the north, Tampa Bay Blvd. to the south,
Tampa International Airport Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective December 30, 2021. T ...
to the west, and
Dale Mabry Highway Dale Mabry Highway is a north–south road in Tampa, Florida. The majority of its length consists of three lanes each direction plus a central turn-lane and often includes a right-turn lane. It begins at the MacDill Air Force Base entrance in ...
to the east. The area is flat but above any flood zones.


History

Drew Park was originally
Drew Field Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective December 30, 2021. The ...
, named for cattleman and land developer John H. Drew. It was Tampa's first municipal airport, a grass airfield that opened in 1928. At the onset of World War II, the federal government took over the field and developed a military base containing airstrips, barracks, field hospitals, and a German and Italian POW camp. The City of Tampa leased the field to the army for one dollar a year. During this period, a weekly newspaper called ''Drew Field Echoes''was published that covered news from the base. Parts of the film
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
were filmed here. The base theater is still standing today as the Playhouse
Adult Theater An adult movie theater is a euphemistic term for a movie theater dedicated to the exhibition of pornographic films. Adult movie theaters show pornographic films primarily for either a respectively heterosexual or homosexual audience. For the patro ...
. Dale Mabry Highway was built in 1943 to link Drew Field with
MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...
to the south. Drew Park was where the W. T. Edwards Tuberculosis Hospital was located before it was demolished. In 1988, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority announced long-term plans to acquire several hundred acres in Drew Park for the expansion of Tampa International. This will include the redevelopment of the Airport's air cargo facility, aircraft maintenance, fuel farms, equipment maintenance, Aircraft Rescue Fire Training facilities and other aviation-related facilities. To date, the authority has acquired 96% of the parcels in the land acquisition area. Drew Park is now home to the main campus of the
Hillsborough Community College Hillsborough Community College (HCC) is a public community college in Hillsborough County, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History HCC was one of the last community colleges to be created in Florida, founded in 1968. Only Pa ...
and
George M. Steinbrenner Field George M. Steinbrenner Field, formerly known as Legends Field, is a baseball stadium located in Tampa, Florida, across the Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium, the home of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The ballpa ...
. Auto dealerships populate much of the Dale Mabry edge of Drew Park and shopping and restaurants make up the Hillsborough Ave edge. The core of Drew Park is occupied by light industry,
adult entertainment The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...
establishments and several homes, due to its mixed-use zoning. Law enforcement has conducted many raids on the businesses in the area accusing them of prostitution, operating without licenses, and illegally selling alcohol.


Durex Industrial

On June 13, 1992, two nine-year-old boys, Scotty Perez and Anthony Storman, died after climbing into an open dumpster containing toxic chemicals. The dumpster was used by Durex Industrial, Inc. at 4815 N West Shore Blvd. to illegally dispose of
toluene Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with the smell associated with paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, consisting of a methyl group (CH3) at ...
which was used in the manufacturing of printing rollers. Two employees, William C. Whitman and Duane C. Whitman, were sentenced to 27-month prison sentences for illegally handling, storing or disposing of toluene. Durex Industries was fined $1.5-million. A Hillsborough county jury awarded the families a $500-million verdict against the company. The corporation itself was broke and no money was paid to the families. In 1998, the owner William Recht Jr. agreed to pay each family $400,000 and a $200,000 fine after pleading guilty to storing hazardous wastes without a permit. He was sentenced to 30 months of probation. The incident caused many businesses in the area to install locks on their dumpsters. It later inspired the play ''The Toxic Wave'' by Susan Hussey, co-founder of the Drew Park-based Gorilla Theatre.


Demographics

''Source
Hillsborough County Atlas
' As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 1,780 people and 654 households residing in the neighborhood. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 1,376/mi2. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 66%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 15%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 2% Native American, 2%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 11% from some other race and 4% from two or more races.
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 ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 58% of the population. There were 654 households, out of which 22% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 13% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25% were non-families. 32% of all households were made up of individuals. In the neighborhood the population was spread out, with 20% under the age of 18, 39% from 18 to 34, 20% from 35 to 49, 25% from 50 to 64, and 7% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 142.9 males. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the neighborhood was $9,887. About 26% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, 19% of those under age 18 and 12% of those age 65 or over.


See also

*
Neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida The city of Tampa, Florida is officially divided into six geographical regions: New Tampa, West Tampa, Brooklyn Village, Downtown Tampa, Ybor City, and Channel District each coinciding with a respective Tampa City Council district. The neighborhoo ...


References


Drew Park neighbors struggle in transition
St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

Raid on adult video store leads to 14 arrests
St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

Raids on businesses result in 36 arrests
St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
*
Durex plant owner sorry about deaths
St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

Tampa Airport Drew Park page


External links


''Drew Field Echoes,'' military newspaper for 1942-1945 when Drew Park was a military air field
{{Tampa neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida