Tampa

Tampa () is a city on the 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 the seat of Hillsborough County. With a population of 384,959 according to the 2020 census, Tampa is the third-most populated city in Florida after Jacksonville and Miami and is the 52nd most populated city in the United States.

Tampa functioned as a military center during the 19th century with the establishment of Fort Brooke. The cigar industry was also brought to the city by Vincente Martinez Ybor, after whom Ybor City is named. Tampa was formally reincorporated as a city in 1887, following the Civil War. Today, Tampa's economy is driven by tourism, health care, finance, insurance, technology, construction, and the maritime industry. The bay's port is the largest in the state, responsible for over $15 billion in economic impact.

The city is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area which is a four-county area composed of roughly 3.1 million residents, making it the second-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the state and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States, behind Washington D.C., Miami, and Atlanta. The Greater Tampa Bay area has over 4 million residents and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas. As of 2018, Tampa's annual growth rate is 1.63%.

Etymology

When the pioneer community living near the US Army outpost of Fort Brooke was incorporated in 1849, it was called "Tampa Town" and the name was shortened to simply "Tampa" in 1855. The earliest instance of the name "Tampa", in the form "Tanpa", appears in the memoirs of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, who spent 17 years as a captive of the Calusa and traveled through much of peninsular Florida. He described Tanpa as an important Calusa town to the north of the Calusa domain, possibly under another chief. Archaeologist Jerald Milanich places the town of Tanpa at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor. The entrances to Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor are obscured by barrier islands, and their locations, and the names applied to them, were a source of confusion to explorers, surveyors and map-makers from the 16th century through the 18th century. ''Bahía Tampa'' and ''Bahía de Espíritu Santo'' were each used, at one time or another, for the modern Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor. Tampa Bay was labeled ''Bahía de Espíritu Santo'' (Bay of the Holy Spirit) in the earliest Spanish maps of Florida, but became known as B. Tampa (''Bahía Tampa'' or Tampa Bay) as early as 1576. "B. Tampa", corresponding to Tampa Bay, appeared for the first time on a printed map in Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas's Description del Destricto del Audiencia de la Espanola, from his book Descripcion de las Indias Ocidentales, printed in Madrid in 1601.

A British map of 1705 also shows B. Tampa, with "Carlos Bay" for Charlotte Harbor to the south, while a 1748 British map had "B. del Spirito Santo" for Tampa Bay and, again, "Carlos Bay" to the south. A Spanish map of 1757 renamed Tampa Bay as "San Fernando". As late as 1774, Bernard Romans called Tampa Bay "Bay of Espiritu Santo", with "Tampa Bay" restricted to the Northwest arm (what is now Old Tampa Bay) and the northeast arm named "Hillsborough Bay". The name may have come from the Calusa language or possibly, the Timucua language. Some scholars have compared "Tampa" to "itimpi", which means "close to" or "nearby" in the Creek language, but its meaning is not known.

People from Tampa are generally known as "Tampans", "Tampanians", or "Tampeños". Local authorities consulted by Michael Kruse of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' suggest that "Tampan" was historically more common, while "Tampanian" became popular when the former term came to be seen as a potential insult. A mix of Cuban, Italian, and Spanish immigrants began arriving in the late 1800s to found and work in the new communities of Ybor City and West Tampa. By about 1900, these newcomers came to be known as "Tampeños" (or "Tampeñas" for females), a term that is still sometimes used to refer to their descendants living in the area, and potentially, to all residents of Tampa regardless of their ethnic background.

History

Indigenous peoples and European exploration

The shores of Tampa Bay have been inhabited for thousands of years. A variant of the Weeden Island culture developed in the area by about 2000 years ago, with archeological evidence suggesting that these residents relied on the sea for most of their resources, as a vast majority of inhabited sites have been found on or near the shoreline and there is little evidence of farming. At the time of European contact in the early 16th century, several chiefdoms of the Safety Harbor culture dominated the area.

Early Spanish explorers interacted most extensively with the Tocobaga, whose principal town was at the northern end of Old Tampa Bay near today's Safety Harbor in Pinellas County. While there is a substantial historical record of the Tocobaga (and the Calusa, who lived to the south), there is less surviving documentation describing the Pohoy, who lived near the mouth of the Hillsborough River near today's downtown Tampa. However, evidence suggests that the language and culture of the Pohoy and other lesser-known groups around the bay were very similar to that of the Tocobaga.

Expeditions led by Pánfilo de Narváez and Hernando de Soto landed near Tampa, but neither conquistador stayed long. There is no natural gold or silver in Florida, and the native inhabitants repulsed Spanish attempts to establish a permanent settlement or convert them to Catholicism. The fighting resulted in a few deaths, but the many more deaths were caused by infectious diseases brought from Europe, which devastated the population of Native Americans across Florida and the entire Western Hemisphere. The indigenous cultures of the Tampa Bay area had collapsed by around 1600, leaving the west coast of Spanish Florida largely depopulated and ignored for more than 200 years.Mulder, Kenneth. ''Tampa Bay: Days of Long Ago''. P&M Pub. Co., 1990.

In the mid-18th century, events in the American colonies and the early United States drove the Seminole people into northern Florida, but they did not move into central Florida until after the United States gained control of Florida in 1821.

Before the American period, the Tampa Bay area had a handful of residents: Cuban and Native American fishermen who established small seasonal camps called "ranchos" on the shores of Tampa Bay. The largest was at the mouth of Spanishtown Creek in today's Hyde Park neighborhood along Bayshore Boulevard.

U.S. control

After purchasing Florida from Spain in 1821, the United States built forts and trading posts in the new territory. Fort Brooke was established in January 1824 at the mouth of the Hillsborough River on Tampa Bay, in Downtown Tampa.

Tampa was initially an isolated frontier outpost. The sparse civilian population practically abandoned the area during the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842, after which the Seminoles were forced out and many settlers returned.

Florida became the 27th state on March 3, 1845. On January 18, 1849, Tampa was officially incorporated as the "Village of Tampa." It was home to 185 civilians, or 974 total residents including military personnel, in 1850. Tampa was reincorporated as a town on December 15, 1855.

Civil War and Reconstruction

During the Civil War, Florida seceded along with most of the southern states to form the Confederate States of America, and Fort Brooke was defended by Confederate troops. Martial law was declared in Tampa in January 1862, and Tampa's city government ceased to operate for the duration of the war.

In 1861, the Union Navy set up a blockade around many southern ports to cut off the Confederacy. Several US Navy ships were stationed near the mouth of Tampa Bay, but small blockade running ships were often able to slip by the blockade to deliver cattle to Spanish Cuba, earning gold for the Confederate cause. On June 30, 1862, the gunboat USS Sagamore sailed into Tampa Bay and opened fire on Fort Brooke, which returned fire. The ''Sagamore'' withdrew after a few hours, and the Battle of Tampa caused little damage. During the Battle of Fort Brooke on October 16 and the Battle of Ballast Point on October 18, 1863, Union forces inflicted serious damage to the city's economy when, under the cover of another bombardment of the fort, troops landed and destroyed two blockade running ships that had been hidden upstream along the Hillsborough River.

In May 1864, Union troops landed again and took Fort Brooke largely unopposed. They destroyed much of the fort's facilities and confiscated the remaining military supplies other than the canons, which they tossed into the Hillsborough River, then left the "desolate" town after two days.

The Civil War ended in April 1865 with a Confederate defeat. In May 1865, federal troops arrived in Tampa to occupy the fort and the town as part of Reconstruction. They remained until August 1869.

During the immediate post-war period, Tampa was a poor, isolated fishing village with about 1000 residents and little industry. Yellow fever, borne by mosquitoes from nearby swamps, broke out several times during the 1860s and 1870s, causing more residents to leave. In 1869, residents voted to abolish the city of Tampa government.

The population of "Tampa Town" was about 800 by 1870 and dropped to about 700 by 1880. Fort Brooke was decommissioned in 1883, 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.

1880s economic prosperity

In the mid-1880s, Tampa's fortunes took several sudden turns for the better. First, phosphate was discovered in the Bone Valley region southeast of Tampa in 1883. The mineral, 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.

The discovery of phosphate, the arrival of Plant's railroad, and the founding of Ybor City and West Tampa—all in the mid-1880s—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 1900.

Plant's railroad

Henry B. Plant's narrow-gauge South Florida Railroad reached Tampa and its port in late 1883, 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, and many new products were brought into the Tampa market, along with the first tourists.

Ybor's cigars

The new railroad link enabled another important industry to come to Tampa. In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade enticed Vicente Martinez Ybor to move his cigar manufacturing operations to Tampa from Key West. 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.Lastra, Frank. ''Ybor City: The Making of a Landmark Town''. 2006. University of Tampa Press.

Since Tampa was still a small town at the time (population less than 5,000), 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 1886, 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 1880s, opening businesses and shops that catered to cigar workers. By 1900, over 10,000 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".

Early 20th century

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 1929, over 500 million cigars were hand rolled in the city.

In 1904, a civic association of local businessmen dubbed themselves Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (named after local mythical pirate José Gaspar), and staged an "invasion" of the city followed by a parade. With a few exceptions, the Gasparilla Pirate Festival has been held every year since.

Bolita and organized crime

Beginning in the late 19th century, illegal bolita lotteries were very popular among the Tampa working classes, especially in Ybor City. In the early 1920s, this small-time operation was taken over by Charlie Wall, the rebellious son of a prominent Tampa family, and went big-time. Bolita was able to openly thrive only because of kick-backs and bribes to key local politicians and law enforcement officials, and many were on the take.Kerstein, Robert. ''Politics and Growth in 20th Century Tampa''. University Press of Florida. .

Profits from the bolita lotteries and Prohibition-era bootlegging led to the development of several organized crime factions in the city. Charlie Wall was the first major boss, but various power struggles culminated in consolidation of control by Sicilian mafioso Santo Trafficante Sr. and his faction in the 1950s. After his death in 1954 from cancer, control passed to his son, Santo Trafficante Jr., who established alliances with families in New York City and extended his power throughout Florida and into Batista-era Cuba.

The era of rampant and open corruption ended in the 1950s, 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.

Mid to late 20th century

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. 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.S. Air Force in 1947, MacDill Field became MacDill Air Force Base.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Tampa saw record-setting population growth that has not been seen since. 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. It was during this time period in the city's history that two of the most popular tourist attractions in the area were developed – Busch Gardens and Lowry Park. Many of the well-known institutions that play an important role in the economic development of the city were established during this time period.

The University of South Florida was established in North Tampa in 1956 and opened for students in September 1960. The school spurred the construction of several residential and commercial developments in the previously agriculture-dominated area around the new campus. Overall, Tampa continued to expand away from the city center during the 1960s 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 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau reported city's population as 80.0% white and 19.7% black.

Four attempts have been made to consolidate the municipal government of the city of Tampa with the county government of Hillsborough County (1967, 1970, 1971, and 1972), all of which failed at the ballot box; the greatest loss was the most recent attempt in 1972, with the final tally being 33,160 (31%) in favor and 73,568 (69%) against the proposed charter.

The biggest recent growth in the city was the development of New Tampa, which started in 1988 when the city annexed a mostly rural area of between I-275 and I-75.

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.

Geography

Topography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , including of land and (35.3%) of water. The highest point in the city is only above sea level. Tampa is bordered by two bodies of water, Old Tampa Bay and Hillsborough Bay, which flow together to form Tampa Bay, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Mexico. 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 geography is marked by the Interbay Peninsula which divides Hillsborough Bay (the eastern) from Old Tampa Bay (the western).

Climate

The Tampa Bay area has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen ''Cfa''), although due to its location on the Florida peninsula on Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it shows some characteristics of a tropical climate. Tampa's climate generally features hot and humid summers with frequent thunderstorms and dry and mild winters. Average highs range from year round, and lows . The city of Tampa is split between two USDA climate zones. According to the 2012 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 considerable amount of damage to various local palm tree landscapes and threatens the native palm tree species in the region.

Tropical storms

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 category 4 1921 Tampa Bay hurricane made landfall near Tarpon Springs and caused extensive damage throughout the region.

Over the past few decades, four major hurricanes were forecast to hit the Tampa Bay area from the south-southwest, which is a worse-case track that would result in a maximum storm surge event: Hurricane Donna (1960), Hurricane Charley (2004), Hurricane Irma (2017), and Hurricane Ian (2022). However, all of these storms veered to the east or northeast before reaching Tampa Bay and instead made landfall down the coast, resulting in serious damage in southwest Florida. Irma had the greatest effect on Tampa. It made landfall near Marco Island on September 10, 2017, and moved due north, passing through eastern Hillsborough County as a Category 1 storm and causing widespread issues in the area, particularly disrupting the electrical grid for several days.

Because of tremendous population growth and coastal development in the century since the last hurricane landfall combined with rising sea levels due to climate change, the Tampa Bay Area is considered one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to a direct hit from a major storm.

Seasonal trends

Summer

Summertime weather patterns predominate from late May through early October, which is the region's rainy season. Daily weather is very consistent during this period, with daytime highs usually reaching the average high of about , lows usually in the mid- to upper 70s °F (23–25 °C), high humidity, and a regular chance of rain, especially in the afternoon. Mainly due to the proximity of large bodies of water, the official high temperature has never hit  – the all-time record high temperature is , first recorded on June 5, 1985, and tied on June 26, 2020. Afternoon thunderstorms are regularly generated by the interaction of the Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes and are such a regular occurrence during the summer that the Tampa Bay area and nearby inland areas of Central Florida are recognized as the "Lightning Capital of North America". Afternoon thundershowers occasionally intensify into a severe thunderstorm, bringing heavy downpours, frequent lightning, strong straight-line winds, and sometimes hail.

Autumn

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

Winter in the area is generally dry and cooler. Average high temperatures range from the low to mid-70s °F (21–23 °C) during the day to the low to mid-50s °F (11–13 °C) at night. Occasional cold fronts push through the area during the season, usually bringing a brief period of rain followed by daytime highs in the 50s °F (10–13 °C) and nighttime lows near 40 °F (5 °C) for a day or two. Tampa experiences occasional frosts, with an annual mean minimum temperature of

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. Hard freezes (defined as a temperature of or below for several hours) occur rarely in the Tampa area; every five to twenty years depending on the exact location. The last widespread freeze occurred on the morning of January 18, 2018, when the official temperature at Tampa International Airport dropped to . The lowest temperature ever recorded in Tampa was on December 13, 1962. The only snowfall officially recorded in Tampa occurred on January 19, 1977, with local accumulations ranging between a trace and .

Spring

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.

Monthly averages

Cityscape

Neighborhoods

The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns and unincorporated communities annexed by the growing city. Generally, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown Tampa, New Tampa, West Tampa, East Tampa, North Tampa, and South Tampa. Well-known neighborhoods include Ybor City, Forest Hills, Ballast Point, Sulphur Springs, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, Palma Ceia, Hyde Park, Davis Islands, Harbour Island, Tampa Palms, College Hill, Water Street, Channelside and non-residential areas of Gary and the Westshore Business District.

Architecture

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. Several residential and mixed-development high-rises have been constructed. 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. Several museums have already opened, including new homes for the Tampa Bay History Center, the Glazer Children's Museum, and the Tampa Museum of Art. The breakdown of development for the rest of the plan is as follows: 39% residential units, 29% office space, 15% hotels, 8% retail, 7% other, and 2% cultural uses. Mayor Bob Buckhorn continued these developments which are bearing fruit during the term of Mayor Jane Castor.

Tampa is the site of several skyscrapers. Overall, there are 30 completed buildings that rise over high. The city also has 147 high-rises, second only to Miami in the state of Florida. The tallest building in the city is 100 North Tampa, formerly the AmSouth Building, which rises 42 floors and in Downtown Tampa. The structure was completed in 1992, and is the tallest building in Florida outside of Miami and Jacksonville.

File:RegionsTampa.jpg, 100 North Tampa (1992)
File:Bank of America Plaza Tampa.jpg, Bank of America Plaza (1986)
File:Onetampacitycenter downtown.jpg, One Tampa City Center (1981)
File:Tampa architectural photos 268.jpg, SunTrust Financial Centre (1992)
File:ElementTampa.jpg, The Element (2009)
File:ParkTowerTampa.jpg, Park Tower (1972)
File:RivergateTower.jpg, Rivergate Tower (1988)
File:Sunshine Skyway Bridge - Detail.jpg, The Sunshine Skyway Bridge (1987)

Landmarks

File:Tampatheater.jpg, Tampa Theatre
File:Tampa Bayshore Blvd skyline02.jpg, Downtown Tampa as seen from Bayshore Boulevard
File:Tampa architectural photos 256.jpg, Part of the Tampa Riverwalk
File:I Tampa, FL 2.jpg, Fountains at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park
File:Tampa FL Sulphur Springs Tower tall pano02.jpg, Sulphur Springs Water Tower

The Sulphur Springs Water Tower, a landmark in the Sulphur Springs section of the city, stands 214 feet tall and was built by Grover Poole in the late 1920s. This boom period for Florida also saw the construction of an ornate movie palace, the Tampa Theatre, a Mediterranean revival on Davis Islands, and Bayshore Boulevard, which borders Hillsborough Bay from downtown Tampa to areas in South Tampa. The road has a continuous sidewalk on the eastern end, the longest in the world.

The Ybor City District is home to several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and has been declared a National Historic Landmark. Notable structures include El Centro Español de Tampa, Centro Asturiano de Tampa and other social clubs built in the early 1900s. Including L'Unione Italiana or the Italian Club, at 1731 East 7th Avenue in Ybor City. 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."
Babe Zaharias Golf Course in the Forest Hills area of Tampa has been designated a Historical Landmark by the National Register of Historic Places. It was bought in 1949 by the famous "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, who had a residence nearby, and closed upon her death. In 1974, the city of Tampa opened the golf course to the public.

''The Story of Tampa'', a public painting by Lynn Ash, is a oil on masonite mural that weaves together many of the notable aspects of Tampa's unique character and identity. It was commissioned in 2003 by the city's Public Art Program and can be found in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building.

Park Tower (originally the First Financial Bank of Florida) is the first substantial skyscraper in downtown Tampa. Completed in 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in Tampa until the completion of One Tampa City Center in 1981. The Rivergate building, a cylindrical structure known as the "Beer Can building", was featured in the movie ''The Punisher''.

Spanning the southern part of Tampa Bay is the massive steel-span Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Tampa is home to the Bro Bowl, one of the last remaining skateparks built during skateboarding's "Golden Era" in the 1970s. It opened in 1979 and was constructed by Tampa Parks and Recreation in 1978. 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 2.6-mile-long (4.2 km) open space and pedestrian trail development along the Hillsborough River, and Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

Demographics

As of 2000, the largest European ancestries in the city were German (9.2%), Irish (8.4%), English (7.7%), Italian (5.6%), and French (2.4%).

As of 2010, there were 157,130 households, out of which 13.5% were vacant. In 2000, 27.6% households 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 2000, the city's 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 34.7 years old. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

In 2006, the median income for a household in the city was $39,602, and the median income for a family was $45,823. Males had a median income of $40,461 versus $29,868 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,522. 20.1% of the population and 16.4% of families were below the poverty line. 31.0% of those under the age of 18 and 13.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty level.

As of 2000, those who spoke only English at home accounted for 77.4% of all residents, while 22.6% spoke other languages in their homes. The most significant was Spanish speakers who made up 17.8% of the population, while French came up as the third most spoken language, which made up 0.6%, and Italian was at fourth, with 0.6% of the population.

Religion

Communities of faith have organized in Tampa from 1846, when a Methodist congregation established the city's first church,"Tampa – Florida's Industrial Port City".''Florida History Internet Center''.
. Retrieved February 27, 2010. to 1939, when a 21-year-old Billy Graham began his career as a spiritual evangelist and preacher on downtown's Franklin Street,"Downtown Tampa: Its Cultural and Historical Significance".
The Tampa Connection Project
''TampaGov''.
Retrieved February 27, 2010. and through to today. Among Tampa's noteworthy religious structures are Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a 1905 downtown landmark noted for its soaring, Romanesque revival construction in granite and marble with German-crafted stained glass windows,"Sacred Heart Parish History".''Sacred Heart Catholic Church''.
. Retrieved February 27, 2010. the distinctive rock and mortar St. James Episcopal House of Prayer, listed with the National Register of Historic Places, and the St. Paul AME church, which has seen the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Bill Clinton speak from its pulpit. The latter two have been designated by the city government as Local Landmark Structures.

Tampa's religious community includes a broad representation of Christian denominations, including those above, and Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Christian Science, Church of God, United Church of Christ, Philippine Independent Church, Metropolitan Community Church, Seventh-day Adventist, Eastern Orthodox (Greek, Coptic, Syrian, and OCA), various Pentecostal, the Quakers, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is also at least one congregation of Messianic Jews in Tampa. There is a Korean Baptist church, a Mennonite church, several Haitian churches, and a Vietnamese Baptist Church. Tampa has several Jewish synagogues practicing Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. In addition, there is a small Zoroastrian community present in Tampa. as well as several Unitarian Universalist congregations

Around the city are a handful of mosques for followers of Islam, as well as a Tibetan-style Buddhist temple, a Thai Buddhist Wat, and local worship centers for the Sikh, Hindu and Baháʼí Faiths. The Church of Scientology, based in nearby Clearwater, maintains a location for its members in Tampa.

Overall, Tampa is 50th out of the largest 51 metropolitan area in the percentage of the populace that attends religious services of any kind, with less than 35% of the population regularly attending services. Only the Portland, Oregon area is less observant.

Economy

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. Hillsborough County alone has an estimated 740,000 employees, a figure which is projected to increase to 922,000 by 2015.

Since the year 2000, Tampa has seen a notable upsurge in high-market demand from consumers, signaling more wealth concentrated in the area. In 2021, the US Department of Labor awarded a two-year grant of nearly US$3 million to a program called "Connecting Talent to Careers" led by the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute and Tooling U-SME to deliver a rapid re-employment program to address a shortage of skilled labor in manufacturing in the region exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Corporations and nonprofits

Several large corporations, such as banks and telecommunications companies, maintain regional offices in Tampa. The largest credit union in Florida, Suncoast Credit Union, is headquartered in Tampa.

Several Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in the metropolitan area, including Bloomin' Brands, WellCare, Jabil, TECO Energy, and Raymond James Financial. Other companies headquartered in Tampa include Greenway Health, College Hunks Hauling Junk, Arturo Fuente, J.C. Newman Cigar Company, Masonite International, Sykes Enterprises, Cott Corporation, The Melting Pot, Checkers and Rally's and The Mosaic Company

The main server farm for Wikipedia and other Wikimedia Foundation projects is in Tampa.

Downtown

Downtown Tampa is undergoing significant development and redevelopment in line with a general national trend toward urban residential development. In April 2007, the Tampa Downtown Partnership noted development proceeding on 20 residential, hotel, and mixed-use projects. Many of the new downtown developments were nearing completion in the midst of a housing market slump, which caused numerous projects to be delayed or revamped, and some of the 20 projects TDP lists have not broken ground and are being refinanced. Nonetheless, several developments were completed, making downtown into a 24-hour neighborhood instead of a 9 to 5 business district. As of 2010, Tampa residents faced a decline in rent of 2%. Nationally rent had decreased 4%. The ''Tampa Business Journal'' found Tampa to be the number two city for real estate investment in 2014.

Port Tampa Bay

Port Tampa Bay 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. Tampa ranks second in the state behind Miami in terms of cruise ship travel. Besides smaller regional cruise ships such as Yacht Starship and SunCruz Casino, Tampa also serves as a port of call for three cruise lines: Holland America's MS ''Ryndam'', Royal Caribbean's ''Grandeur of the Seas'' and ''Radiance of the Seas'', and Carnival's ''Inspiration'' and ''Legend''.

MacDill Air Force Base

MacDill Air Force Base remains a major employer as the parent installation for over 15,000 active uniformed military, Department of Defense (DoD) civil service and DoD contractor personnel in the Tampa Bay area. A significant majority of the civil service and contractor personnel are, in fact, themselves retired career military personnel.

In addition to the 6th Air Mobility Wing, which is "host wing" for the base, MacDill is also home to Headquarters, United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the 927th Air Refueling Wing, Headquarters, United States Marine Forces Central Command (USMARCENT), Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command Central (USSOCCENT), and numerous other military activities of the active and reserve components of the armed forces.

Arts and culture

Arts and entertainment

Tampa is home to a variety of stage and performing arts venues and theaters, including the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa Theatre, Gorilla Theatre, and the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre next to the Florida State Fairgrounds.

Performing arts companies and organizations which call Tampa home include the Florida Orchestra, Opera Tampa, Jobsite Theater, the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, Stageworks Theatre, Spanish Lyric Theater, Tampa Bay Opera, and the Tampa Bay Symphony.

Current popular nightlife districts include Channelside, Ybor City, SoHo, International Plaza and Bay Street, and Seminole Hard Rock. Downtown Tampa also contains some nightlife, and there are more clubs/bars to be found in other areas of the city. Tampa is rated sixth on ''Maxim'' magazine's list of top party cities.

The area has become a "de facto" headquarters of professional wrestling, with many pros living in the area. WWE's former developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, was also based in Tampa.

Tampa is home to several death metal bands, an extreme form of heavy metal music that evolved from thrash metal in the mid-late 1980s. Many of the genre's pioneers and foremost figures are based in and around the city. Chief among these are Deicide, Six Feet Under, Obituary, Death and Morbid Angel. The Tampa scene grew with the birth of Morrisound Recording, which established itself as an international recording destination for metal bands.

Christian rock band Underoath is based out of Tampa.

In 2009, the new Frank Wildhorn musical '' Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure'' hosted its world premiere at the Straz Center.

Museums

The Tampa area is home to a number of museums that cover a wide array of subjects and studies. These include the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), which has several floors of science-related exhibits plus the only domed IMAX theater in Florida and a planetarium; the Tampa Museum of Art; the USF Contemporary Art Museum; the Tampa Bay History Center; the Tampa Firefighters Museum; the Henry B. Plant Museum; and Ybor City Museum State Park. Permanently docked in downtown's Channel District is the SS ''American Victory'', a former World War II Victory ship which is now used as a museum ship. Florida Museum of Photographic Arts Features local and international photography exhibitions.

Children's Museum

The Children's Museum of Tampa opened in 1986. It was created in response to the need for informal cultural and learning environment for the need of young children. It has since grown into a Larger location in Downtown Tampa next to the Tampa Museum of Art and Curtis Hixon Park. This location opened in September 2010 and was renamed Glazer Children's Museum in honor of the Glazer Family Foundation that donated $5 million to the construction of the new building.

Cuisine

Tampa has a diverse culinary scene from small cafes and bakeries to bistros and farm-to-table restaurants. The food of Tampa has a history of Cuban, Spanish, Floribbean and Italian cuisines. There are also many Colombian, Puerto Rican, Vietnamese and barbecue restaurants. Seafood is very popular in Tampa, and Greek cuisine is prominent in the area, including around Tarpon Springs. Food trucks are popular, and the area holds the record for the world's largest food truck rally. In addition to Ybor, the areas of Seminole Heights and South Tampa are known for their restaurants.

Tampa is the birthplace of the Florida version of the deviled crab and the Cuban sandwich

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases