Davis Islands is a
Tampa
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...
neighborhood and
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
on two (formerly three) islands in
Hillsborough County,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. Its proximity to
Downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.
It is second only to Westshore, Tampa, Westshore regarding employment in the area. Compani ...
and its views of the
Port of Tampa have made it a popular area to live. The area's population was 5,474 at the 2010 census.
About Davis Islands

Davis Islands is also home to
Peter O. Knight Airport and Davis Island Yacht Club. Also on the Islands are the Marjorie Park Municipal Yacht Basin & Marjorie Park at 115 Columbia Drive and the Seaplane Basin just South of the Airport. Marjorie Park was donated to the City of Tampa and named by Davis after his wife Marjorie Merritt Davis.
With a canal fully separating a portion of the island from the rest of it, Davis Islands is technically an archipelago, hence the plural form "Islands" in its name. Originally, Davis Islands consisted of three islands. With the construction of the airport, however, the end of one canal was filled in to make enough land area for a runway, connecting the two largest islands at their southern ends and reducing the archipelago's island count to two.
Nearly all streets on the island are named after bodies of water or islands. They are loosely arranged in alphabetical order, beginning with Adalia Avenue (the first street crossed after arriving on the island from the only bridge that connects it to the mainland) and ending with Severn Avenue, the street farthest away from the bridge that leads to the main island's southernmost point, on which the Davis Island Yacht Club is situated. There are no traffic lights on Davis Islands.
History
Davis Islands was built upon two man-made islands atop two small natural islands formerly known as "Little Grassy Key" and "Big Grassy Key" at the mouth of the
Hillsborough River. The islands were built from mud dredged from the bottom of Tampa Bay in the 1920s and expanded. This dredge-and-fill operation was undertaken at the height of the
Florida Land Boom by developer and Tampa native
D. P. Davis. Davis then purchased all the dredged land for $350,000. He planned a resort community with three hotels, nine-hole golf course, airport, and swimming pool. D.P. Davis then sold 306 of the original lots for $1,683,582. The development stalled when the Florida land boom of the early 1920s wound down, and Davis was mysteriously lost at sea while making a transatlantic voyage in October 1926.
Many of the original Mediterranean-style structures are still standing and have received national Historic Designation, as well as local protections. Buildings of note include the Palace of Florence and Mirasol. Today Davis Islands is a mix of residential and retail areas. Most predominant today is an eclectic mix of architectural styles because of the slowdown in development in the 1930s.
Business district
East Davis Boulevard is the commercial area of the neighborhood. Along several blocks there are restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops in a tranquil sidewalk setting.
The area is also very pet-friendly due to the pedestrian nature of the island.
Tampa General Hospital is located at the northern tip of the Islands. It functions as the area's largest tertiary referral center, Level I Trauma center and teaching hospital affiliated with the University of South Florida Colleges of Medicine and Nursing. Criticism has long been directed at regional planners for maintaining a facility of its importance during various public emergencies having been located and expanded upon where hurricanes and rising water (in what is designated an 'A' Flood zone) could, and have, resulted in the facility's evacuation.
Recreational facilities
The Davis Islands Trail linear park was completed in 2010, with amenities such as benches and water fountains. The 10-foot-wide asphalt trail is 1.3 miles and runs from Channel Drive and Davis Boulevard to the parking lot at Peter O. Knight Airport.
In 2014, the Roy Jenkins Pool reopened after a $2.5 million renovation. The 85-year-old building at 154 Columbia Drive has two pools, one with five swim lanes extending 75 feet and the other kiddie-sized.
/sup> Other sports facilities include the Sandra W. Freedman Tennis Complex and an array of softball fields at Davis Islands Park.
Famous residents
Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...
built a , seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom waterfront home in the vicinity, drawing comparisons to an aircraft carrier. The home dwarfs other nearby homes and is the largest home in the Tampa area. Other notable neighborhood residents include Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
quarterback Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...
, former NFL player Brad Culpepper, former Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...
captain Vincent Lecavalier
Vincent Lecavalier (born April 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre currently working as a special advisor of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first ove ...
, Lightning players Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman
Victor Erik Olof Hedman (; born 18 December 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and Captain (ice hockey), captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hedman was selected second overall by the Lightni ...
, former New York Yankees player Tino Martinez, and former Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn.
Demographics
As of the census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 5,747 people and 2,577 households residing in the neighborhood. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
was 4,029/mi2. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 93% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 2% African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, less than 1% Native American, 3% Asian, 1% from other races, and 2% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 11% of the population.
There were 2,577 households, out of which 24% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 8% were non-families. 39% of all households were made up of individuals.
In the neighborhood the population was spread out, with 21% under the age of 18, 17% from 18 to 34, 23% from 35 to 49, 24% from 50 to 64, and 15% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males.
The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the neighborhood was $48,870. About 3% 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 ...
.
See also
* List of Mediterranean Revival Style Buildings of Davis Islands
* Tampa General Hospital
Tampa General Hospital (TGH) is a 1,040-bed non-profit hospital, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on Davis Island in Tampa, Florida, servicing western Florida and the greater Tampa Bay region. TGH is one of the region's ...
* Peter O. Knight Airport
* Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
External links
Davis Islands Civic Association
Davis Island Yacht Club
Google Maps and Aerial Images
Adjacent neighborhoods
* Harbour Island
*Downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.
It is second only to Westshore, Tampa, Westshore regarding employment in the area. Compani ...
* Hyde Park (Tampa)
References
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Neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida
Islands of Tampa Bay
Populated places on Tampa Bay
Islands of Hillsborough County, Florida
Islands of Florida