Palma Ceia is a neighborhood located southwest of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English 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 district ( ...

Tampa, Florida 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 ...

South Tampa South Tampa is a region in the city of Tampa that includes the neighborhoods of Beach Park, Ballast Point, Bayshore Beautiful, Bayshore Gardens, Bayside West, Belmar Shore, Davis Islands, Port Tampa, Fair Oaks-Manhattan Manor, Golfview, ...

. It is bounded by Miguel Street West of MacDill Avenue and Neptune Street East of MacDill Avenue to the north; Bay to Bay Boulevard from Dale Mabry to Himes and El Prado between Himes and the Crosstown Expressway to the south; MacDill Avenue between Neptune and San Miguel,

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 i ...

between San Miguel and Bay to Bay and Himes between Bay to Bay and El Prado to the west; and the

Lee Roy Selmon Expressway State Road 618 (SR 618), also known as the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, and formerly known as the Crosstown Expressway, is a controlled-access toll road in Hillsborough County, Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Sout ...

to the east. The street names throughout Palma Ceia are of Cuban origin, coming from streets in the old section of Havana. Historians say the most likely explanation is that Angel Cuesta, president of

Cuesta-Rey Cuesta-Rey (originally '' 'La flor de Cuesta-Rey' '' and still printed on the box) is a brand of handmade ''cigar'', founded in 1884 by ''Angel LaMadrid Cuesta'' and ''Peregrino Rey''. Cuesta, a Spanish-American, Spaniard, had apprenticed in ciga ...

cigars, shared a map of Havana with developer Thomas Palmer while discussing the area. Palma Ceia is home to the appropriately named Palma Ceia Country Club and also located adjacent to the exclusive Golfview community. The neighborhood is within the district of

Henry B. Plant High School H.B. Plant High School is a public high school located in the neighborhood of South Tampa in Tampa, Florida, United States. It opened in 1927 between South Himes Avenue on the east and Dale Mabry Highway on the west. The school is named after ra ...

. Aesthetically it is most known for its bricked streets, akin to those in

Ybor City Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mai ...

. The neighborhood is home to the Palma Ceia Design District, centered on the intersection of MacDill Ave. and Bay to Bay Blvd. This district contains many specialty boutiques and cafes, including some of the highest rated in the city. It is a half-mile walk from

Bayshore Boulevard Bayshore Boulevard is a waterfront road on Hillsborough Bay in South Tampa, 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 ...

. A sculpture by local artist Marc DeWaele was erected at the Macdill and Bay to Bay intersection to officially designate the district. Its ribbon cutting was March 17, 2010.

References

{{Coord, 27.921, -82.495, display=title Neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida

See also

References