West Tampa
West Tampa | |
|---|---|
District | |
 Seal | |
  West Tampa Location within the state of Florida | |
| Coordinates:27°57′11″N82°29′22″W/ 27.95306°N 82.48944°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Hillsborough |
| City | Tampa |
| Time zone | UTC-5(Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4(EDT) |
| Area code | 813 |
West Tampais one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits ofTampa,Florida,United States. It was an independentlyincorporatedcity from 1895 until 1925, when it was annexed by Tampa.
West Tampa is located west of theHillsborough Riverapproximately 1 mile fromdowntown.As of the 2000census,the district had a population of 22,008. It has consistently been home to one of the highest concentration ofLatinosin the city since its founding in 1892.
History[edit]
Establishment and early history[edit]
West Tampa was founded in 1892 by Scottish immigrant and local attorney Hugh Macfarlane, who bought 200 acres of forested land with the intention of starting a new development by luring some of the cigar factories and cigar workers fromYbor City,a very successful new immigrant community on the northeast side of Tampa.
West Tampa's initial growth was stunted by transportation issues. The first cigar factory built in the area was forced to close temporarily because workers refused to ride a ferry across theHillsborough Riverto the "wilds" of West Tampa.[1]
Macfarlane had built a bridge and connected West Tampa to Tampa's extensivestreetcarline by 1894, spurring a period of tremendous growth. Many of these new residents had not come over from Ybor City; most wereCuban immigrantswho settled in West Tampa soon after arriving in the United States. Accordingly, the community was almost exclusivity Cuban during the first several years of its existence. A gradual influx ofItaliansandSpaniards,mainly from Ybor City, gradually made the cultural mix of the two communities more similar over time.
West Tampa was incorporated as a city in 1895 with a population of 2,335, making it the 2nd largestHispaniccommunity in the state. By 1900, it had more inhabitants thanFlorida's capital city ofTallahasseeand was the second largest city inHillsborough County,behind only Tampa. The neighboring communities combined to produce more hand-rolled cigars than any other locale in the world during the early 20th century, earning Tampa the nickname "Cigar City".
The firstpublic libraryin Hillsborough County, theWest Tampa Free Public Library,opened onHoward Avenuein 1914. Construction of theNeo-classical revivalist stylebrick building was funded with a $17,500 grant fromAndrew Carnegie.[2]The West Tampa Library was restored and expanded in 2004 and is still in use.
West Tampa Police Department[edit]
During its incorporated life, West Tampa operated the West Tampa Police Department. It was absorbed by the Tampa Police Department in 1925.[3][4] One officer was killed in its short history. On July 18, 1920, Patrolman Juan Nales and another officer were walking a man they arrested to jail when the suspect attacked.[5]The suspect gained control of Nales's gun and fatally shot him. The suspect was captured after fleeing and subsequently convicted of murder.[3][6][7][8]
Annexation[edit]
As the years progressed, the connections between West Tampa and Ybor City grew stronger. Most "Latins" (as Tampa's mix of Spanish, Cuban, and Italian cultures is locally known) had family and friends in both of the neighboring towns. Many people lived in one community and worked in the other.Ybor City's social clubsregularly held large picnics,baseballgames, and other events at West Tampa's spacious MacFarlane Park. Some of the clubs built elaborate branch locations for their West Tampa members, further uniting the two increasingly homogeneous districts.
The boundaries between West Tampa and "AngloTampa "also blurred as the larger city grew west and south until itssuburbsbumped against the edges of West Tampa. The process concluded in 1925, when West Tampa was formally annexed by the city of Tampa.
Neighborhood[edit]
As Ybor City faded and emptied out afterWorld War II,many of its residents moved to West Tampa, making it the largest predominantly Latin neighborhood in town. While the samefactors that destroyed Ybor City's cigar industryalso affected West Tampa, the latter community had enough economic variety to survive when the cigar factories either became totally mechanized or shut down altogether.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, West Tampa received another large influx of Cuban immigrants as they fledCastro's revolution.[2]With very few jobs remaining in the cigar industry by that era, new arrivals found work in various other sectors.
As of 2017, the neighborhood has manyColombian cuisineand smallCubanand Puerto Rican eateries and ethnic markets, mostly along main roads such asColumbus Drive,Armenia Avenue,Howard Avenue,Main Street, and Tampa Bay Boulevard. Most of the large brick cigar factory buildings still stand, but none are still used for their original purpose. Some have been renovated and remodeled for office space and other uses, while others have been vacant for years. A few cigars are still rolled in smaller shops and storefronts.[9]
While poverty and urban decay have been problematic issues in West Tampa since the 1970s,[10]the district has garnered renewed interest and appreciation for its history and culture.[11]The area saw increasing levels of investment, restoration, and new construction beginning in the 2000s.[10]Redevelopment stalled during the2008 recession,[12]but resumed several years later with several projects including new apartments, renovation and overhaul of Julian Lane Waterfront Park, and demolition of several city blocks of olderpublic housingto be replaced with new townhome construction.[13][14][15]
Description[edit]
The historical boundaries of West Tampa are theHillsborough Riverand Rome Avenue to the east, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd (formerly Buffalo Ave.) to the north, Kennedy Blvd. (formerly Grand Central Ave.) to the south, andDale Mabry Highwayto the west. TheWest Tampa Historic Districtencompasses much of this area,[16]andInterstate 275,built in the 1960s, runs through the approximate center of the neighborhood. The land area of the district is about 10 square miles (about 26 km2).
Demographics[edit]
As of the census[17]of 2000, there were 22,008 people, 9,277 households, and 9,908 housing units residing in West Tampa. The racial makeup of the district was 73.7%White,11.3%African American,0.4%Native American,2.5%AsianandPacific Islander,8.4% fromother races,and 3.8% from two or more races. 51.6% of the population wereHispanicorLatinoof any race.
In West Tampa, the population was spread out, with 6% Under 5 Years; 5.5% 5 to 9 Years; 10.8% 10 to 19 Years; 32.0% 20 to 39 Years; 22.7% 40 to 59 Years; 17.2% 60 to 79 Years; 3.3% 80 Years and Over. Out of every 100 females residing in the district, there were 93 males.
Areas within West Tampa[edit]
Distinct areas within the West Tampa district areBowman Heights,Marina Club,Northeast Macfarlane,andOld West Tampa.[18]
References[edit]
- ^"West Tampa Chamber of Commerce | Home".westtampachamber.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-11-20.
- ^ab"County's oldest library a West Tampa treasure - TBO".
- ^abcotadmin (14 July 2014)."Fallen Patrolman - Juan Nales".
- ^"Tampa police to honor two fallen officers".tampabay.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-04-06.
- ^"Patrolman John Nales".
- ^Florida, State Library and Archives of."Group portrait with West Tampa Police Department officer Juan" John "Nales (seated at right)".Florida Memory.
- ^"Heroes & Memorial Page".
- ^Wilbanks, William (10 March 1998).Forgotten Heroes: Police Officers Killed in Early Florida, 1840-1925.Turner Publishing Company.ISBN9785631140707– via Google Books.
- ^"CityTimes: The world & a cup of coffee".sptimes.
- ^ab"The Western Front".
- ^"Rebuilding Group, NFL Team Up To Improve West Tampa - TBO".
- ^"Ed Turanchik's ambitious InTown Homes development downsizes in West Tampa - Tampa Bay Times".Archived fromthe originalon March 6, 2010.
- ^Taylor Martin, Susan (1 December 2016)."What's the next neighborhood poised to take off in Tampa Bay? How about West Tampa".Tampa Bay Times.Retrieved29 November2018.
- ^Morgan, Phillip (20 May 2016)."Amid a boom of new projects, residents ask: Will West Tampa become gentrified?".Tampa Bay Times.Retrieved29 November2018.
- ^Taylor Martin, Susan (13 November 2018)."Do you live in an equity rich area of Tampa Bay? A lot of homeowners do".Tampa Bay Times.Retrieved29 November2018.
- ^"West Tampa Map".
- ^"U.S. Census website".United States Census Bureau.Retrieved2008-01-31.
- ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2007-09-30.Retrieved2007-09-13.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links[edit]
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