The History of West Tampa
Before the Rays became American League Champs in 2008…before the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team lifted the Stanley Cup in victory…before the Bucs faced Oakland to become Super Bowl Champions in 2003…before Tampa’s infamous Annual Gasperilla Pirate Festival and Parades…before the “unexpected came together” at Busch Gardens Africa…and before tourists crowded Florida’s most beautiful white beaches, our beloved Tampa Bay had a monumental and historical impact on the rise and success of our nation today.
Tampa Bay was formally known as Fort Brooke in the mid-1800’s. It served as the U.S. Army Headquarters during the height of the Seminole Wars with a population of only one thousand people. By 1883, Fort Brooke opened its doors to civilians that led to an open door for discovery! Successful development evolved from existing resources, like phosphate, a more advanced railroad system and the booming victory of the cigar industry brought by a Tampa legend, Vicente Martinez-Ybor.
Ybor was a Spanish citizen who began manufacturing cigars in Cuba. He was suspected of being disloyal to Spain and was forced to leave his country. He reestablished his cigar manufacturing company in Key West, FL and convinced other Cuban and American manufacturers to join him. After working fifteen years in Key West, Ybor relocated his business to Tampa, FL. Tampa businessmen provided him with a large area of land located in the shadows of downtown Tampa, which became home for new cigar factories and houses for cigar workers. Within one year, Ybor City had become a separate and largely populated community, home to over 5,000 residents. Ybor then built a second cigar factory in West Tampa along the Hillsborough River.
Hugh MacFarlane, a Scottish immigrant and successful attorney, founded West Tampa in 1892. He established the small town with hopes of relocating some of Ybor’s cigar factories into his community. His plan was a success, but not in the way he had hoped. Not many businesses or residents moved from Ybor City, but many new immigrants chose West Tampa as their new home. West Tampa became established as the second cigar making city in 1895 and the growing prosperity sought out the residential development of West Tampa. The residents were of Cuban, Italian and Spanish decent; the same mix that resided in Ybor City.
West Tampa became one of the fastest growing cities in Florida, with a population of over 2,000 people. Tampa’s trolley line soon connected West Tampa to Ybor City and the boundaries between the towns became vague. Woodlands and farms were being transformed into new sections of town called Hyde Park and Tampa Heights. Streets became paved and the downtown district provided our new streets with the installation of electric streetlights. Skyscrapers began to rise during the 1910’s and with the new invention of automobiles thousands began to migrate to the old Fort Brooke area that had now been absorbed by the ever-growing city. In 1925, West Tampa and Tampa united together to make one great city of Tampa.
Tampa was a major staging area for the training, boarding and departure of military forces during the Spanish-American War and World War I, which flooded our city with new war-related industries. The city became a major deep-water port and phosphate shipping port with railroads lining the harbor. Tampa increased the number of paved state roadways from 748 miles to 3,254 miles creating a huge expansion among tourism.
In 1933, during the hardships of the Great Depression and World War II, city officials moved the University of Tampa into the old, vacated Tampa Bay Hotel creating college life and activity. WWII marked the end of the golden era of cigar manufacturing in Ybor and West Tampa.
Eventually strong economic, social and geographic forces had major impacts on West Tampa. Interstate I-275 was constructed to run through the heart of West Tampa and over time many residents were enticed by Tampa’s expanding suburbs. As a result, West Tampa lost many important small businesses, further crumbling its social footprint within greater Tampa.
To the present day, West Tampa remains a historic neighborhood full with a vivid legacy. It’s characterized with traditional buildings and homes strategically located between the Central Business District and the Westshore Business District. The healthy inventory of historic buildings, coupled with a growing demand for urban living by people from all walks of life make it is easy to see why West Tampa is positioned for a revival.
* RTTB and InTown Homes are rebuilding the area of old West Tampa, which is the neighborhood located in the heart of the West Tampa district.