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Tampa is a large city on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. Its history dates to 1824, when Fort Brooke was established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River. It happened after the American purchase of Florida from Spain in 1821. The settlement that eventually became Tampa arose in the area just north of the fort, and which today is in the metropolitan area of Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.
Tampa is today a city known as a tourist resort with its beautiful location on the gulf. There are several things to see and do in the city, where the center is dominated by modern high-rise buildings. In downtown, there are quite a few architectural highlights and interesting museums. You can also take a walk along the Hillsborough River and Garrison Channel along the Tampa Riverwalk, where you can enjoy views of the water and the city.
When you take a walk downtown, you can see the city hall of Tampa, which was built in 1915, and the Tampa Theater from 1926. The theater was built and decorated as a so-called atmospheric theater in a Mediterranean-inspired style. You can also visit several museums such as the Tampa Museum of Art and the Glazer Children’s Museum, both of which are located at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, which is a lovely recreational area along the Hillborough River.
Ybor City is an district to the northeast of downtown Tampa. The neighborhood is known as Tampa’s historic Latin Quarter, and it was founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers. The cigar factories attracted a lot of immigrants from not least Cuba, Spain, and Italy, and the cigar industry created many well-paid jobs which boosted the economy of Tampa and transformed it from a village to a bustling city in just a few decades.
The neighborhood got the nickname Cigar City, and it is defined as the area between I-4 to the north, Adamo Drive to the south, N 22nd Street to the east and Nebraska Avenue to the west. The center of the area is formed by the E 7th Avenue as the main street, and along E 8th Avenue you can ride the TECO Line Streetcar, which opened as a heritage line in 2002.
Ybor City grew rapidly and with steady growth until the Great Depression of the 1930s. With the depression, the demand for fine cigars declined, and mechanization reduced employment. The negative development continued and accelerated after World War II, and at the end of the 1970s, then neighborhood became almost abandoned. From the 1990s development returned as an entertainment district, and later on buildings were renovated into offices, residences, shops and more.
There are several sights in Ybor City. The streetscape along i.e. E 8th Avenue has a special atmosphere with the large number of heritage buildings. A key place is Ybor City’s first cigar factory, etablished by Vicente Martinez Ybor, a Spanish cigar manufacturer, the neighborhood was named after. The Ybor Factory Building is located at 1911 North 13th Street. It was built in 1886 and it now converted into office space.
There are several attractions in Ybor City. The Ybor City Museum State Park, which is located in the former Ferlita Bakery at 1818 9th Avenue. The museum displays cover the history of the cigar industry and the community from the beginnings in the 1880s through the 1930s. You can also join a cigar rolling class or get a guided factory tour at the J.C. Newman Cigar Company’s historic El Reloj factory from 1910, located just north of Ybor City.
TECO Line Streetcar is a heritage streetcar in Tampa. It connects downtown Tampa and Channelside with the neighborhood Ybor City to the northeast of the city center. The line is about 4,350 meters long and it has been in operation since 2002. It is a single track streetcar line with passing sidings along the route.
You can ride the TECO Line Streetcar on replica historic streetcars as well as on restored historic car. They are in service making a charming addition to the heritage buildings of Ybor City, and there are plans to expand the line with more stations.
Streetcars began to run in the streets of Tampa in 1885. It was Tampa Street Railway Company that started service between the center of Tampa to the then developing Ybor City, where cigar factories made it worthwhile with the new transportation system. The first years were steam-powered, and electric streetcars were introduced in 1893.
At the height of operation, 13 lines were connecting large parts of Tampa with more than 80 km of tracks. The lines were shut down after World War II with the last streetcars running in 1949. There were no streetcars in Tampa until the opening of the TECO Line in 2002. Now you can ride the line, and the Birney #163 is the retored car, which ran line Ybor line from 1923 to 1946.
Plant Hall is a landmark building, home to the University of Tampa, which is a private university in Tampa. It was established in 1931 as the Tampa Junior College. It is however not the university as an institution, that makes Plant Hall of the top architectural sights in Tampa, but it is the central building of the university as well as home to the Henry B. Plant Museum. The edifice is called the Plant Hall and was built as the resort Tampa Bay Hotel in 1891 by Henry B. Plant.
The Tampa Bay Hotel opened 5 February 1891 as a 511-room resort style hotel with a spectacular architecture, designed by the American architect John A. Wood. Henry B. Plant was a railroad magnate, and the Tampa Bay Hotel was built as the premier hotel of eight along Plant’s systems of railroads. The hotel was located close to the terminus of his line to Tampa.
There were facilities like no place else at the hotel. It was equipped with the first elevator in the state of Florida, and it is still in operation. The rooms also had electric lights and telephones. The grounds of the hotel included a heated swimming pool, a golf course, a racetrack, a bowling alley and other recreational facilities.
The architecture stands out in downtown Tampa with it’s Moorish revival style. It attracted travelers in the Victorian times with a European appeal. The hotel was designed with six minarets, four cupolas, and three domes spanning five stories, which were all trimmed in ornate Victorian Gingerbread, which is characterized by elaborately detailed embellishment. During construction, Henry Plant toured Europe collecting lavish objects to decorate the hotel in grandeur.
The grand hotel operated from 1891 to 1932, and several celebreties stayed at the Tampa Bay Hotel during the years. During the Spanish–American War in 1898, the hotel was used as a military headquarters. Guests included British royalty, Winston Churchill, Sarah Bernhardt and Clara Barton. The baseball legend Babe Ruth signed his first baseball contract in the Grand Dining Room of the hotel. Today, you can visit the building at the Henry B. Plant Museum.
Tampa Bay History Center is a history museum, which is a Smithsonian affiliate and thereby a partner of the famous Smithsonian Institution. The museum is for everyone interesting in knowing more about the regional history. It includes three floors of permanent and temporary exhibition space covering 12,000 years of Florida history, with a special focus on Tampa Bay and the Gulf Coast.
The interesting exhibits include comprehensive coverage of the Tampa Bay area’s first native inhabitants, Spanish conquistadors, and historical figures who shaped the area’s history, as well as a reproduction of a 1920s cigar store. And many more aspects of the development of the area.
It was the Hillsborough County Commission who initiated a taskforce for creating a regional history museum in 1986. A small museum space opened in 1993, og the grand opening of the present museum was in 2009. Since then collections and exhibits have grown, and keep an eye on temporary exhibitions which supplement the fine permanent displays.
Tampa Theatre is a historic theatre and a landmark building in downtown Tampa. It was designed as a so-called atmospheric theatre-style movie palace where the grand interior resembles a Mediterranean courtyard at night, and the design is complete with flowers, twinkling stars and clouds above the visitors.
The movie palace opened in 1926, and it was designed by John Eberson, who was nicknamed Opera House John as he designed more than theatres. There are remaining examples in the atmospheric style created by Eberson throughout the United States as well as abroad in i.e. Paris, Melbourne and Sydney. Tampa Theatre is a great example of the style which is not easy to see from the street.
In 1973, Tampa Theatre faced demolition, but citizens rallied and involved the city, and the iconic theatre was saved and reopened in 1978. The venue hosts movies, concerts and a lot of other events. There is a Wurlitzer organ in the theatre, which was the first commercial building in Tampa to offer air conditioning.
Henry B. Plant Museum is a museum located in the former grand resort Tampa Bay Hotel, which is now the main building of the University of Tampa. However, you can visit the museum in one of the old wings of the hotel. The museum is named after the railroad magnate Henry B. Plant, who also constructed the Tampa Bay Hotel.
The museum offers a glimpse into the opulent lifestyle of the early 20th century. The former hotel building is a National Historic Landmark, where you can see Victorian architecture with lavish interiors. Various rooms in the wing display artifacts from the old hotel, which often were bought by Henry B. Plant themselves on trips to Europe. The exhibitions in the museum show much of the period history of Tampa’s booming years from the 1880s to the 1930s, where Tampa Bay Hotel had to close following the Great Depression.
Tampa City Hall is a historic landmark, which was completed in the heart of the city in 1915. The building was designed by the architectural firm Bonfoey & Elliott. It was built on land that had been occupied by an 1842 residence, which was moved to preserve it, and after inauguration it served as Tampa’s municipal administration.
The clock tower is a notable architectural feature. It was a result of Hortense Oppenheimer’s campaign to provide the city with a municipal clock. Her efforts, along with contributions, resulted in the installation of a four-faced clock. The building design features a mix of architectural elements that give it a unique and distinguished appearance besides the clock tower.
The use of Doric columns and terracotta details adds a classical touch to the city hall facade, and the appearance is enhanced by the surrounding balustrade. The building is ten stories tall, which was a prominent height in Tampa in 1915. Today, the beautiful building is dwarfed by the moderne highrises in downtown Tampa, which reflect the development since then.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a beautiful church that was built between 1900 and 1905 in a Romanesque-style. The church is a significant construction in the streets of downtown Tampa with the impressing facade and grand dome. The first Catholic parish on Florida’s West Coast was established in 1860, and then first church stood where Sacred Heart Catholic Church was built.
The huge construction was built in the years of fast growing Tampa, which made the old church too small. The architect was Nicholas J. Clayton from Galveston in Texas. Granite and marble was used for the structure which includes a dome, solid oak pews and doors, porcelain tiles, and a Carrara marble altar. When entering the church, you can enjoy the 70 stained glass windows, which were designed and manufactured by Franz Mayer & Co. from Munich in Germany.
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is a recreational oasis along the Hillsborough River just west of downtown Tampa. It is a great place to meet, relax and enjoy Tampa’s waterfront. The great lawn with sloped and terraced edges gives panoramic views and access to playgrounds, splash pods, a dog park and the two modern museums at the park, Tampa Museum of Art and Glazer Children’s Museum.
The waterfront park makes a nice opportunity to get a glimpse of Tampa’s history in architecture. The park overlooks Plant Hall, the former Tampa Bay Hotel, which is across the river, and downtown Tampa to the other side is formed by both heritage buildings and highrises. From the park you can also access the Tampa Riverwalk, which is a more than 4 km pedestrian trail along the Hillsborough River.
Tampa Museum of Art is an art museum in downtown Tampa with a great location on the northern edge of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The museum opened as the Tampa Museum of Fine Arts in 1920, and the collections grew through the years making the original museum building too small. The grand opening of the present museum took place in 2010.
The building is like a work of art itself with the aluminum exterior with glass and fiber optic color-changing lights. It was designed by the South Africa-born architect Stanley Saitowitz. The interior is more neutral focusing on being a frame from showing art. The collections are varied, and the museum exhibits modern and contemporary art, as well as Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities.
Glazer Children’s Museum is a museum for kids of all ages in downtown Tampa at the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The mission of the museum is to create play and learn experiences for children and families, and it makes the museum a popular place for locals and visitors alike.
There are loads of things to do in the modern museum building. Among the exhibits is Big John, Big John, which is a triceratops fossil. You can also learn the value of money and pay for supplies at the central bank area, build a fort, drive a fire engine through Tampa, play with light and sound and much more.
American Victory Ship & Museum is a maritime museum with the SS American Victory as the centerpiece. The ship is a so-called victory ship, and it entered service during the final months of World War II. It was built in 1945 and served in the American wars in Korea and Vietnam before being in reserve until 1999.
Following extensive overhaul, the ship got a fully operational status in 2003 and included on the National Register of Historic Places. You can board the SS American Victory and do a tour yourself to explore the interesting ship and to look at the exhibits. They also include other artifacts and stories than the history of the victory ship.
Tampa Riverwalk is a pedestrian trail along the Hillsborough River in central Tampa. The riverwalk is a bit more than 4 km in length, and it passes many of the sights of Tampa as well as providing great views at the city waterfront.
Earlier on, the areas along the water consisted of aging warehouses and industrial facilities, but the idea of an open space for the public arose in the 1970s. The result became Tampa Riverwalk which now connect hotels, sights and more with easy access in the downtown area.
You can stroll the riverwalk just to enjoy the views and atmosphere, and along the way you can learn about Tampa history. The Historical Monuments Trail is a line of bronze and marble busts and monuments, which tell the story of many noteworthy people and the significant events that have shaped the history of Tampa and Hillsborough County.
The Florida Aquarium is an aquarium in the heart of Tampa with a location with the central part of the city waterfront. The aquarium opened in 1995 and is now home to thousands aquatic plants and animals from Florida and all over the world.
There are spectacular exhibits in Florida Aquarium where you can follow the journey of a drop of water from a Florida fresh-water spring to the waters of Gulf of Mexico including the marine environments formed by the water. You can experience wetlands, beaches, coral reefs and other parts of the ecosystem.
The now former federal courthouse in downtown Tampa was built 1902-1905 and designed by James Knox Taylor, who was supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury Department. Thereby the courthouse is the oldest significant building in Tampa originally designed for government use. It was originally a combined post office and customs house, but was converted into a courthouse in 1984.
The design style was classic beaux-arts, and the courthouse radiates formality and simplicity through the architecture. Columns flank the entrance to the building which was disused in 1998 when the Federal Courts moved to a new building. Since then, this more than a century old historic Federal Courthouse has been transformed into a one of a kind hotel.
Tampa Union Station is an Amtrak railroad station in the city of Tampa. It was opened in 1912 with eight tracks after the Atlantic Coast Line takeover of the railway system of Henry B. Plant ten years earlier. The station was designed by architect Joseph F. Leitner in Italian Renaissance style.
Various famous trains as the West Coast Champion, South Wind and the Silver Meteor served Tampa Union Station, and in 1971 Amtrak took over the nation’s passenger rail services. The station was closed in 1984 and reopened in 1998. The city of Tampa has been the owner of the terminal since 1999.
Hillsborough County Courthouse er a large courthouse constructed in 1952 at a prominent location in downtown Tampa. It was constructed of marble, terrazzo and Florida limestone among other materials in a design with Classicist inspiration.
The architect Richard Hines designed the courthouse. An interesting architectural feature of the courthouse is an inlaid terrazzo map of Hillsborough County, which is located in the lobby. The grand scale edifice replaced the earlier and much smaller Hillsborough County Courthouse fra 1892 which was demolished in 1953.
St. Petersburg is a city in the Tampa Bay area located southwest of the larger city of Tampa across Tampa Bay. St. Petersburg is a city with many interesting sights and a beautiful waterfront location. The city was founded in the late 19th century. It was established by John C. Williams, who purchased the land in 1876, and Peter Demens, who brought the Orange Belt Railway to the area in 1888.
The new city was named after Saint Petersburg in Russia, where Demens had spent part of his youth. St. Petersburg rapidly developed as a resort area with the city waterfront and pleasant climate. Economy developed with seafood shipping from 1899, and in 1914 St. Petersburg was the site of the world’s first scheduled commercial airline flight with a link to nearby Tampa. Through the 1900s, St. Petersburg grew as a popular retirement and tourist destination.
Read more about St. Petersburg
Clearwater is a city located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Today’s Clearwater was originally home to the Tocobaga people, and in 1835 the US Army established Fort Harrison here. The fort was located on a bluff overlooking the water. The area’s population grew after the Federal Armed Occupation Act of 1842, where you could get land if you wanted to bear arms and farm the land. The settlement grew, and in 1849 the first road between Clearwater and nearby Tampa was built.
There is a cozy town center in Clearwater, which is not least known today as a resort with a mild climate and lovely beaches. The beaches are in Clearwater Beach, which is located on Caladesi Island west of the city of Clearwater. Here you can relax on kilometers of sandy beaches, and you can also visit Caladesi Island State Park. In the park there are beaches, sand dunes, mangrove forests and a rich wildlife. From the area, you can take a short trip to Honeymoon Island, where more nature awaits in Honeymoon Island State Park.
Sarasota is a charming city on the Florida Gulf Coast. It is a destination known for its stunning beaches, and rich architectural heritage. Sarasota’s history dates back to the early 1800s when it was first settled, and the city saw significant growth during the Florida Land Boom of the 1920s, attracting wealthy developers and visionaries like John and Charles Ringling of the Ringling Brothers Circus. Their influence helped shape Sarasota into a cultural and architectural hub that locals and tourists enjoy today.
One of Sarasota’s most iconic buildings is Ca’ d’Zan, the opulent mansion built by John Ringling in the mid-1920s. This Mediterranean Revival-style masterpiece features intricate details and a breathtaking Venetian Gothic Revival exterior. Originally built in 1926, the Sarasota Opera House is a stunning example of Moorish and Mediterranean Revival architecture. It has been meticulously restored and continues to host world-class performances.
Orlando is a city in central Florida, which is known as one of the United States’ great entertainment cities. In the urban area, there are just over 2.5 million inhabitants, making Orlando one of the state’s largest cities. In addition, all visitors to the city make it one of the world’s most popular travel destinations.
You can experience many of the world’s most famous theme parks and amusement parks in Orlando. For example, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and LEGOLAND all attract many visitors year-round. In addition, you can visit aquariums, zoos, science centers and almost all the activities you can dream of. All of this is possible in Orlando.
Tampa, Florida[/caption]
Overview of Tampa
Tampa is a large city on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. Its history dates to 1824, when Fort Brooke was established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River. It happened after the American purchase of Florida from Spain in 1821. The settlement that eventually became Tampa arose in the area just north of the fort, and which today is in the metropolitan area of Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.
Tampa is today a city known as a tourist resort with its beautiful location on the gulf. There are several things to see and do in the city, where the center is dominated by modern high-rise buildings. In downtown, there are quite a few architectural highlights and interesting museums. You can also take a walk along the Hillsborough River and Garrison Channel along the Tampa Riverwalk, where you can enjoy views of the water and the city.
When you take a walk downtown, you can see the city hall of Tampa, which was built in 1915, and the Tampa Theater from 1926. The theater was built and decorated as a so-called atmospheric theater in a Mediterranean-inspired style. You can also visit several museums such as the Tampa Museum of Art and the Glazer Children’s Museum, both of which are located at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, which is a lovely recreational area along the Hillborough River.
About the Tampa travel guide
Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
Published: Released soon
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.com
Language: English
About the travel guide
The Tampa travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the American city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Tampa is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Tampa and the United States
United States Travel Guide: https://vamados.com/usa
City tourism: https://visittam-pa.com
Main Page: https://www.vamados.com/
Buy the travel guide
Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.
Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Tampa you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.
Tampa Theatre is a historic theatre and a landmark building in downtown Tampa. It was designed as a so-called atmospheric theatre-style movie palace where the grand interior resembles a Mediterranean courtyard at night, and the design is complete with flowers, twinkling stars and clouds above the visitors.
The movie palace opened in 1926, and it was designed by John Eberson, who was nicknamed Opera House John as he designed more than theatres. There are remaining examples in the atmospheric style created by Eberson throughout the United States as well as abroad in i.e. Paris, Melbourne and Sydney. Tampa Theatre is a great example of the style which is not easy to see from the street.
In 1973, Tampa Theatre faced demolition, but citizens rallied and involved the city, and the iconic theatre was saved and reopened in 1978. The venue hosts movies, concerts and a lot of other events. There is a Wurlitzer organ in the theatre, which was the first commercial building in Tampa to offer air conditioning.
Henry B. Plant Museum is a museum located in the former grand resort Tampa Bay Hotel, which is now the main building of the University of Tampa. However, you can visit the museum in one of the old wings of the hotel. The museum is named after the railroad magnate Henry B. Plant, who also constructed the Tampa Bay Hotel.
The museum offers a glimpse into the opulent lifestyle of the early 20th century. The former hotel building is a National Historic Landmark, where you can see Victorian architecture with lavish interiors. Various rooms in the wing display artifacts from the old hotel, which often were bought by Henry B. Plant themselves on trips to Europe. The exhibitions in the museum show much of the period history of Tampa’s booming years from the 1880s to the 1930s, where Tampa Bay Hotel had to close following the Great Depression.
Tampa City Hall is a historic landmark, which was completed in the heart of the city in 1915. The building was designed by the architectural firm Bonfoey & Elliott. It was built on land that had been occupied by an 1842 residence, which was moved to preserve it, and after inauguration it served as Tampa’s municipal administration.
The clock tower is a notable architectural feature. It was a result of Hortense Oppenheimer’s campaign to provide the city with a municipal clock. Her efforts, along with contributions, resulted in the installation of a four-faced clock. The building design features a mix of architectural elements that give it a unique and distinguished appearance besides the clock tower.
The use of Doric columns and terracotta details adds a classical touch to the city hall facade, and the appearance is enhanced by the surrounding balustrade. The building is ten stories tall, which was a prominent height in Tampa in 1915. Today, the beautiful building is dwarfed by the moderne highrises in downtown Tampa, which reflect the development since then.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a beautiful church that was built between 1900 and 1905 in a Romanesque-style. The church is a significant construction in the streets of downtown Tampa with the impressing facade and grand dome. The first Catholic parish on Florida’s West Coast was established in 1860, and then first church stood where Sacred Heart Catholic Church was built.
The huge construction was built in the years of fast growing Tampa, which made the old church too small. The architect was Nicholas J. Clayton from Galveston in Texas. Granite and marble was used for the structure which includes a dome, solid oak pews and doors, porcelain tiles, and a Carrara marble altar. When entering the church, you can enjoy the 70 stained glass windows, which were designed and manufactured by Franz Mayer & Co. from Munich in Germany.
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is a recreational oasis along the Hillsborough River just west of downtown Tampa. It is a great place to meet, relax and enjoy Tampa’s waterfront. The great lawn with sloped and terraced edges gives panoramic views and access to playgrounds, splash pods, a dog park and the two modern museums at the park, Tampa Museum of Art and Glazer Children’s Museum.
The waterfront park makes a nice opportunity to get a glimpse of Tampa’s history in architecture. The park overlooks Plant Hall, the former Tampa Bay Hotel, which is across the river, and downtown Tampa to the other side is formed by both heritage buildings and highrises. From the park you can also access the Tampa Riverwalk, which is a more than 4 km pedestrian trail along the Hillsborough River.
Tampa Museum of Art is an art museum in downtown Tampa with a great location on the northern edge of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The museum opened as the Tampa Museum of Fine Arts in 1920, and the collections grew through the years making the original museum building too small. The grand opening of the present museum took place in 2010.
The building is like a work of art itself with the aluminum exterior with glass and fiber optic color-changing lights. It was designed by the South Africa-born architect Stanley Saitowitz. The interior is more neutral focusing on being a frame from showing art. The collections are varied, and the museum exhibits modern and contemporary art, as well as Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities.
Glazer Children’s Museum is a museum for kids of all ages in downtown Tampa at the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The mission of the museum is to create play and learn experiences for children and families, and it makes the museum a popular place for locals and visitors alike.
There are loads of things to do in the modern museum building. Among the exhibits is Big John, Big John, which is a triceratops fossil. You can also learn the value of money and pay for supplies at the central bank area, build a fort, drive a fire engine through Tampa, play with light and sound and much more.
American Victory Ship & Museum is a maritime museum with the SS American Victory as the centerpiece. The ship is a so-called victory ship, and it entered service during the final months of World War II. It was built in 1945 and served in the American wars in Korea and Vietnam before being in reserve until 1999.
Following extensive overhaul, the ship got a fully operational status in 2003 and included on the National Register of Historic Places. You can board the SS American Victory and do a tour yourself to explore the interesting ship and to look at the exhibits. They also include other artifacts and stories than the history of the victory ship.
Tampa Riverwalk is a pedestrian trail along the Hillsborough River in central Tampa. The riverwalk is a bit more than 4 km in length, and it passes many of the sights of Tampa as well as providing great views at the city waterfront.
Earlier on, the areas along the water consisted of aging warehouses and industrial facilities, but the idea of an open space for the public arose in the 1970s. The result became Tampa Riverwalk which now connect hotels, sights and more with easy access in the downtown area.
You can stroll the riverwalk just to enjoy the views and atmosphere, and along the way you can learn about Tampa history. The Historical Monuments Trail is a line of bronze and marble busts and monuments, which tell the story of many noteworthy people and the significant events that have shaped the history of Tampa and Hillsborough County.
The Florida Aquarium is an aquarium in the heart of Tampa with a location with the central part of the city waterfront. The aquarium opened in 1995 and is now home to thousands aquatic plants and animals from Florida and all over the world.
There are spectacular exhibits in Florida Aquarium where you can follow the journey of a drop of water from a Florida fresh-water spring to the waters of Gulf of Mexico including the marine environments formed by the water. You can experience wetlands, beaches, coral reefs and other parts of the ecosystem.
The now former federal courthouse in downtown Tampa was built 1902-1905 and designed by James Knox Taylor, who was supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury Department. Thereby the courthouse is the oldest significant building in Tampa originally designed for government use. It was originally a combined post office and customs house, but was converted into a courthouse in 1984.
The design style was classic beaux-arts, and the courthouse radiates formality and simplicity through the architecture. Columns flank the entrance to the building which was disused in 1998 when the Federal Courts moved to a new building. Since then, this more than a century old historic Federal Courthouse has been transformed into a one of a kind hotel.
Tampa Union Station is an Amtrak railroad station in the city of Tampa. It was opened in 1912 with eight tracks after the Atlantic Coast Line takeover of the railway system of Henry B. Plant ten years earlier. The station was designed by architect Joseph F. Leitner in Italian Renaissance style.
Various famous trains as the West Coast Champion, South Wind and the Silver Meteor served Tampa Union Station, and in 1971 Amtrak took over the nation’s passenger rail services. The station was closed in 1984 and reopened in 1998. The city of Tampa has been the owner of the terminal since 1999.
Hillsborough County Courthouse er a large courthouse constructed in 1952 at a prominent location in downtown Tampa. It was constructed of marble, terrazzo and Florida limestone among other materials in a design with Classicist inspiration.
The architect Richard Hines designed the courthouse. An interesting architectural feature of the courthouse is an inlaid terrazzo map of Hillsborough County, which is located in the lobby. The grand scale edifice replaced the earlier and much smaller Hillsborough County Courthouse fra 1892 which was demolished in 1953.
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