The Tampa Bay History Center is more than a mere repository for historical facts. Functioning as a liaison between the past and the present, the museum honors our community’s character and heritage, stirring the spirit of adventure found in all its visitors with the generations of stories it has to tell.

Step inside the new, 60,000-square-foot History Center in Tampa’s bustling Channelside district and take a journey through 12,000 years of powerful stories. Follow in the footsteps of the first native inhabitants, Spanish conquistadors, pioneers, presidents, sports legends and railroad tycoons. Stroll through a 1920’s-era cigar store. Explore exhibits about the places and people who shaped the Tampa Bay area. The four-floor History Center boasts a stunning atrium, interactive and immersive exhibits, theaters, map gallery, research center, event hall, museum store and the internationally acclaimed Columbia Cafe. The history of the Tampa Bay region comes alive within these walls.

The Tampa Bay History Center is a non-profit educational institution in downtown Tampa, Florida that seeks to preserve and teach the remarkable history of the Tampa Bay area. The Tampa Bay History Center is a 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation and is funded in part by: Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, The City of Tampa and The State of Florida Division of Historic Resources.

We Shall Meet the Challenge

“…no time should be lost in snatching the historical artifacts from the waste and death of oblivion… Who shall do it?”

Judge Joseph G. Knapp

Sunland Tribune, January 19, 1882

The first call for a history museum in this region occurred in 1882. It was another 116 years before a serious effort began to bring this project to life.  The Tampa Bay history Center is now a reality  – the site selected –  the endowment funding nearly complete --  construction begun- and the grand opening of this great community resource is scheduled for December 2008.  

In 1986, Hillsborough County’s Commissioners created the Historical Museum Task Force to make this project happen and committed $17-million in Community Investment Tax (CIT) funds.  The Tampa Bay History Center grew from that task force with the exciting mission to educate visitors about the important history that continues to shape the Tampa Bay area.  The City of Tampa, together with the Florida Communities Trust, made available the beautiful 2.4 acre waterfront site in downtown Tampa.   

The Tampa Bay History Center, located near the historically important Fort Brooke, 60,000 square feet will bring to life 500 years of recorded history and 12,000 years of human habitation in this region.  Native Americans and Spanish conquistadors, pioneer settlers and cigar workers, immigrants and cowboys, military and sports heroes, civil rights leaders and entrepreneurs will come to life in meaningful ways to enhance our understanding and appreciation of modern-day Tampa Bay. 

The History Center contributes significant value to our greater community through artifact preservation and the celebration of our regional heritage and national character.  Dynamic and innovative exhibits and educational programs will address the national crisis in education and citizenship.  Lectures, seminars, publications and research will educate and inspire across generations and cultures. Interactive and hands-on learning opportunities abound in the facility, allowing visitors to experience history in new ways.

An academic partnership has been established with the University of South Florida – funded by a $4 million endowment ($2 million from History Center private sector donors and $2 million in matching funds form the State of Florida).  The endowment’s income underwrites public education programs and activities designed jointly by the History Center and the Florida Studies center based at the USF Library, the University of Tampa and Hillsborough Community College.  

As part of this very successful public-private partnership with Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, the local education community and the private sector, the History Center is successfully forging a major cultural institution.  It will serve the residents of the Tampa Bay region and be a destination attraction for our active tourism industry.  

Tampa Bay History Center Building Specs

• The Tampa Bay History Center will be one of the biggest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings in Tampa and will be the first Hillsborough County-owned LEED building.
• The four-story building will total 60,000 square feet.
  o Ground level will offer 34 covered parking spaces.
  o First floor will house permanent exhibits, the Columbia Café, museum store, 65-seat theater, and a 2,767-square-foot event hall available for special events.
  o Second floor will house permanent exhibits, classrooms, a research library and map center.
  o Third floor will feature temporary exhibits and History Center staff offices.

Explore the Tampa Bay History Center

• The museum will open with 10 permanent exhibits
• Exhibits include focus areas on Seminole history, Spanish Exploration, Tampa Bay’s role in war, Tampa’s cigar industry, times of social change, and how the recreation, citrus and cattle industries shaped our lifestyle and economy.
• The exhibits will explore approximately 500 years of recorded history and 12,000 years of human habitation in the approximately 24-county region known as Old Hillsborough.
• The Tampa Bay History Center Collection contains more than 30,000 artifacts.
• Visitors will have the opportunity to contribute to the museum through the “Your Tampa Bay” and “Witness to History” exhibits.
• Hands-on activities include creating citrus labels and cattle brands, the Tiny Tampa Bay mini-port, planning tours in the Tampa Bay area, and replicating Seminole fabric and weaving arts.

History of the Tampa Bay History Center

• The Tampa Bay History Center grew out of a Historical Museum task force created by Hillsborough County’s Board of County Commissioners in 1986
• The City of Tampa and the Florida Communities Trust donated the 2.4-acre tract of waterfront property for the construction of the new museum.
• The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners designated $17 million of Community Investment Tax funds in 1998 for planning and construction.
• Tampa Bay History Center trustees have committed to raising an additional $32 million for construction and endowment.
• The contractor, Walbridge Aldinger, has set up a public webcam  for visitors to witness history in the making.
• Grand Opening is scheduled for December 2008.

Tampa Bay History Center Permanent Exhibits -A Place of Our Own
A replica of a classic Florida grove stand provides a colorful tribute to the citrus industry’s importance in Tampa Bay.  Visitors can peruse a wide variety of “Floridiana” and enjoy the unique look and feel of mid-century orange crate label art and souvenir items.  This fun display includes a design-your-own citrus label activity where guests can select from classic art components and add a city and brand name to create one-of-a-kind art that can be e-mailed home or to friends from the museum. 

Kids can learn through the hands-on Tiny Tampa Bay play area, an interactive miniature replica of the port.  They can move ships and cargo in and out of the bay and unload cargo to learn about the industry.

 Cartographic Center
Map enthusiasts, historians, residents and visitors alike will marvel at the breadth of historical map material to be featured in the center.  The changes they illustrate in both the understanding of our geographic area and the development of it are both stunning and noteworthy.  Located on the second floor, the collection will be one of the largest private collections of antique Florida maps.

Cigar City
One of the three principal themes explored on the museum’s first floor, the 2,500-square-foot “Cigar City” exhibit, will tell a major story in a dynamic way.  Cigar manufacturing made a huge economic impact in Tampa and was the city’s largest industry for a while, influencing the business culture in ways still felt today.

Visitors will go back in time as they walk into a reconstructed, turn-of-the-century cigar store, full of the colorful and classic posters, boxes and promotional items that were used in marketing. A film will share first-person stories of people who worked in the cigar industry, spoken in their own voices to get a true sense of the cultural depth that energized the area. 

The cigar business lifted the city from financial ruin following the Civil War and post-hurricane reconstruction and brought together workers from Spanish, Cuban, Italian and Sicilian backgrounds who then built a vibrant community here.  These groups formed a culture that would forever change the city of Tampa and the surrounding region.  Their legacy is seen today in music, architecture and the social clubs that were central to their lives.

Additional exhibits will educate visitors about the cigar-making process, an overall history of industry in Tampa, mutual aid societies, and labor issues. 

Cotanchobee
People shape the land and the land shapes the people.  “Cotanchobee,” the Seminole word meaning “where the big water meets the land,” perfectly describes the estuary system that has carved the landscape in Tampa Bay for thousands of years.  The gallery outside the main theater on the first floor will establish this sense of place, positioning visitors in the landscape for their journey through the museum.  Though the estuary is timeless, it has provided resources, sustenance, transportation and commerce, and is the setting for thousands of years of undocumented human habitation. 

The trip through time begins with the native peoples, such as the Uzita, Mocoso, Pohoy and Tocabaga, profiled in this gallery through their artifacts—tangible reminders of the area’s indigenous cultures.  Of special interest are two dugout canoes used by early Native Americans to traverse the waters of the estuary system.

Cowmen & Crackers
       Many early Tampa residents can trace their heritage back to cattle ranching, a tradition that began when Juan Ponce de Leon brought a herd of Andalusian cattle to Florida in 1521.  By the 1700s, the Spanish “vaqueros,” or cattle tenders, had established cattle ranges throughout much of Old Hillsborough.  Because they used whips instead of ropes for herding, these early cowboys were called “crackers.”   Today, the term “Florida Cracker” is used to indicate a family that has lived in Florida for many generations.  This rich heritage and lifestyle is part and parcel of the area history and comes alive through pictures, artifacts and colorful characters from the range.        Visitors can experience the cattle drive by climbing into spring-loaded saddle seats in the theatre and bouncing along with the herd.  Benches will be available for those who want a more sedate cattle drive.  A hands-on creative area allows guests to use classic brand elements to create their own magnetic “branding iron” and mark the herd as their own.

Seminole & Miccosukee Story
       Every metropolitan area has a story that came before, and the Seminole story involves many voices and perspectives.  History Center visitors will travel through a series of interconnected galleries to encounter the history and culture of Florida’s original residents as well as move through historically significant times of conflict.  The Seminole Wars spanned more than 40 years, from 1817 to 1858, and had enduring political and cultural effects that were felt throughout the country.  Many of the United States’ developing policies toward Native Americans and other non-Europeans grew from these conflicts and were at the forefront of our country’s civil liberties challenges.

The Seminole culture is famous for its colorful weaving and patchwork fabric designs.  Visitors will have the opportunity to replicate classic designs or create their own in a hands-on, finger-weaving and patchwork exhibit.        The main object gallery will feature artifacts from the Charles L. Knight Collection, including clothing, jewelry, baskets, dolls, toys and tools. 

Spanish Exploration Theater
The Spanish “discoveries” of the Americas in the 1500s began an age of exploration and commerce that forever changed the world.  Some of the earliest meetings between Europeans and Native Americans actually occurred in the Tampa Bay area, with men like Pánfilo de Narváez and Hernando de Soto using it as a gateway for exploration of this new world.    

These first moments of contact between European explorers and Native Americans are powerfully recreated in the theater using multiple projection surfaces, surround sound and dramatic lighting.  This unique and moving presentation engages the newest techniques to tell the oldest story in our country’s history.  

War Stories
Given its geographic location, the Tampa Bay area has played a critical role in the country’s military strategy many times.  American military presence began in the Tampa Bay area with the founding of Fort Brooke in 1824.  Named for Col. George Mercer Brooke, the fort served as a base for the United States Army during the Second Seminole War and as the point of embarkation for Seminoles destined for the Indian Territory in Oklahoma.  Tampa Bay also served as a staging area for the invasion of Cuba during the Spanish-American War, a ship-building center during World Wars I and II, and a key training ground for World War II bomber pilots. 

Tampa Bay’s past and present military experience is told by connecting the similarities of the effects of war on individuals throughout the years.  The similarities of personal stories are highlighted in a unique and poignant way.

A unique interactive aspect of this gallery is the object timeline.  Visitors can slide the video screen along the rail by the timeline.  When an object is reached, the visitor can choose to get more in-depth information, pictures and stories about the object via the screen, or move on to the next piece. 

Witness to Change
       How history has played out in the media over the years illustrates the evolution of our area, from Native American conflict, land use issues and voting rights to segregation, civil rights and gillnetting in more recent years.  A display of newspaper headlines, timelines and artifacts will stir memories and personal stories. Behind the displays, a photo and oral history montage of light and sound will highlight what others have experienced in their time of growing up and living in Tampa Bay. Visitors can write their own memories and reflections on white boards in this gallery, and some of these will be captured and shared as part of Tampa Bay’s ongoing story.  

Year-Round Play
From professional sports to little league, the Tampa Bay area has been a destination for recreation since it became a major hub for spring training in the early 1900s.  Combined with major fairs and festivals such as Gasparilla, the Florida State Fair and the Strawberry Festival, year-round recreation has created an aspect of the community rich with tradition. 

This gallery will highlight stories that bring characters alive from the area’s past and present professional teams, including the Rowdies, Bandits, Tampa Smokers, Buccaneers, Lightning, Rays and the many teams that called Tampa Bay home in the spring.  Uniforms, photographs and artifacts from such stars as Leroy Selmon and Al Lopez, along with a special display featuring Super Bowl games held in Tampa, will round out this area.

Your Tampa Bay
       As visitors arrive on the second floor, the first thing they will see is a 14’x7’ map projected onto a raised platform.  By using the interactive screens, they can visit and tour up to 10 different “hot spots” or sites in the area.  After selecting the Tampa Bay areas they would like to visit, their tour will play out on the whole screen allowing everyone to see it.  Visitors can follow the prescribed tour or create their own.  Tours can be e-mailed, allowing guests to hit the road at a later time with background information and maps to personally visit points of interest.

There is a great deal to see and do in the area, and the “Your Tampa Bay” tour highlights can be expanded.  Residents and visitors can contribute by providing information to the History Center, and these recommended points of interest will be added as tour options, providing an ever-expanding exhibit.

The Tampa Bay History Center is located at:

801 Old Water Street (formerly St. Pete Times Forum Drive) | Tampa, FL 33602
Ph: 813.228.009

For more information, please see:

http://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/