By Melanie Henderson
Located inside the State Fairgrounds is a unique historical museum called Cracker Country.There you will find a charming variety of buildings that tell the story of Florida’s rural history, the Florida Crackers. The Terry Store was one of many…

By Kalin Velez
Founded in 1920, the Tampa Museum of Art has gone through many name changes throughout the century. Originally the Tampa Museum of Fine Arts, the museum has educated generations of visitors and served as a staple of Tampa museum culture. Formerly a…

By John Holton
L’Unione Italiana, or The Italian Club, was founded in 1894 as a mutual-aid society for its Italian members. Its first president, Bartolo Filogamo, was the first Italian cigar manufacturer. When it started, the club had only 107 members. By November…

By Aaron Lewis
Of all the states in the Confederacy, Florida was one of the least touched by direct conflict throughout the war. Florida was mostly blockaded due to its long coastline and proximity to trade routes to the Caribbean. Early in the war, many in…

By J. W. Rae
November 25th, 1968. The Federal Bureau of Investigation receives a teletype message labeled URGENT from Agent O’Flaherty in Tampa, Florida. The message informs of an upcoming demonstration being planned by an organization known as “Bay Area…

By Shana Michaud
The Port of Tampa has come to find worldwide recognition as an important port for commerce and trade. Yet, the Port of Tampa we know today is not the original Port of Tampa. The creation of the original Port Tampa can be traced back to the…

By Shana Michaud
A group called The Friends of Plant Park works to restore and maintain the park that was once the grounds and gardens of the former Tampa Bay Hotel. For example, the remarkable De Soto Oak that stands just at the edge of Plant Park, close to…

By Shana Michaud
Henry B. Plant was named the “King of Florida” in Success magazine in 1898 because of the growth and prosperity he brought to the state of Florida. The outbreak of the Civil War provided Plant with an opportunity to buy out the southern lines…

By Erin Chisholm
In 1926, the crown jewel theatre of America, also known as the Tampa Theatre, was built. The renowned theatre architect John Eberson created the unique design for the theatre. The Tampa Bay Theatre defines his work as “atmospheric ”. When guests…