Perhaps Tampa’s best-known neighborhood, Ybor City chronicles the history of Tampa’s (and arguable Florida’s) immigrant experience and the local journey along the country’s economic roller coaster ride. “Founded in 1886 by Vicente Martinez Ybor, Ybor City became ‘the cigar capital of the world’ by 1900,’’ boasts the City of Tampa’s website. A thriving hub of tobacco manufacturing, it soon became home to a growing working class of immigrants from Spain and Cuba and Italy, as well as from Germany, Eastern Europe and China as entrepreneurs, restauranteurs and shopkeepers arrived to meet a growing community’s needs. That thriving pool of diverse talent created a living environment rich with an abundance of talent and innovation in architecture, dining, entertainment, social and civic organizations, housing and health care. It’s that image of American success and not the ups and downs in between that developers see today in their vision for the future of Ybor City as an attractive hub of live, work, play and stay spaces for creatives, artists, techies, foodies, designers, educators and innovators connecting Tampa’s Downtown, Port Tampa Bay and neighborhoods to the north and east.
Centro Asturiano de Tampa's cultural and immigrant roots stretch back over a century. The club's leadership wants to preserve that history and Centro Asturiano's historic clubhouse building in Ybor City.
A busy, banner year for Visit Tampa Bay includes volume two of "Tampa's Table" cookbook, more restaurants recognized in the Michelin Guide, a Tampa edition of Monopoly, a new cruise ship, booming convention business and record tourism development tax revenues.
Tampa is extending the Green Spine urban bicycle trail through Ybor City. Construction starts in August and should finish in late summer or fall 2025.
July has new exhibits at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Michael Murphy Gallery, Creative Pinellas, Tempus Projects, the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg and Stirling Art Studios & Gallery. Plus, Jobsite's presentation of "The Rocky Horror Show" at the Straz.
It's a big summer for Ybor City developer Darryl Shaw's vision of a walkable, mixed-use district with more residents, more shops and restaurants and more daytime and weekday activities.
Sky Pupping Brewing opens this summer in Ybor City's Casa Bomberos, a location with a lot of significance for owners Danielle and Matthew McKinnon.
The Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission is accepting entries for the 42nd annual Planning & Design Awards.
The Hillsborough County Transportation Planning Organization Board of Directors' annual vote to update a five-year plan of countywide transportation projects is Wednesday evening.
The June art scene has the Tampa International Fringe Festival in Ybor, a slew of Juneteenth and Pride Month events, the FMoPA International Photography Competition Exhibition at TIA, the Tampa Theatre's new screening room, a '53 Chrysler limo with wings, a busy Second Saturday ArtWalk and much, much more.
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