Downtown Tampa

Last updated
Downtown Tampa
Tampa Florida November 2013-2b.jpg
View of downtown to north, from the Embassy Terrace Hotel, at sunrise
USA Florida location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Downtown Tampa
Location within the state of Florida
Coordinates: 27°56′59″N82°27′23″W / 27.94972°N 82.45639°W / 27.94972; -82.45639
Country United States
State Florida
County Hillsborough
City Tampa
Government
  Mayor Jane Castor (D)
Population
 (2010)
  Total6,784 [1]
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
33602, 33606
View of downtown looking north, from Davis Islands overlooking Seddon Channel. Downtown Tampa overlooking Seddon Channel - Eric Statzer.jpg
View of downtown looking north, from Davis Islands overlooking Seddon Channel.

Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.

Contents

It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown include Bank of America, Frontier Communications, Marshall & Ilsley, PNC Financial Services, SunTrust, Sykes Enterprises, TECO Energy and Truist Financial. The Tampa Convention Center is located on the river.

Description

Downtown Tampa is bounded by the Hillsborough River to the west, Channelside to the east, Interstate 275 to the north, Davis Islands and Harbour Island to the south. The total area for the area is 521 acres (2.11 km2). [2] Historical Fort Brooke was located at the southern end of downtown Tampa, near the mouth of the Hillsborough River. The TECO Streetcar takes passengers from downtown to other core areas of Tampa. [3]

Arts and culture

Aquarium

Florida Aquarium Florida Aquarium Channelside.jpg
Florida Aquarium

The Florida Aquarium is a large scale, 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) aquarium and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The facility is home to more than 20,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and all over the world. The facility is located in the Channel District near the SS American Victory and the Port of Tampa's cruise terminals.

Museums

Florida Museum of Photographic Arts Florida Museum of Photographic Arts.jpg
Florida Museum of Photographic Arts
Glazer Children's Museum Glazer Children's Museum.jpg
Glazer Children's Museum
Henry B. Plant Museum Henry Plant Museum.jpg
Henry B. Plant Museum
Tampa Bay History Center Tampa Bay History Center 1.jpg
Tampa Bay History Center
Tampa Museum of Art Tampa Museum of Art.jpg
Tampa Museum of Art

Performing arts

The Straz Center, formerly called Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (TBPAC) Tbpac.JPG
The Straz Center, formerly called Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (TBPAC)

The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors as the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa, Florida in July 1987 and has welcomed more than 10 million guests. The Straz Center is located in northern downtown on a 9-acre (36,000 m2) site along the east bank of the Hillsborough River. As the second largest performing arts complex in the Southeastern United States (behind the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts), the 335,000-square-foot (31,100 m2) venue provides an environment for a variety of events. It has a leading Broadway series, produces grand opera, is the home of the resident professional theater company Jobsite Theater, and also presents a wide variety of concerts and other events.

Theaters

Tampa Theater Tampa Theater.jpg
Tampa Theater

The Tampa Theatre a historic U.S. theater and city landmark in the Uptown District of downtown Tampa, Florida. On January 3, 1978, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Theatre features a wide range of independent, foreign, and documentary films on a daily basis. It is Tampa's only non-profit movie theater and operating costs are largely covered by its membership program, various corporate sponsors as well as ticket sales. It has periodically been used as a backdrop for movies, MTV videos and local programming.

Downtown Districts

Uptown District

Also known as the River Arts District, this northwestern chunk of downtown contains the majority of nightlife and dining in the neighborhood. Important cultural landmarks such as Tampa Theatre, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, the John F. Germany public library, Glazer Children's Museum, and the Tampa Museum of Art are all centered around Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, which has been called "Tampa's town square". [5] Collectively, this area represents the focal point of downtown proper due to having a large concentration of interest points and establishments. [6]

Channel District

Although technically downtown, Channelside is often thought to be adjacent to the main CBD. This district is the location for many prominent downtown venues. The Tampa Convention Center, Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay History Center, the Florida Aquarium and the SS American Victory are located in the Channel District. Twin 30 story condos were completed in 2007, called the Towers of Channelside. Many other residential mid and high-rises have been completed since. [7] Many locals know the Channel District (often abbreviated to Channelside in local parlance) for its nightlife. The Channelside Bay Plaza, which has views of the downtown skyline, is located in the middle of the district. [8] Entrepreneurs have founded companies that operate NEVs to shuttle clubgoers to/from Channelside and Tampa's other core districts: Hyde Park, SoHo, Downtown, and Ybor City. [9] [10]

University Area

The University area is the city's educational hub and is the location of The University of Tampa a medium-sized private co-educational university. Making up the City's western boundary and located just across the Hillsborough River from downtown the university is home to 6,900 students.

Encore

The northern half of downtown is undergoing huge construction projects including retail, condos, and a large grocery store. The district, which will fill the gray zone between Downtown and Historic Ybor, will be called "Encore" and will be a "city within a city". [11] [12] [13] A stimulus grant amounting $38 million was secured to help fund the project, the remaining to be derived from private funding. It is expected to create thousands of jobs for the area including at least 1,000 permanent ones. [14] [15] [16] The district is being created with its African-American heritage in mind, having been built over the site of the former Central Avenue Business District and later Central Park housing project.

Riverwalk

The Riverwalk alongside Curtis Hixon Park Tampa architectural photos 256.jpg
The Riverwalk alongside Curtis Hixon Park

The Tampa Riverwalk is a 2.4 mile long walking and biking trail that winds along the edge of Tampa's downtown, running along the Hillsborough River and the Garrison Channel from the Channel District on the southeast end to Waterworks Park to the northwest. The Riverwalk's wide pathways, boardwalks, and bridges connect most of Tampa's waterfront parks, attractions, sports and entertainment venues, and hotels, including the Tampa Convention Center, Amalie Arena, the Straz Center, and many others. [17]

The idea for the Riverwalk was first proposed by mayor Bill Poe in the mid-1970s as a way to redevelop Tampa's downtown waterfront, which had long been dominated by large warehouses, port facilities, and other industrial uses. The project was initiated in 1976 with a short walkway of wooden planks behind old Curtis Hixon Hall. However, funding and interest waned, and the project stalled for almost 30 years until mayor Pam Iorio made completing the project a city priority upon taking office in 2003. Construction began in phases in the mid-2000s, and the originally planned Riverwalk was completed in 2016, with further extensions to be added on both ends. The total cost of the completed project will be about $32 million, with most of the funds coming the city of Tampa along with a $11 million grant from the United States Department of Transportation. [18]

Hotels and accommodations

Downtown Tampa has 9 hotels located throughout the downtown core that create a total of 2,791 rooms. [19] Major hotels in downtown are:

The following are boutique hotels:

Transportation

Street Car at Franklin and Whiting Street Trolley at Franklin and Whiting Street.jpg
Street Car at Franklin and Whiting Street

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) operates Tampa's public transportation. HART operates many bus lines through downtown and also operates the TECO Line Streetcar, a 2.7 mile streetcar line that extends from central downtown through Channelside and into Ybor. HART's main hub, the Marion Transit Center is located in the north end of downtown and is serviced by 30 local and express routes and a future stop for HART's MetroRapid Green Line.

See also


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Tampa is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County. With an estimated population of 398,173 in 2022, Tampa is the 49th most populous city in the country and the 3rd most populous city in Florida after Jacksonville and Miami.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Bay area</span> Region in Florida, United States

The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 17th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 3,175,275 as of the 2020 U.S. Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel District</span> Neighborhood in Florida, United States

Channel District is a residential neighborhood in the City of Tampa that includes an entertainment complex, just east of Downtown Tampa, Florida. It is bordered by Ybor Channel on the east and Garrison Channel on the south. Channelside is a nickname for the entertainment complex Channelside Bay Plaza, within the neighborhood that includes shops, restaurants, and bars. It is located next to the Florida Aquarium, American Victory Museum, Port Tampa Bay and a short stretch on the Tampa Riverwalk to the Tampa Bay History Center. Also located in the district is the Amalie Arena where the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning play their home games. The Arena also hosts concerts and other events. The center of the Bay Plaza has a large open court for live music, with views of the downtown skyline, cruise ships and the Port of Tampa. It also houses a Sony Giant Screen theater. The TECO Streetcar has several stops in the district. Also, NEVs are being utilized by startups to link Tampa's core neighborhoods including Channelside. The Tampa Convention Center is located adjacent to the district to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TECO Line Streetcar</span> Streetcar line in Tampa, Florida, US

The TECO Line Streetcar is a heritage streetcar transit line in Tampa, Florida, run by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transportation Authority (HART), owned by the city of Tampa, and managed by Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc. It connects Downtown and Channelside to the historic Ybor City district. There is also an "In-Town" trolley-replica bus system that connects Downtown, Channelside, and Harbour Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrison Channel</span>

The Garrison Channel is one of several channels for boat traffic in and around the Port of Tampa in the City of Tampa, Florida. The Garrison Channel is anchored by the Channelside District on the East, leads to the Ybor and Sparkman Channel and by the Tampa Convention Center on its westside. It also leads itself to the Hillsborough River. The Garrison Channel is where the Waterside Marriott and Amalie Arena are located on the north bank, and Harbour Island is located at the south end of the Garrison Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Brooke</span> Human settlement in Florida, United States of America

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Tampa Bay</span> Sea port in Florida

Port Tampa Bay, known as the Port of Tampa until January 2014, is the largest port in the state of Florida and is overseen by the Tampa Port Authority, a Hillsborough County agency. The port is located in Tampa, Florida near downtown Tampa's Channel District. The port directly accesses Tampa Bay on the western coast of the Florida Suncoast, and is approximately 25 sea miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The port district includes parts of Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough River. The port serves container ships, tank ships, and cruise lines.

The modern history of Tampa, Florida, can be traced to the founding of Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in today's downtown in 1824, soon after the United States had taken possession of Florida from Spain. The outpost brought a small population of civilians to the area, and the town of Tampa was first incorporated in 1855.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis Hixon Hall</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Museum of Art</span> Art museum in Tampa, Florida

The Tampa Museum of Art is located in downtown Tampa, Florida. It exhibits modern and contemporary art, as well as Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. The museum was founded in 1979 and debuted an award-winning new building in 2010 just north of its original site along Tampa's Riverwalk on the banks of Hillsborough River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Tower (Tampa)</span> Skyscraper located in downtown Tampa, Florida, US

Park Tower is a skyscraper located in downtown Tampa, Florida. It is Tampa's first high-rise tower. At the time of its completion in November 1973, it was the tallest in Florida, and is currently sixth-tallest in Tampa, at 460 feet (140 m). It was the tallest building in Tampa until One Tampa City Center was built in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Convention Center</span>

The Tampa Convention Center is a mid-sized convention center located in downtown Tampa, Florida at the mouth of the Hillsborough River. It has both waterfront views of Tampa Bay and views of the city's skyline. Harbour Island is across the eponymous bridge on the other side of the Garrison Channel. The center is connected to the neighboring Channelside District and Ybor City via the TECO Line Streetcar, which has a station across the street. The center opened in 1990 and encompasses 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) in total. It has a 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) exhibit hall, a ballroom capable of accommodating over 2,000 guests, and 36 meeting rooms that can be adjusted to various sizes. The facility hosts over 300 events per year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cityscape of Tampa, Florida</span>

The cityscape of Tampa includes historic and architecturally noteworthy structures in its downtown and residential areas. The Seminole Heights and Hyde Park neighborhoods are two of the largest historic preservation districts in Tampa.

Harbour Island is an island neighborhood within the city limits of Tampa, Florida and the sub-district within Downtown Tampa. The ZIP Code serving the area is 33602.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rivergate Tower</span> Skyscraper in Tampa, Florida

The Rivergate Tower, also known as the Sykes building or the Beer Can Building, is a 454-foot-tall (138 m) skyscraper in Tampa, Florida. The skyscraper is the seventh tallest building in Tampa with 31 floors. Rivergate Tower's principal tenant is Sykes Enterprises, a publicly-traded company that operates technical help and customer support centers internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glazer Children's Museum</span> Childrens museum in Tampa, Florida

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Riverwalk</span> Open space and pedestrian trail in Florida

The Tampa Riverwalk is a 2.6-mile-long (4.2 km) open space and pedestrian trail along the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. The Riverwalk extends along most of the downtown Tampa waterfront from the Channelside District on the eastern terminus to the mouth of the Hillsborough River and then north along the riverside to Tampa Heights, forming a continuous path that connects a multitude of parks, attractions, public spaces, and hotels. Among the notable points of interest along the Riverwalk are the Tampa Bay History Center, Amalie Arena, the Tampa Convention Center, Rivergate Tower, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Water Works Park, and the Waterfront Arts District which includes the Tampa Museum of Art, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Glazer Children's Museum, and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. Locations along the Riverwalk play host to many community events, most notably the numerous festivals held at Curtis Hixon Park and the arrival of the "pirate ship" Jose Gasparilla, which moors at the Riverwalk behind the Convention Center during the Gasparilla Pirate Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park</span>

Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is an 8 acres (3.2 ha) public park located along the Hillsborough river in downtown Tampa, Florida that opened in its current configuration in 2010. It is adjacent to the Tampa Riverwalk, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa Museum of Art, Glazer Children's Museum, and Rivergate Tower. The park overlooks the University of Tampa's Plant Hall, which is directly across the river. The park is in an area known as the Waterfront Arts District.

Green ARTery is a greenway and trailway plan to connect neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida. The trails are bounded by the Hillsborough River to the North and West, McKay Bay and Old Tampa Bay to the South, and 40th Street to the East. Neighborhoods included in the ARTery include Old Seminole Heights, Southeast Seminole Heights, South Seminole Heights, Woodland Terrace, River Grove, Live Oaks Square, Lake Minihaha & Rogers Golf Course, Hampton Terrace, VM Ybor, East Tampa, Historic Ybor, Ybor Heights, East Ybor, Palmetto Beach, Downtown Tampa, Central Park, Tampa Heights, Ridgewood Park, Riverside Heights, and Channelside (Tampa).

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Tampa in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States.

References

  1. "Downtown Tampa living now appeals to more than half of downtown workers – Tampa Bay Business Journal". Tampa Bay Business Journal. 20 February 2013.
  2. "Tampa Downtown Partnership : General Information : Hillsborough Community Atlas". usf.edu.
  3. http://www.tecolinestreetcar.org/about/maps/system_map_6-9-08.pdf%5B%5D
  4. "SS American Victory". Landmark: United States. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  5. "Renovations Underway Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park". City of Tampa.
  6. "Children's museum strengthens Tampa's arts district". tribunedigital-orlandosentinel.
  7. "Citytimes: Towers viewed as blessing, curse". sptimes.com.
  8. "Columns: Channelside woos night life; singles seek a match". sptimes.com.
  9. "Agency to discuss regulating golf cart-like vehicles | TBO.com". Archived from the original on 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  10. "Hop Tampa ready to give folks a ride downtown". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  11. [ permanent dead link ]
  12. "The Tampa Riverwalk". City of Tampa. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  13. "History of the Tampa Riverwalk". Friends of the Tampa Riverwalk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  14. "Downtown Tampa Facts – Learn about Downtown Tampa – Tampa Downtown Partnership". tampasdowntown.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-22.
  15. "Two new names coming to old downtown Tampa Hyatt: Hilton and Starbucks". Tampa Bay Times.
  16. "Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk official site". sheratontampariverwalk.com.
  17. "Aloft Tampa Downtown". Marriott International.
  18. ThemeFuse. "Key Facts, Services & Amenities – Floridan hotel – Tampa FL – Indulge yourself in old world charm, met with the modern comforts of today". floridanpalace.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-29.
  19. "Former Tampa courthouse to become Le Méridien hotel and restaurant". Creative Loafing Tampa.