Ybor City

A.M. de Quesada

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 1999
• Print ISBN: 9780738500577
• eBook ISBN: 9781439626818
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Retrace the history of Ybor City from its beginnings in the Cigar Industry to the colorful Latin community it is today. In 1885, Vicente Martínez Ybor purchased 40 acres of land northeast of Tampa, and there he began the cigar industry that would soon draw thousands of immigrants to Ybor City. The diverse population of the area, known as Tampa's "Latin Quarter," came from Cuba, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Some residents worked in the various stages of cigar manufacturing, from picking tobacco to constructing cigar boxes, while others operated the local shops and businesses. A unique culture grew from the intermingling of the various traditions and languages found in Ybor City, and residents proudly proclaimed themselves Los Tampaños (or Tampanian). A strong sense of community has been an ever-present part of Ybor City, through the politically charged years of Cuba's fight for independence as well as the comfortable days of social clubs and dinners.

Seven

A FADED MEMORY

Many neighborhoods and historic buildings were torn down from the 1950s to the present to make way for Interstate Four, subsidized housing, developers, and indifferent city officials. (Courtesy La Gaceta.)

With the rising cost of maintenance and fewer patients, the Centro Español Hospital closed its doors in the mid-1960s. (Courtesy La Gaceta.)

The Sanatorio del Centro Español’s appearance in the latter part of the 1960s was a far cry from its appearance in 1905. By the early 1970s, no trace of the hospital existed. (Courtesy La Gaceta.)

The old entrance to the Academy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help still stands in 1998 long after the school was torn down. The church and the old school site are located at 1711 Eleventh Avenue.

Due to urban renewal, the clubhouse for the Sociedad de Martí-Maceo was torn down in 1965. The club moved to the sheet metal workers’ old union hall on Seventh Avenue where Fidel Castro once spoke in December 1955.

By 1990, the Centro Asturiano Hospital, with rising costs and fewer patients, closed its doors. This is the front entrance of the hospital as it appeared in 1998. The Cuban Club is the last remaining mutual aid society with a nurse and clinic. Only 20 patients, at an average age of 87, are still listed as members of the Beneficiencia.

This is what remains of the Centro Asturiano Hospital in 1998. Despite promises from city officials of preserving Ybor City, a little bit of the community that once was disappears with each passing day.

The old Florida Brewery Company on Fifth Avenue and Thirteenth Street is pictured here in 1998. It was situated on Government Springs, the main water source for Fort Brooke, from 1824 to 1881. The brewery was built in 1896 and the spring water was used to brew La Tropical Beer. There are plans to convert the old brewery into a shopping and dining complex.

This park once marked the spot where the home of Paulina and Ruperto Pedroso sat. Th...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• One - TOBACCO, TOBACQUEROS, Y TOBACQUERIAS
• Two - WAR, STRIKES, AND POLITICS
• Three - CLUBS, FRATERNAL ORDERS, AND MUTUAL AID SOCIETIES
• Four - SCHOOL DAYS
• Five - STREET SCENES
• Six - PEOPLE
• Seven - A FADED MEMORY