Tampa

Tampa, city, seat (1834) of Hillsborough county, west-central Florida, U.S. It is situated on the northern shore of Tampa Bay at the mouth of the Hillsborough River and is connected to St. Petersburg and Clearwater (southwest and west) across the bay’s western arm (Old Tampa Bay) by the Gandy and Howard Frankland bridges and the Courtney Campbell Causeway. The three cities form one of Florida’s largest metropolitan areas.

Calusa and Timucua peoples (later replaced by the Seminoles) were early inhabitants of the area, which was visited by the Spanish explorers Pánfilo de Narváez (1528) and Hernando de Soto (1539). Settlement of Tampa began with Fort Brooke, established in 1824 to oversee the Seminoles. During the American Civil War the Confederates yielded the fort after bombardment by Union gunboats. Henry B. Plant’s South Florida Railroad arrived in 1884 and stimulated population growth and new industry. Plant developed port facilities extensively and promoted tourism, building the lavish, Moorish-style Tampa Bay Hotel in 1891. Cigar manufacturing was introduced in 1886 by Vicente Martinez Ybor, and Ybor City, Tampa’s Latin quarter, became a centre of that industry; although some cigars are still made in Ybor City, the enclave is now mainly a tourist spot.

Tampa was the embarkation point (1898) for Cuba-bound troops, including those of Theodore Roosevelt, during the Spanish-American War. A fire destroyed a large part of Ybor City in 1908, which was subsequently rebuilt. The world’s first scheduled passenger-airline service, which connected Tampa to St. Petersburg, was inaugurated in 1914, and the Gandy Bridge between the two cities opened 10 years later. In 1928 Tampa was connected by road to Miami via the Tamiami Trail. In the 1920s the man-made Davis Islands were created offshore in Hillsborough Bay (Tampa Bay’s eastern arm) for real estate development. The origin of the city’s name is uncertain; it may be derived from a Creek word for “near it” or “a nearby place,” for its proximity to the bay, or it may mean “split wood for quick fire,” in reference to driftwood on the shore used for firewood.

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The Port of Tampa is the state’s largest deepwater port. Phosphates (an early economic factor) and citrus account for much of the port’s exports, while imports include petroleum, coal, and steel. In addition to the port, the international airport and network of railroads and highways make Tampa the regional trade and distribution centre. The city’s economy is well diversified; other major factors include financial and insurance services, manufacturing (notably medical products, fertilizer, electronics, and apparel), high-technology industries, and tourism. MacDill Air Force Base, on a peninsula at the city’s southern end, is another important part of the economy. Agriculture in the region includes strawberries, tomatoes, ornamental plants, citrus, beef, poultry, and dairy. The Tampa Bay area is a popular retirement spot.

The Gasparilla Pirate Fest, a February event highlighted by a pirate invasion of the city, is held annually in Tampa; its theme is based on legendary pirate Jose Gaspar, who is said to have terrorized western Florida in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, an amusement park and zoo with an African theme, is a popular tourist attraction. The city’s cultural institutions include the Florida Aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Tampa Museum of Art, and the Ybor City State Museum (which traces the history of the area’s cigar industry). The city has a large performing arts centre where dance, music, and theatre performances are held. Tampa is also the home of two professional sports teams, the National Football League Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the National Hockey League Tampa Bay Lightning. (The region’s professional baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays, plays in St. Petersburg.) Hillsborough River State Park is northeast of the city.

The city is the seat of Hillsborough Community College (1968), the University of South Florida (1956), Tampa College (1890; now part of Florida Metropolitan University), and the University of Tampa (1931); the main building of the latter institution is Plant’s Tampa Bay Hotel. Inc. 1855. Pop. (2010) 335,709; Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metro Area, 2,783,243; (2020) 384,959; Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metro Area, 3,175,275.