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Walking Around Tampa’s YBor City
On central Florida’s west coast is the city of Tampa, one of my favorite stops in the state. Often overlooked for the glitz of Miami or the theme parks of Orlando, Tampa is a destination in its own right. There’s the stunning beaches of Clearwater, but for me, the best thing about Tampa is YBor City (pronounced ee-bore, not why-bore). This neighborhood is the hub of nightlife, but it also has a lot of history. Join me in a day of walking around this area’s best attractions.
A Bit of Background
Perhaps the most interesting part of YBor City is its historic background. Unlike many larger cities in the region, Tampa was the land of indigenous tribes until the mid 1800s. European pioneers did spot the settlement, but nobody, including the quickly expanding Americans, decided to move in until quite later on. (Perhaps they missed that gorgeous strip of shoreline – who knows.)
YBor city became quickly known as a manufacturing area: for cigars! In no short order it became one of the biggest employers in the area, and this neighborhood was filled with Cuban, Italian, and Spanish immigrants. It is this reason why the area still today has such a strong multi-cultural feel.
When the cigars moved out and WWII depressions moved in, YBor fell into a very serious and sharp decline. Basically, the entire area went to ruin. It was in the 1980s, just 100 years after its humble beginnings, that some artists and entrepreneurs saw the place as a cheaper neighborhood, but more importantly, a blank canvas.
From there, as they say, the rest is history. Today, many of the buildings have been refurbished and almost all of the old manufacturing has been converted into shopping, restaurants, nightclubs and condominiums.
Must See Attractions
Now that you have a feeling for the city’s history, walking around town will give you a much better picture of what’s going on. For example, now you know why there are so many cigar shops on 7th Avenue, though these shops are dotted around every part of town.
YBor isn’t huge so you’ll miss anything, but here are a few important historic attractions to point out:
- The Cuban Club (travel guide): this used to be a community center for YBor’s Cuban immigrants, but now it’s a multi-purpose events venue. The building itself is beautiful, and it also has great views of Tampa. It’s worth mentioning that all of the immigrant communities had their own community center – many of those still exist today and function, albeit in different forms – they had to evolve just like the community did.
- Centennial Park (map): A nice open space – great if you can get here on Saturday mornings for the farmer’s market.
- Centro YBor (map): Pictured above, this is a classy movie theater, with stadium seating and tons of food and drink options – the perfect solution to the odd rainy day in Tampa.
Hungry Yet?
Wandering around this place will make you hungry – the smells of spicy meats waft out from the open terraces, and drippy ice cream cones float by (sometimes dangerously close, in the slippery hands of a child). A few suggestions, should you find yourself a tiny bit ravenous:
- Spanish/Cuban: The Columbia (travel guide) – this restaurant has been named one of the top restaurants in Florida. Once you walk inside, you’ll instantly feel the ambiance and definitely understand why; what’s not often mentioned is that this is the oldest restaurant in Florida.
- Greek: Acropolis (travel guide) – some would say parts of the Acropolis experience aren’t totally authentic, and I would agree. Regardless, it’s good food and a nice place to eat.
- Sushi: Samurai Blue (travel guide) – sushi, saki. What else do you need?
- Pizza: New York New York Pizza (travel guide) – New York style pizza. Tastes great on a sunny day and it’s good fuel for walking around YBor.
- Ice Cream: Fresh Mouth (travel guide) – nothing like a good milkshake.
If you find yourself still here at sunset and looking for a place to have a relaxing drink and chill out vibe, one place to check out is the blues bar Blue Shark (travel guide). I’d say that most nightlife in Tampa leans towards the rowdy/raucous, though with all those great restaurants, it is still worth coming over.
Events
- Fiesta – Latin Culture weekend (February)
- Rough Rider’s – St Patrick’s Night Parade (March)
- Festa Italiana (April)
- GaYbor Days (July)
- Guavaween (October)
To Learn More
If you like what you’ve seen, I would encourage you to visit the Ybor City Museum (travel guide), which offers guided walking tours of the area. It is a nice way to get a truly local perspective on the place, and you can ask questions while pointing at strange buildings.
Photo by psyberartist
