Before we visited Tampa, I had no idea that it had a historical area of such significance. From the periphery, Tampa looks like many other modern cities in Florida, with the exception of Miami and its wonderful Art Deco buildings. Ybor city was named for Vincente Martinez Ybor, an entrepreneur who had moved his cigar business from Cuba to Key West.
That hadn’t been entirely successful so he decided to settle in Tampa in the 1880s. The cigar workers were skilled so many of them came from Cuba and Spain, followed by an influx firstly of Italians, then Eastern European Jews, Germans and Chinese, many of the next stage immigrants serviced the city with restaurants and other industries.
It was an eclectic mix that was stable because each ethnicity had their own social club with welfare and benefits. Additionally, the work was plentiful and well paid. Each worker had their own little Casita, some of which are preserved, others have been renovated. The docent at the Ybor Museum told us that they used Ybor City’s welfare system as a template when they set up Medicare and Social Security in the 40s. That fascinated me more than anything else.
Ybor City reached its zenith at the beginning of the 1900s but cigar making started to decline after the Great Depression and World War II. Surprisingly, many of the original buildings remain with their exotic tile work. Artists started to flock to Ybor in recent times and it is being renovated block by block. It is a peaceful little oasis in a busy modern city with lovely tram cars. There are free range chickens on every porch because they outlawed harming chickens to stop cock fighting. You can read more of this in the The Chicken Murder. I noticed with a chuckle that you can have an event or a wedding in the garden of the Museum , but just look out for hungry hawks…
Thanks for the lovely tour of Ybor! Love the streetcar 🙂
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So glad you liked it, Anna. It was a delightful surprise!
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How interesting, Kerry. I hope local schoolchildren are being taught this history.
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Hi Sarah. They definitely are and we had some children on our tour of the museum. 🙂
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Thank you for sharing this. My best friend moved down there at the start of the summer. Later this year or next, I will go and visit. Thanks for the tour.
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I am so glad you have a field guide for Tampa. Apparently Ybor is the place to be for fun nights out…
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Nice to know. Thanks.
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Key West still sheds a tear for the loss of the Cuban cigar shops of old😢
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It’s a long time since I saw a cigar shop but we do have a cigar bar close to us… 🙂
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Interesting information abut Ybor, I had no idea. Thanks Kerry, appreciate this – I like these posts. Happy Friday! 🙂
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Gorgeous photos. What a fascinating little enclave.
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Thank you so much!
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Beautiful photos 😊
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Thank you Jacqueline!
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Fabulous tour and enough go to convince me that I want to go see for myself xx
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Well, there is also Big Cat Rescue… 🙂
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Wow – it looks fab Kerry. Maybe I’ll put it on my bucket list 🙂
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It was really unexpected in a modern city. Thanks!
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It can be surprising how much history lies right in front of us. You never know what you’ll find.
http://fcit.usf.edu/wwii/warcomes.php
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So true!
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…and thank you!
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What a great article and pics of Tampa. I have been there but only saw the beach!!Liben xx
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It was really fun, especially learning about the different immigrants.
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Ybor sounds like a fascinating place! Another one for my bucket list. 🙂 You’re so good at describing and promoting places you visit; have you ever been a tour guide? 🙂
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Thank you Margarisa. I have not been a tour guide but I have a qualification in travel and tourism.
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Looks fun! Might have to swing by there when I vacation to Florida 🙂
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It was quite unexpected.
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Thanks for sharing
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