Spend a little time at the Tampa Bay History Center, and you’ll likely walk away knowing more about the region than people who have lived here their entire lives.
At the center, located at 801 Old Water St., in Tampa, you can get a look at such things as hanging chads from the United States 2000 presidential election, a record book from the city’s Negro hospital and a 42-star American flag flown at the 1892 dedication of Hillsborough County.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
It’s a place where you can learn about the region’s citrus, cattle and cigar industries, its political and cultural history, and its penchant for sports and outdoor festivals.
“We’re telling the story of historic Hillsborough County, which includes, of course, Lutz and South County and East County — Hillsborough County present day, but also historic Hillsborough County, which was much bigger, which encompasses all or part of about 23 present-day counties,” said Manny Leto, who handles marketing for the history center.
Museum exhibits trace back to Florida’s first people, natives who were hunting and fishing on the shores of Tampa Bay, thousands of years ago.
The history center explores 500 years of recorded history and 12,000 years of habitation in the Tampa Bay region.
It keeps its exhibits fresh and continues to tell the region’s evolving story, Leto said.
“That’s one thing that I really love about the history center,” he said. “(We) continue that conversation.”
While visitors have different preferences, one popular exhibit is “Coacoochee’s Story,” Leto said.
“That is a real wow factor here. People are really impressed. It’s what we call an immersive theater experience. You walk in, and you feel like you’re transported back into Florida wilderness,” he said.
The history center staff understands the need to present its exhibits in an interesting way.
“There’s so much competition for people’s attention. So, you have to present the information in an engaging way, and you have to keep up with changes in technology,” Leto said.
The 60,000-square-foot history center offers two floors of permanent exhibits and a third floor of temporary exhibits.
“We’ve brought in exhibits from The Smithsonian. We’ve brought in exhibits from the Constitution Center in Philadelphia. We’ve brought in exhibits from all over the United States, museums and libraries all over the country, including things we’ve produced here.
The current exhibit, which runs through April 26, is called “The Art of Piracy: Pirates in Modern Culture.”
One highlight at the center is The J. Thomas and Lavinia W. Touchton Collection of Florida Cartography. Tom Touchton, a native of Dade City, played an instrumental role in championing the development of the history center.
The cartography collection features 3,000 Florida maps, charts, prints and views that span a period of 500 years.
Throughout the museum, there are opportunities to learn about the region’s colorful past.
Visitors can check out a cigar store — built to resemble a 1920s-era Ybor City storefront, complete with a wooden Indian advertising its wares.
As they gaze about the shop, they’ll see an authentic cash register, genuine cigar cases and signs touting a product of one of Tampa’s chief industries.
“The first of Tampa’s cigar factories opened in 1886. By 1920, there were as many as 300, working at full capacity,” a sign at the history center says.
Visitors also can watch a film about cattle ranchers and learn that the term, Florida cracker, comes from the crack of the whip that cowboys use to communicate with each other and to keep cattle moving along.
Over time, the term took on a broader meaning.
Author Patrick, in his brief history of the Florida cracker, put it like this: “What really makes a person a true Florida cracker (besides being born in the state)?
“Several things: A love of the land and nature, growing things in soil, close family ties, and a deep sense of religion.
“It also means cracklin’ bread and grits and periwinkle soup and swamp cabbage and okra gumbo and ham hocks with collard greens and chicken fried in a cast iron skillet and guava jelly and homemade blackberry cobbler.”
About 80,000 people visit the history center each year, with about half of those coming from outside of Hillsborough County, Leto said.
If you’re planning a visit, allow yourself about two hours to tour the history center. If you’d like a memento of your visit, there’s a gift shop, and if you’re hungry, you can grab a bite to eat at the Columbia Café.
What: Tampa Bay History Center, three stories of exhibits telling the story of the region’s history
Where: 801 Old Water St., Tampa
How much: $12.95 for adults; $10.95 for seniors, college students, youths; $7.95 for children, ages 4 through 12. Parking is free with museum admission (Park in the blue lot next door)
When: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily, except Thanksgiving and Christmas
Public tours are available at set times, Tuesdays through Saturdays.
For more information: Visit TampaBayHistoryCenter.org or call (813) 228-0097.
Published April 8, 2015
