With its decorative gingerbread woodwork, distinctive minarets, chrysanthemum windows and wrought iron balconies, the University of Tampa is an interesting place to visit any time of the year.
At the holidays, however, the National Historic Landmark — originally opened in 1891 as the Tampa Bay Hotel — becomes even more special. That’s when visitors to the Victorian Christmas Stroll can get a look at 14 rooms dressed up for the holidays in the Henry B. Plant Museum.
Museum staff takes great care in creating rooms that offer a sense of walking into the era when winter visitors came from all over the world to experience the opulence of the grand hotel.
“We really want you to feel that you’re stepping back in time,” said Sally Shifke, who handles museum relations.
The structure, built by railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant, graces a plot of land on the western edge of the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. It took more than two years to build the grand hotel, at the cost then of $2.5 million. Another $500,000 was needed to purchase the hotel’s European furnishings and artwork.
Visitors to the Victorian Stroll, now in its 32nd year, will have a chance to walk the same grounds Teddy Roosevelt did when he commanded the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War. They also will be able to claim they’ve been to the same place as famous visitors who stayed or performed at the hotel, including John Phillips Sousa, Sarah Bernhardt, Clara Barton, Booker T. Washington, Thomas Edison and Babe Ruth.
Of course, there are those who are not particularly interested in history or architecture, and for them, the stroll offers a chance to see plenty of old-fashioned ornaments, garland and twinkling lights. And, in a gesture of true Southern hospitality, strollers are invited to conclude their visit by relaxing on the hotel’s vast verandah to enjoy a complimentary cookie and cup of spiced cider.
Like its name implies, the Victorian Christmas Stroll aims to give visitors a chance to slow down and breathe in the beauty and magic of the holidays. One room in this year’s stroll, called “Toys, Then and Now,” features toys from the days of the hotel — from the 1890s to the 1930s and from the present day — including Lincoln Logs to Legos, Raggedy Ann to Barbie.
“We feel that this exhibit will really provoke conversation. The fact of the matter is that all children like toys and they use their imagination,” Shifke said, noting the room will likely evoke pleasant memories for older visitors and prompt questions from younger guests.
One thing that patrons may notice is that the toys of today are made from synthetic materials, while those of the past are made from metals, woods and natural fibers, Shifke said.
Another room, known as the Men’s Reading/Writing Room, is the most authentic room in the museum, Shifke said. It features two trees, with masculine themes. One tree is decked out in playing cards and cigar boxes.
“When men came to the Tampa Bay Hotel, they played cards. There was a card room and they would smoke cigars,” Shifke said.
The other tree sports a baseball theme.
“They always talk about Babe Ruth hitting his longest home run on the grounds of the Tampa Bay Hotel,” Shifke said.
Another room on the stroll features a tree, standing nearly 14 feet tall, decorated with peacock feathers. That tree pays homage to the peacocks that once strolled about in a garden that the hotelier had built for his guests.
In addition to the dressing up the trees, the museum staff pays attention to the small details.
“We do try to pretty much decorate every nook and cranny,” Shifke said. They add miniature antique Christmas trees and other holiday accessories to mantles, cabinets and curios, using items of interest from the days when the Tampa Bay Hotel attracted affluent visitors to winter there.
In other places on the tour, visitors can see Santa climbing a stairwell, a vintage goose-feather Christmas and an exhibit featuring sock monkeys, paying tribute to the monkey house that was once on the hotel grounds. John Herrmann of Pasco County loaned the museum the goose-feather tree and 23 of the sock monkeys, Shifke said.
When strollers want to take a break, they can settle in to watch a movie about the hotel’s history.
Besides getting a glimpse of the life that was at the hotel, Shifke believes the stroll prompts visitors to conjure personal memories of Christmases gone by.
“If you weren’t in the Christmas spirit before you got here, you certainly will be in when you leave,” Shifke said.
If you go
WHAT: The Victorian Stroll
WHEN: Dec. 1-23, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with carolers performing nightly. The stroll is also open from Dec. 26 through Dec. 31 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
WHERE: Henry B. Plant Museum, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., in downtown Tampa.
COST: $13 for adults; $11 for senior citizens (65 and older); children, ages 4-18 are $7, until Dec. 23; after that, $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and students, and $5 for children, ages 5 through 12. (There are no carolers, cider or cookies after Christmas)
INFO: PlantMuseum.com
