TAMPA, FL. – On Thursday, the Ybor City Museum Society will present its Buildings Alive! Ybor City Architecture Hop from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
This year marks the 10th such event, which provides tours of 10 iconic buildings in the historic neighborhood.
Among the buildings featured are the Cuban Club, the Italian Club, and Hotel Haya, which sits on the site of the former Las Novedades restaurant. Features from the original restaurant, built in 1890, remain intact.
J.C. Newman Cigar Company, which remains in operation and is the country’s oldest (1895) family-owned cigar manufacturer, is also part of the tour.
“The story I tell is that I love gallery hops, neighborhood walks and architecture tours,” said Chantal Hevia, President and CEO of the Ybor City Museum Society. “We rolled that all into one.”
The first event, held in 2011, went so well that those who attended were eager to have something similar to look forward to again.
“We had the first one as a program to compliment an exhibit on Ybor City architecture,” said Hevia. “At the end of the evening, people were asking when the next one will be. To make a long story short, we are now at number 10.”
Another landmark on the tour is the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House, which opened last September. The structure is the childhood home of Lopez, the first major league player, manager and hall of famer from Tampa. He lived in the home, which was built in 1905, for about 50 years. To accommodate the widening of I-4 in 2013, it was moved one mile to its current location on North 19th Street and was gifted to the museum society by the city of Tampa
The museum is open Thursday through Sunday and the first six months of operation have proven to be very successful.
“We have been busy beyond our imagination,” said Hevia. “The Tampa Baseball Museum has been discovered and many of our other attractions, like Ybor City Museum State Park, have had many visitors because people have been coming back out to do things.”
The exhibits within the building’s 1,200 square feet have provided museum visitors with quite an education on a sport that has been played in Tampa since the 1870s.
An area devoted to the game’s history in the city starts with a team that was formed in 1878. Nine years later, in 1887, Cubans came to Tampa to work in the cigar industry and formed a team known as the Niagara Baseball Club.
More than a century of spring training and minor league baseball is showcased as is the short history of the Rays.
Of course, there are many pieces of memorabilia from Lopez’s lengthy baseball career, which as a player and manager spanned more than four decades.
“The depth of information and the depth of topics in the museum give baseball fans plenty to enjoy and talk about,” said Hevia.
Tickets for the tour are $65 if purchased at the Ybor City Museum Society, $55 if purchased in advance online and $25 for students with a valid ID. The cost includes a send-off party in the garden of the Ybor City Museum State Park, which was the location of the Ferlita Bakery. The bakery was a community hub that was one of the region’s major suppliers of Cuban bread.
On March 25, the park and the baseball museum will present Baseball, Bourbon, and Cigars. Check the museum’s website for details.
Visit Tampafp.com for Politics, Tampa Area Local News, Sports, and National Headlines. Support journalism by clicking here to our GiveSendGo or sign up for our free newsletter by clicking here.
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook Here Or Twitter Here.