the 90 second people mover
tommyIf you are fairly new to Tampa, you won’t have a clue about what I speak of. It no longer exists. But you can still purchase a token for it. Some apparently believe it survives. Perhaps these websites should consider checking some better sources.
The 30th Annual Meeting of the Adhesion Society was held at Westin Tampa Harbour Island in February of 2007:
The Westin Tampa Harbour Island is situated on its own inviting island in Tampa Bay. It is just three blocks from the Florida Aquarium,
minutes from the Tampa convention Center and a 90-second People Mover ride away from downtown.
They may have heard about the peoplemover from this old real estate gimmick entitled “The Florida Living Network.” Here are a couple of their nuggets:
To travel by water, try one of the Tampa Town Ferry’s two boats, the Spirit of Tampa or Miss Garrison. Stops include Harbour Island, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa Museum of Art, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, the Florida Aquarium and the Tampa Convention Center.
No - the ferry boats no longer operate either. The site also mentions the Jai-Alai Fronton as well as some other dead items:
Five major malls, two large flea markets and several neighborhood shopping centers are among the shopping mix. West Shore Plaza comprises 100 stores and a food court; Eastlake Square Mall combines department and specialty stores with restaurants; and Old Hyde Park Village features 65 shops and eateries in an exciting offering of individual, often upscale shopping places along neighborhood streets. The area’s newest mall, Citrus Park Town Center, has 1.1 millin square feet and is anchored by Dillards, Burdine’s and Sears. Or if you’re downtown, take the elevated tram from the People Mover station and ride across the water to the Shops on Harbour Island.
So do you remember this thing? The peoplemover took folks from the Fort Brooke Parking Garage to the mall on Harbour Island in ninety seconds. This 
second photo looks south - Harbour Island is at the top, and the northernmost stop was just south of Whiting Street on Franklin, although three stories above in the parking garage. You can see the track going OVER the crosstown expressway (at the bottom of pic), and across the bridge to Harbour Island.
I found these photos at Railway System Consultants, Ltd. Kimmins has another from when they were building the Ice Palace. At the far left you can see the people mover tracks heading north to the garage.
Of course, the thing was a boondoggle, and never made any money. I think Beneficial paid to build it. But no one went to Harbour Island. The people mover stopped running, and the track was eventually knocked down. The City of Tampa took over the landing at the garage, which is now the executive offices for the Parking Department.
Tags: downtown, history, names, tampa, transportation
Loading ...
April 25th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I rode it several times when I first moved to Tampa… parking downtown was cheaper then… we went to Cha Cha Coconuts… and there was a seafood restaurant there… and Channel 10 had a little studio…
I remember seeing the ESPN SportsCenter stage there in January 1991… couldn’t get to it, but from below you could see the backs of the guys on TV.
The problem was that it needed to continue all the way up Franklin Street.
People don’t ride transportation that doesn’t go from A) Where they are to B) Where they want to go. (See also: TECO Streetcar Line)
April 25th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
“of course, this thing was a boondoggle and never paid for itself”
All mass transit is a boondoggle and tends not to pay for itself. Roads. Rail. Everything is a money pit.
Not trying to deend the people-mover-to-nowhere but just wanted to make it clear most modes of transportation never make money.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
We rode it the first day the Harbor Island(didn’t they call it the Galleria or something like that?) shopping/entertainment complex opened. Never quite understood even as a youngster why people couldn’t just walk that short distance, though I’ll admit riding it was way cool.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
I attended a reception a while back in what used to be the Harbor Island station. I think Jackson’s rents it out for events. Probably a great place to watch Gasparilla festivities from.
April 25th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Why does it seem like Tampa had a chance in the late 80’s and just fizzled out? Does anyone know what really happened?
April 26th, 2007 at 8:47 am
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been nostalgic for some pics of this. I rode it only a few times as a kid, as the Harbor Island shops always had plenty of parking in their own garage. It only was useful during big events (like lighting of the annual christmas tree). I had stumbled along the Adhesion Society’s website as well, too funny. Ah, the things we came up with in the 80s!
April 26th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
I remember this, as well. I used to work at Tampa City Center (Now the Verizon building), and would go to lunch at a restaurant that was on Harbor Island. I forget the restaurant, but remeber the ride over. I was sorry to see it come down, as I always wanted it to be extended down Franklin. I would have had a lot more time to eat at places that were further down from where I worked. Another thing that I remember, about that area was the girl riding a dolphin statue in the fountain. I remember that it was stolen, and found buried in someones backyard. What ever happened to it? Thanks for the memories!
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:14 pm
The original plan had the People mover making a large “loop” (really a square) around DT. I saw a map once, somewhere on the Hills. county website in PDF form. That would have been great if it had been completed, then we would have a real DT circulator to connect with the trolley.
October 21st, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Thanks for this post. It’s so funny because I was having a conversation with my coworkers about the old tram, and not a single person knew what I was talking about. I remember it from when I first moved to Tampa in 1997. Do you know when it actually stopped running?