You are right. There are a million other things much more important than this. But when I was looking up the info for the 75th birthday of the ‘Courtney Campbell’ Causeway, we found out that Ben Davis built it with his own money. Courtney later convinced the state to pony up the dough for improvements, leading [...]
Celebrating Columbus Day in Tampa Bay. Or not.
Happy Birthday to the St. Pete Times! On July 25, 1884, editor J.M. “Doc” Baggett, printer M. Joel McMullen, and business manager Dr. J.L. Edgar published the first issue of the West Hillsborough Times. Based in Dunedin, it was a four-page weekly newspaper, printed in the back of Edgar’s pharmacy. Type was set by [...]
Walking through native Florida forests can feel a lot like a trip to Jurassic Park, due to the proliferation of ferns and cycads in Florida’s natural landscape. These plants have been around since the time of the dinosaurs and, like the American Alligator, have survived the dynamic changes of earth and man ever since. One of [...]
The Courtney Campbell Causeway linking Tampa and Clearwater recently reached 75 years of age, and local history buffs celebrated the birthday, and put up a new historical marker. Those of you who read the stories will know that Ben T. Davis built the thing, but his name has since been relegated to an undesirable excuse of [...]
We spend a lot of our lives waiting for stuff. Usually, it’s a lot of aggravation for little reward. But sometimes, the wait is worth it. It is my intention to highlight something that qualifies as worth the wait in Tampa Bay each week… It seems like every town, regardless of size, has at least a [...]
With the closing of Valencia Garden, I got to thinking about some of Tampa’s other long-time independents that have gone over the past 15 years or so. It helped that Jeff Houck put up some photos of these places over the years. I was fortunate enough to visit the following places, which no longer [...]
I enjoyed a nice lunch over at Valencia Garden a couple weeks ago – little did I know it would be my last. Valencia Garden opened in 1927, and abruptly closed this week, once a sale of the property was final. The Tampa Bay Business Journal is reporting that the University of Tampa is one of [...]
This post is brought to you by the letter P. Of all the things Tampa residents have to moan about, worrying about how to spell 7th Avenue has to be one of the most ridiculous wastes of time and effort. 7th Ave Originally uploaded by princessangel Back in the 90’s, Ybor City historian Frank Lastra recommended using “La Setima” [...]
