Tampa, Florida Tampa, Florida City of Tampa Images from top, left to right: Skyline of Downtown Tampa, Amalie Arena, Ybor City, Henry B.

Images from top, left to right: Skyline of Downtown Tampa, Amalie Arena, Ybor City, Henry B.

Flag of Tampa, Florida Flag Official seal of Tampa, Florida Legislative Tampa City Council Tampa (/ t mp /) is a primary city in, and the governmental center of county of, Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is positioned on the west coast of Florida on Tampa Bay, near the Gulf of Mexico, and is part of the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Area.

The current locale of Tampa was once inhabited by indigenous citizens s of the Safety Harbor culture (most prominently the Tocobaga and the Pohoy, who lived along the shores of Tampa Bay).

Although Spain claimed Florida as part of New Spain, it did not found a colony in the Tampa area, and there were no permanent American or European settlements inside today's town/city limits until after the United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1819.

In 1824, the United States Army established a frontier outpost called Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, near the site of today's Tampa Convention Center.

Today, Tampa is part of the urbane region most generally referred to as the "Tampa Bay Area".

And Atlanta. The Greater Tampa Bay region has over 4 million inhabitants and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas.

The Tampa Bay Partnership and U.S.

Between 2000 and 2006, the Greater Tampa Bay Market experienced a combined expansion rate of 14.8 percent, burgeoning from 3.4 million to 3.9 million and hitting the 4 million populace mark on April 1, 2007. A 2012 estimate shows the Tampa Bay region population to have 4,310,524 citizens and a 2017 projection of 4,536,854 citizens . Tampa was ranked as the 5th best outside town/city by Forbes in 2008. Tampa also rates as the fifth most prominent American city, based on where citizens want to live, as stated to a 2009 Pew Research Center study. A 2004 survey by the New York University journal Washington Square News ranked Tampa as a top town/city for "twenty-somethings." Tampa is ranked as a "Gamma+" world town/city by Loughborough University, ranked alongside other world metros/cities such as Phoenix, Charlotte, Rotterdam, and Santo Domingo. Main articles: History of Tampa, Florida and Timeline of Tampa, Florida The word "Tampa" may mean "sticks of fire" in the language of the Calusa, a Native American tribe that once lived south of today's Tampa Bay.

A later Spanish expedition did not notice Charlotte Harbor while sailing north along the west coast of Florida and assumed that the current Tampa Bay was the bay they sought.

The name was accidentally transferred north. Map manufacturers were using the term "Bay" or "Bahia Tampa" as early as 1695. Local authorities consulted by Michael Kruse of the Tampa Bay Times suggest that "Tampan" was historically more common, while "Tampanian" became prominent when the former term came to be seen as a potential insult. Latin Americans from Tampa are known as "tampenos", or "tampenas" for females.

These terms of Spanish origin emerged after 1900 for the immigrant communities in West Tampa and Ybor City.

Not much is known about the cultures who called the Tampa Bay region home before European contact.

When Spanish explorers appeared in the 1520s, they found Tocobaga villages around the northern half of Tampa Bay and Calusa villages along the southern portion of the bay. The Tampa region was depopulated and ignored for more than 200 years. In the mid-18th century, affairs in American colonies drove the Seminole citizens into northern Florida. During this period, the Tampa region had only a handful of residents: Cuban and Native American fishermen. They lived in a small village at the mouth of Spanishtown Creek on Tampa Bay, in today's Hyde Park neighborhood along Bayshore Boulevard. After purchasing Florida from Spain in 1821, the United States assembled forts and trading posts in the new territory. Fort Brooke was established in January 1824 at the mouth of the Hillsborough River on Tampa Bay, in Downtown Tampa. It was home to 185 civilians, or 974 total inhabitants including military personnel, in 1850. Tampa was reincorporated as a town on December 15, 1855. Brooke cannon on the University of Tampa ground Martial law was declared in Tampa in January 1862, and Tampa's town/city government ceased to operate for the duration of the war. In 1861, the Union Navy set up a blockade around many southern ports to cut off the Confederacy, and a several ships were stationed near the mouth of Tampa Bay. The Battle of Fort Brooke on October 16 and the Battle of Ballast Point on October 18, 1863, damaged the Confederates, with Union troops destroying Confederate blockade runners. The Civil War ended in April 1865 with a Confederate defeat.

In 1869, inhabitants voted to abolish the town/city of Tampa government. The populace of "Tampa Town" was below 800 by 1870, and had declined further by 1880.

Fort Brooke was decommissioned in 1883, and except for two cannons displayed on the University of Tampa campus, all traces of the fort are gone. Port Tampa Inn, with rail line in front of hotel, c.

The mineral, vital for the manufacturing of fertilizers and other products, was soon being shipped out from the Port of Tampa in great volume.

The discernment of phosphate, the arrival of Plant's barns , and the beginning of Ybor City and West Tampa all in the mid-1880s were crucial to Tampa's development.

The once-struggling village of Tampa became a bustling boomtown almost overnight, and had grown into one of the biggest cities in Florida by 1900. Plant's narrow-gauge South Florida Railroad reached Tampa and its port in late 1883, finally connecting the small town to the nation's barns fitness after years of accomplishments by small-town leaders.

Previously, Tampa's overland transit links had consisted of sandy roads stretching athwart the Florida countryside.

Plant's barns made it much easier to get goods in and out of the Tampa Bay area.

Phosphate and commercial fishing exports could be sent north by rail, and many new products were brought into the Tampa market, along with the first tourists.

The new barns link enabled another meaningful industry to come to Tampa.

In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade enticed Vicente Martinez Ybor to move his cigar manufacturing operations to Tampa from Key West.

Since Tampa was still a small town at the time (population less than 5,000), Ybor assembled hundreds of small homes around his factory to accommodate the immediate influx of mainly Cuban and Spanish cigar workers.

Between them, two "Latin" communities combined to exponentially grew Tampa's population, economic base, and tax revenues, as Tampa became the "Cigar Capital of the World". Franklin Street, looking north past the old Hillsborough County Courthouse, Tampa c.

The factories in Ybor City and West Tampa made an enormous number of cigars in the peak year of 1929, over 500,000,000 cigars were hand rolled in the city. Beginning in the late 19th century, illegal bolita lotteries were very prominent among the Tampa working classes, especially in Ybor City.

Panorama of Downtown Tampa taken in 1913 Prior to the United States' involvement in the conflict, assembly began on Mac - Dill Field, which served as a chief base for Army Air Corps and later Army Air Forces operations just before and amid World War II, with multiple auxiliary airfields around the Tampa Bay region and encircling counties.

Two of these auxiliary fields would later turn into the present-day Tampa International Airport and St.

This amazing expansion spurred primary expansion of the city's highways and bridges, bringing thousands into the town/city and creating endless possibilities for Tampa company owners who welcomed tourists and new people alike into their neighborhoods.

The University of South Florida was established in North Tampa in 1956 and opened for students in September 1960. The school spurred the assembly of a several residentiary and commercial developments in the previously agriculture-dominated region around the new campus.

Overall, Tampa continued to grew away from the town/city center amid the 1960s as new hospitals, schools, churches and subdivisions all began appearing to accommodate the growth.

Four attempts have been made to consolidate the municipal government of the town/city of Tampa with the county government of Hillsborough County (1967, 1970, 1971, and 1972), all of which floundered at the ballot box; the greatest loss was the most recent attempt in 1972, with the final tally being 33,160 (31%) in favor and 73,568 (69%) against the proposed charter. The biggest recent expansion in the town/city was the evolution of New Tampa, which started in 1988 when the town/city annexed a mostly non-urban area of 24 square miles (62 km2) between I-275 and I-75.

East Tampa, historically a mostly black community, was the scene of a several race riots amid and for some time after the reconstructionof ethnic segregation, mainly due to enigma between inhabitants and the Tampa Police Department.

Main article: Geography of the Tampa Bay region Landsat 8 image of Tampa Bay Region Tampa is bordered by two bodies of water, Old Tampa Bay and Hillsborough Bay, which flow together to form Tampa Bay, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Hillsborough River flows into Hillsborough Bay, passing directly in front of Downtown Tampa and supplying Tampa's chief source of fresh water.

The Palm River is a lesser river flowing from just east of the town/city into Mc - Kay Bay, which is a lesser inlet, sited at the northeast end of Hillsborough Bay. Tampa's geography is marked by the Interbay Peninsula which divides Hillsborough Bay (the eastern) from Old Tampa Bay (the western).

Main article: Climate of the Tampa Bay region Average highs range from 70 to 90 F (21 to 32 C) year round, and lows 52 to 76 F (11 to 24 C). Tampa's official recorded high has never hit 100 F (37.8 C) the all-time record high temperature is 99 F (37 C), recorded on June 5, 1985. Because of Tampa Bay, Tampa is split between two USDA climate zones.

According to the 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Tampa is listed as USDA zone 9b north of Kennedy Boulevard away from the bay and 10a south of Kennedy Boulevard and along the bay, Zone 10a is about the northern limit of where coconut palms and royal palms can be grown, although some specimens do expanded in northern Tampa.

Southern Tampa has much more tropical foliage than the northern parts of the city.

Afternoon thunderstorms, usually generated by the interaction of the Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes, are such a regular occurrence amid the summer that the Tampa Bay region is recognized as the "Lightning Capital of North America".

Every year, Florida averages 10 deaths and 30 injuries from lightning strikes, with a several of these usually occurring in or around Tampa. Because of the incessant summer thunderstorms, Tampa has a pronounced wet season, receiving an average of 26.1 inches (663 mm) of precipitation from June to September but only about 18.6 inches (472 mm) amid the remaining eight months of the year.

Tropical Storm Debby in 2012 dropped 8.57 inches (218 mm) of precipitation at Tampa International Airport on June 24, 2012 and amounts up to 10.36 inches (263 mm) was reported by a Co - Co - Ra - HS observer in NW Tampa. Outside of the summer rainy season, most of the area's rain is bringed by the occasional passage of a weather front. Although it is affected by tropical storms every several years and threatened by tropical systems almost annually, Tampa has not taken a direct hit from a hurricane since 1921. That seemed about to change in 2004, when Hurricane Charley was forecast to make landfall near downtown Tampa, with potentially devastating effects for the entire region.

But Charley never reached Tampa Bay.

Since the Tampa region is home to a diverse range of freeze-sensitive agriculture and aquaculture, difficult freezes, although very infrequent, are a primary concern.

Since Tampa has some characteristics of a tropical climate, difficult freezes (defined as below 28 F ( 2.2 C)) happen rarely (every 5 to 20 years depending on location).

The last officially recorded freeze at Tampa International Airport took place on the morning of January 13, 2011, when the temperature dropped to 31 F ( 1 C). The lowest temperature ever recorded in Tampa was 18 F ( 8 C) on December 13, 1962. The last calculable snow in Tampa fell on January 19, 1977, with a total accumulation of 0.2 inches (0.5 cm).

In January 2010, a prolonged cold snap was the longest stretch of cold weather in the history of Tampa. Temperatures did not get above 49 F (9.4 C) for 5 days and there were freezes every evening in northern Tampa for a week straight, causing momentous damage to tropical foliage.

Climate data for Tampa, Florida (Tampa Int'l), 1981 2010 normals, extremes 1890 present Source #2: Tampa Bay Times for April record high Main article: Cityscape of Tampa, Florida Main article: Neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida Generally, the town/city is divided into the following areas: Downtown Tampa, New Tampa, West Tampa, East Tampa, North Tampa, and South Tampa.

Well-known neighborhoods include Ybor City, Forest Hills, Ballast Point, Sulphur Springs, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, Palma Ceia, Hyde Park, Davis Islands, Tampa Palms, College Hill, and non-residential areas of Gary and the Westshore Business District.

The design for the renovated Tampa Museum of Art displays post-modern architecture, while the town/city hall and the Tampa Theatre belong to Art Deco architecture.

The Tampa mayor Pam Iorio made the redevelopment of Tampa's downtown, especially residentiary development, a before ity. Several residentiary and mixed-development high-rises have been constructed.

Another of Mayor Iorio's initiatives was the Tampa Riverwalk, a mixed-use path along the Hillsborough River in downtown.

Channelside was recently allowed to undergo primary renovations by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik along with other investors.

Several exhibitions are part of the plan, including new homes for the Tampa Bay History Center, the Glazer Children's Museum, and the Tampa Museum of Art. Mayor Bob Buckhorn has continued these developments.

The tallest building in the town/city is 100 North Tampa, formerly the Am - South Building, which rises 42 floors and 579 feet (176 m) in Downtown Tampa. The structure was instead of in 1992, and is the tallest building in Florida outside of Miami and Jacksonville. One Tampa City Center (1981) This boom reconstructionfor Florida also saw the assembly of an ornate movie palace, the Tampa Theatre, a Mediterranean revival on Davis Islands, and Bayshore Boulevard, which borders Hillsborough Bay from downtown Tampa to areas in South Tampa.

Notable structures include El Centro Espanol de Tampa, Centro Asturiano de Tampa and other civil clubs assembled in the early 1900s.

Babe Zaharias Golf Course in the Forest Hills region of Tampa has been designated a Historical Landmark by the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1974, the town/city of Tampa opened the golf course to the public. The Story of Tampa, a enhance painting by Lynn Ash, is a 4-by-8-foot (1.2 m 2.4 m) petroleum on masonite mural that weaves together many of the notable aspects of Tampa's unique character and identity.

It was commissioned in 2003 by the city's Public Art Program and can be found in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building. Park Tower (originally the First Financial Bank of Florida) is the first substantial high-rise building in downtown Tampa.

Completed in 1973, it was the tallest high-rise building in Tampa until the culmination of One Tampa City Center in 1981. The Rivergate building, a cylindrical structure known as the "Beer Can building", was featured in the movie The Punisher.

Spanning the southern part of Tampa Bay is the massive steel-span Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

2010 Enumeration Tampa Hillsborough County Florida Communities of faith have organized in Tampa from 1846, when a Methodist congregation established the city's first church, to 1939, when a 21-year-old Billy Graham began his longterm position as a spiritual evangelist and preacher on downtown's Franklin Street, and through to today.

Among Tampa's noteworthy theological structures are Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a 1905 downtown landmark noted for its soaring, Romanesque revival assembly in granite and marble with German-crafted stained glass windows, the distinct ive modern and mortar St.

Tampa's theological improve includes a broad representation of Christian denominations, including those above, and Presbyterian, Lutheran, Christian Science, Church of God, United Church of Christ, Philippine Independent Church, Unitarian Universalist, Metropolitan Community Church, Seventh-day Adventist, Eastern Orthodox (Greek, Coptic, Syrian, and OCA), various Pentecostal movements, Anglicans, the Quakers, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Overall, Tampa is 50th out of the biggest 51 urbane region in the percentage of the populace that attends theological services of any kind. Downtown Tampa as seen from above Finance, retail, healthcare, insurance, shipping by air and sea, nationwide defense, experienced sports, tourism, and real estate all play vital part s in the area's economy. Hillsborough County alone has an estimated 740,000 employees, a figure which is projected to increase to 922,000 by 2015. Several large corporations, such as banks and telecommunications companies, maintain county-wide offices in Tampa.

Tampa Convention Center, assembled at the site of Fort Brooke Downtown Tampa is undergoing momentous evolution and redevelopment in line with a general nationwide trend toward urban residentiary development.

As of April 2007, the Tampa Downtown Partnership noted evolution proceeding on 20 residentiary, hotel, and mixed-use projects. Many of the new downtown developments are nearing culmination in the midst of a housing market slump, which has caused various projects to be delayed or revamped, and some of the 20 projects TDP lists have not broken ground and are being refinanced.

Nonetheless a several developments are nearing culmination, which town/city leaders hope will make downtown into a 24-hour neighborhood freshwater a 9 to 5 company district. As of 2010, Tampa inhabitants faced a diminish in rent of 2%.

Nationally rent had decreased 4%. The Tampa Business Journal found Tampa to be the number two town/city for real estate investment in 2014. Tampa's port is now the seventh biggest in the country and Florida's biggest tonnage port, handling nearly half of all seaborne commerce that passes through the state.

Tampa presently rates second in the state behind Miami in terms of cruise ship travel.

A KC-135 - R stationed at Mac - Dill flying over Tampa Bay Mac - Dill Air Force Base remains a primary employer as the parent installation for over 15,000 active uniformed military, Department of Defense (Do - D) civil service and Do - D contractor personnel in the Tampa Bay area.

Main article: Media in the Tampa Bay Area Tampa is home to a range of stage and performing arts venues and theaters, including the David A.

Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa Theatre, Gorilla Theatre, and the Mid - Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre next to the Florida State Fairgrounds.

Performing arts companies and organizations which call Tampa home include the Florida Orchestra, Opera Tampa, Jobsite Theater, the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, Stageworks Theatre, Spanish Lyric Theater, Tampa Bay Opera, and the Tampa Bay Symphony.

Downtown Tampa also contains some eveninglife, and there are more clubs/bars to be found in other areas of the city.

The region has turn into a "de facto" command posts of experienced wrestling, with many pros living in the area. WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, is also based in Tampa.

They played the Tampa Bay region between 1994 and 1997 and then moved to New York City.

The Tampa region is home to a number of exhibitions that cover a wide array of subjects and studies.

These include the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), which has a several floors of science-related exhibits plus the only domed IMAX theater in Florida and a planetarium; the Tampa Museum of Art; the USF Contemporary Art Museum; the Tampa Bay History Center; the Tampa Firefighters Museum; the Henry B.

Seafood is very prominent in Tampa, and Greek cuisine is prominent in the area, including around Tarpon Springs.

In addition to Ybor, the areas of Seminole Heights and South Tampa are known for their restaurants.

Tampa is the place of birth of the Florida version of the deviled crab and the Cuban sandwich, which has been officially designated as the "signature sandwich of the town/city of Tampa" by the town/city council. A Tampa Cuban sandwich is distinct from other county-wide versions, as Genoa salami is layered in with the other ingredients, likely due to the influence of Italian immigrants living next to Cubans and Spaniards in Ybor City. Several restaurant chains were established or headquartered in Tampa, including Outback Steakhouse, The Melting Pot, Front Burner Brands, Carrabba's, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Bonefish Grill, Columbia Restaurant, Checkers and Rally's, Taco Bus, and PDQ.

The town/city of Tampa operates over 165 parks and beaches covering 2,286 acres (9.25 km2) inside town/city limits; 42 more in encircling suburbs covering 70,000 acres (280 km2) are maintained by Hillsborough County.

Tampa is home to a number of attractions and infamous parks, including Busch Gardens Tampa, Adventure Island, the Lowry Park Zoo, and the Florida Aquarium.

Busch Gardens Tampa is a 335-acre (1.36 km2) Africa-themed park positioned near the University of South Florida.

The Tampa Bay History Center is a exhibition positioned in the Channel District.

Well-known shopping areas include International Plaza and Bay Street, West - Shore Plaza, the So - Ho district, and Hyde Park Village. Palma Ceia is home to the Palma Ceia Design District. Previously, Tampa had been home to the Floriland Mall (now an office park), Tampa Bay Center (demolished and replaced with the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers training facility, known as "One Buc Place"), and East Lake Square Mall (now an office park).

The Tampa Port Authority presently operates three cruise ship terminals in Tampa's Channel District.

The Port of Tampa is the year-round home port for Carnival Cruise Lines' MS Carnival Inspiration and MS Carnival Legend.

In 2010 Tampa will also be a cyclic port for Holland America Line's MS Ryndam, as well as Royal Caribbean International's MS Grandeur of the Seas and MS Radiance of the Seas. A fourth company, Norwegian Cruise Line, has announced plans to sail out of Tampa for the first time.

Cruise itineraries from Tampa include stops in the Eastern and Western Caribbean islands, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico. Often referred to as Tampa's "Mardi Gras", the invasion flotilla led by the pirate ship, Jose Gasparilla, and subsequent parade draw over 400,000 attendees, contributing tens of millions of dollars to the city's economy.

Each February, The Florida State Fair brings crowds from athwart the state, while "Fiesta Day" jubilates Tampa's Cuban, Spanish, German, Italian, English, Irish, Jewish, and African-Cuban immigrant heritage.

The India International Film Festival (IIFF) of Tampa Bay also takes place in February.

Guavaween, a eveningtime street celebration infuses Halloween with the Latin flavor of Ybor City. Downtown Tampa hosts the biggest anime convention in Florida, Metrocon, a three-day event held in either June or July at the Tampa Convention Center. Ybor also hosts "Ga - Ybor Days", an annual street party in the GLBT-friendly Ga - Ybor district. The Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, held annually since 1989, is the city's biggest film festival event, and one of the biggest autonomous gay film celebrations in the country. Tampa hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention and the 15th International Indian Film Academy Awards in April 2014. Main article: Sports in the Tampa Bay Area Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Raymond James Stadium 1976 1 (XXXVII) Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Amalie Arena 1992 1 (2004) Tampa Bay Rays MLB Tropicana Field (St.

Tampa Bay Rowdies USL Al Lang Stadium (St.

Tampa Bay Storm AFL Amalie Arena 1987 (moved to Tampa in 1991) 5 (V; VII; IX; X; XVII) Tampa is represented by squads in three primary experienced sports leagues: the National Football League, the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball.

The NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning call Tampa home, while the Tampa Bay Rays of the MLB play athwart the bay in St.

As pointed out by their names, these teams, plus a several other sports teams, represent the entire Tampa urbane area.

The Tampa Bay region has long been a site for Major League Baseball spring training facilities and minor league baseball teams.

The New York Yankees conduct spring training in Tampa, and the Tampa Yankees play there in the summer.

On the collegiate level, the University of South Florida Bulls and the University of Tampa Spartans participate in many different sports.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers began in 1976 as an expansion team of the NFL.

Originally the Pittsburgh Gladiators and a charter member of the Arena Football League, the Tampa Bay Storm relocated from Pittsburgh in 1991 and won Arena - Bowl V that year.

Tampa was also home to the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League.

The Bandits made the playoffs twice in their three seasons under head coach Steve Spurrier and drew league-leading crowds to Tampa Stadium, but the team closed along with the rest of the USFL after the 1985 season. They played at Tampa Stadium, which hosted the 1984 USFL Championship Game. Main article: Baseball in the Tampa Bay region The Tampa Bay region has long been home to spring training, minor league, and excellent amateur baseball.

The Tampa Bay Rays (originally "Devil Rays") began playing in 1998 at Tropicana Field in St.

The New York Yankees and the affiliated Tampa Yankees use George M.

The NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning was established in 1992, and presently play their home games at Amalie Arena, positioned in downtown Tampa.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies compete in the United Soccer League (2nd Division) after spending their first 6 seasons in the North American Soccer League.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies of the initial North American Soccer League was the area's first primary sports franchise, beginning play in 1975 at Tampa Stadium.

The success of the Rowdies prompted Major League Soccer (MLS) to award Tampa a charter member of the new league in 1996.

The Tampa Bay Mutiny were the first MLS Supporters' Shield winner and had much early success beginning in 1996.

The University of South Florida is the only NCAA Division I sports program in Tampa.

The University of Tampa Spartans compete at the NCAA Division II level in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC).

The Mayor of Tampa is the chief executive officer of town/city government and is propel in four-year terms, with a limit of two consecutive terms.

The town/city of Tampa is served by Tampa Fire Rescue.

With 22 fire stations, the department provides fire and medical protection for Tampa and New Tampa, and provides support to other departments such as Tampa International Airport and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

The town/city of Tampa has a large police department that provides law enforcement services.

THPLS operates 25 libraries throughout Tampa and Hillsborough County, including the John F.

Germany Public Library in Downtown Tampa.

The Tampa library fitness first started in the early 20th century, with the West Tampa Library, which was made possible with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie.

Tampa's libraries are also a part of a larger library network, The Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative, which includes the libraries of the neighboring municipalities of Temple Terrace and Plant City.

University of Tampa's Plant Hall with over 46,000 students. The University of Tampa (UT) is a private, four-year liberal arts institution. It was established in 1931, and in 1933, it moved into the former Tampa Bay Hotel athwart the Hillsborough River from downtown Tampa.

Hillsborough Community College is a two-year improve college in the Florida College System with campuses in Tampa and Hillsborough County. Southern Technical College is a private two-year college that operates a ground in Tampa.

The Stetson University College of Law is positioned in Gulfport and has a second campus, the Tampa Law Center, in downtown Tampa.

The Law Center homes the Tampa branch of Florida's Second District Court of Appeal. Other universities and universities in the wider Tampa Bay Area include Jersey College, Eckerd College, and St.

Main article: Media in Tampa Bay The primary daily journal serving the town/city is the Tampa Bay Times, which purchased its longtime competition, the The Tampa Tribune, in 2016.

Print news coverage is also provided by a range of lesser county-wide newspapers, alternative weeklies, and magazines, including the Florida Sentinel Bulletin, Creative Loafing, Reax Music Magazine, The Oracle, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Mac - Dill Thunderbolt, and La Gaceta, which notable for being the nation's only trilingual journal - English, Spanish, and Italian, owing to its roots in the cigar-making immigrant neighborhood of Ybor City.

Three motor vehicle bridges cross Tampa Bay to Pinellas County from Tampa town/city limits: the Howard Frankland Bridge (I-275), the Courtney Campbell Causeway (SR 60), and the Gandy Bridge (U.S.

Tampa has a several freeways which serve the city.

The Lee Roy Selmon Expressway (SR 618) (formerly known as the Crosstown Expressway), runs from suburban Brandon at its easterly terminus, through Downtown Tampa, to the neighborhoods in South Tampa (near Mac - Dill Air Force Base) at its terminus.

The Veterans Expressway (SR 589), meanwhile joins Tampa International Airport and the bay bridges to the northwestern suburbs of Carrollwood, Northdale, Westchase, Citrus Park, Cheval, and Lutz, before closing north as the Suncoast Parkway into Pasco and Hernando counties.

Interstate 75 runs along the east side of town for much of its route through Hillsborough County until veering to the west to bisect New Tampa.

Main article: List of airports in the Tampa Bay region Tampa is served by three airports (one in Tampa, two in the metro area) that furnish significant scheduled passenger air service: Tampa International Airport (IATA: TPA) is Tampa's chief airport and the major locale for commercial passenger airline service into the Tampa Bay area.

The readers of Conde Nast Traveler have incessantly placed Tampa International in their list of Best Airports, ranking it #1 in 2003, and #2 in 2008 A survey by Zagat in 2007 ranked Tampa International first among U.S.

Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (IATA: PIE) lies just athwart the bay from Tampa International Airport in neighboring Pinellas County.

Tampa's intercity passenger rail service is based at Tampa Union Station, a historic facility, adjoining to downtown between the Channel District and Ybor City.

The station is served by Amtrak's Silver Star, which calls on Tampa twice daily: southbound to Miami and northbound for New York City. Union Station also serves as the transfer core for Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach service, offering bus connections to a several cities in southwest Florida and to Orlando. A tugboat pushes a barge at the Port of Tampa.

Early morning at the Port of Tampa Main article: Port Tampa Bay The Port of Tampa is the biggest port in Florida in throughput tonnage, making it one of the busiest commercial ports in North America. Petroleum and phosphate are the lead commodities, accounting for two-thirds of the 37 million tons of total bulk and general cargo handled by the port in 2009. The port is also home to Foreign Trade Zone #79, which assists companies in Tampa Bay and along the I-4 Corridor in importing, exporting, manufacturing, and distribution activities as part of the United States foreign trade zone program. Weekly containerized cargo service is available in the Port of Tampa.

Currently 3,000 to 4,250 TEU containerships regularly call the Port of Tampa.

Public mass transit in Tampa is directed by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART), and includes enhance bus as well as a streetcar line.

The HART bus system's chief hub is the Marion Transit Center in Downtown Tampa, serving nearly 30 small-town and express routes.

The TECO Line Streetcar System runs electric streetcar service along eleven stations on a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) route, connecting Ybor City, the Channel District, the Tampa Convention Center, and downtown Tampa. The TECO Line fleet features varnished wood interiors reminiscent of late 19th and mid-20th century streetcars. Limited transit by privately directed "Neighborhood Electric Vehicles" (NEV) is available, primarily in Downtown Tampa and Ybor City. Water taxis are available on a charter basis for tours along the downtown waterfront and the Hillsborough River.

The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) develops bus, light rail, and other transit options for the seven-county Tampa Bay area.

Tampa General Hospital in Downtown Tampa on Davis Island Tampa and its encircling suburbs are host to over 20 hospitals, four trauma centers, and multiple Cancer treatment centers.

Three[which?] of the area's hospitals were ranked among "America's best hospitals" by US News and World Report. Tampa is also home to many community research establishments.

The primary hospitals in Tampa include Tampa General Hospital, St.

USF's Byrd Alzheimer's Institute is both a prominent research facility and Alzheimer's patient care center in Tampa.

Main article: List of citizens from Tampa, Florida Tampa has formalized sister town/city agreements with the following cities: List of enhance art in Tampa, Florida Official records for Tampa were kept at downtown from April 1890 to December 1940, Peter O.

Knight Airport from January 1941 to 5 June 1946, and at Tampa Int'l since 7 June 1946.

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Tampa Bay Times.

"Economic Development in the Tampa Bay Area".

Major Employers, Tampa Bay Partnership.

"Tampa Downtown Partnership Elevating The Potential".

"Seven rental communities seek bankruptcy protection as multifamily struggles | Tampa Bay Business Journal".

"More good news for CRE: Tampa Bay rental markets rates high." Tampa Bay Business Journal.

"NOAA Brownfield: Pilot Port, Tampa Bay, FL".

"Business: Tampa Bay's new address: Upscale, USA".

"Famed Tampa wrestler Jack Brisco dies at 68 St.

"The Way the Music Died: The Earliest Days of Tampa Death Metal".

Richard Danielson, "Tampa names Ybor City-style Cuban as the city's signature sandwich", Tampa Bay Times (April 19, 2012).

Tampa Port Authority.

"Tampa, Florida to Host 2012 Republican National Convention".

"Super Bowl XXXVII Box Score: Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21".

"2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning Roster and Statistics | Hockey-Reference.com".

"Tampa Bay Bandits - USFL (United States Football League)".

"USFL.info - Tampa Bay Bandits".

"Tampa Bay Rays can leave Tropicana Field contract".

"MLS expansion town/city profile: Tampa Bay/St.

Insiders' Guide to the Greater Tampa Bay Area.

Insiders' Guide to the Greater Tampa Bay Area.

"The University of Tampa - Tampa, Florida - UT Profile".

Insiders' Guide to the Greater Tampa Bay Area.

Insiders' Guide to the Greater Tampa Bay Area.

"Conde Nast Readers Rate Tampa International Best in the U.S.", March 6, 2003.

Tampa Port Authority: General Cargo Facilities, Ports America Berths.

"Tampa Port Authority".

"Total Port, Port of Tampa, Florida: FY09 vs FY08", November 16, 2009.

Tampa Port Authority..

"Tampa Sister Cities from City of Tampa website".

Tampa: University of Tampa Press.

Tampa: University of Tampa Press.

Tampa: University of Tampa Press.

Tampa the Treasure City.

Tampa, Florida Tampa Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau Tampa website dedicated to historic Tampa photographs Tampa Bay at DMOZ Tampa Changing Historical and undivided photographs of Tampa Articles relating to Tampa and Hillsborough County

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Tampa, Florida - Cities in Florida - Cities in Hillsborough County, Florida - County seats in Florida - Populated places established in 1823 - Populated places on Tampa Bay - Port metros/cities and suburbs of the United States Gulf Coast - Port metros/cities in Florida - 1823 establishments in Florida Territory