Tampa

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{{Infobox Settlement|official_name = Tampa, Florida|other_name =|native_name = |nickname = "Cigar City", "The Big Guava"|settlement_type = City and the state of [Florida|subdivision_name = [United States|subdivision_name1 = [Florida|subdivision_name2 = [Hillsborough County, Florida|subdivision_type3 =|subdivision_name3 =|subdivision_type4 =|subdivision_name4 =|government_footnotes =|government_type =|leader_title = Mayor|leader_title1 = |leader_name1 =|leader_title2 =|leader_name2 =|leader_title3 =|leader_name3 =|leader_title4 =|leader_name4 =|established_title = |established_date = [January 18, 1849|utc_offset = -5|timezone_DST = [Eastern Daylight Time|utc_offset_DST = -4|latd = 27 |latm = 58 |lats = 15 |latNS = N|longd = 82 |longm = 27 |longs = 6.72 |longEW = W|elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = 6|elevation_ft = 3|postal_code_type =|postal_code =|area_code = Area code 813|blank_name = Federal Information Processing Standard|blank_info = 12-71000|blank1_name = Geographic Names Information System feature ID|blank1_info = 0292005|website = City of Tampa official website|footnotes =-->Tampa is a United States city in Hillsborough County, Florida, on the west coast of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County.. The population of Tampa in 2000 was 303,447. According to the 2006 Census estimate, the city has a population of 334,550http://www.theplanningcommission.org/library/onlinelibrary/reports/popest/pophousestim/folder.2006-08-15.6377746849/2006%20Est%20Report.pdf.

Tampa is a part of the Tampa Bay Area metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the "Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area". The four-county area is composed of roughly 2.7 million residents, making it the second largest United States metropolitan area (MSA) in the state, and the third largest in the Southeastern United States. The Tampa Bay Partnership and U.S. Census data showed an average annual growth of 2.47 percent, or a gain of approximately 97,000 residents per year. Between 2000 and 2006, the Tampa Bay market area has experienced a combined growth rate of 14.8 percent, growing from 3.4 million to 3.9 million and hitting the 4 million people mark on April 1, 2007http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/06/18/daily33.html?from_rss=1.It is the largest media market in the state of Florida and thirteenth largest Media market in the United States.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_stations_in_North_America_by_media_market

History

Origins The word "Tampa" is believed to mean "sticks of fire" in the language of the Calusa, a Native Americans in the United States tribe. Other historians claim the name refers to "The place to gather sticks". "Sticks of fire" may also relate to the high concentration of lightning strikes that Tampa Bay receives every year during the hot and wet summer months.Toponymy George R. Stewart writes that the name was the result of a miscommunication between the Spanish and the Indians, the Indian word being "itimpi", meaning simply "near it" (Stewart, pg. 231).

Early explorations Whatever its origins, the name first appears in the "Memoir" of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda (1575), who had spent 17 years as a Calusa captive. He calls it "Tanpa" and describes it as an important Calusa town. While "Tanpa" is the apparent basis for the modern name "Tampa", archaeologist Jerald Milanich places the Calusa village of Tanpa at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor (estuary), the original "Bay of Tanpa". A later Spanish expedition failed to notice Charlotte Harbor while sailing north along the west coast of Florida and assumed that today's Tampa Bay was the bay that they had sought. Thus, the name was accidentally transferred north.Milanich, Jerald T. 1995. Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1360-7 p. 40

In April of 1528, the ill-fated Narváez Expedition landed near Tampa with the intention of starting a colony. After being told by the natives of better riches to the north, they abandoned their camp after only a week. A dozen years later, a surviving member of the expedition named Juan Ortiz was rescued by Hernando de Soto (explorer)'s expedition. Floripedia "De Soto, Hernando" - URL retrieved January 30, 2007

A peace treaty was conducted with the local Indians and a short-lived Spanish outpost was established, but this was abandoned when it became clear that there was no gold in the area, and that the local Indians were not interested in converting to Roman Catholic Church but were too skilled as warriors to easily conquer.

The Tampa area would be effectively ignored by its colonial owners for the next 200+ years.

British rule When Great Britain acquired Florida in 1763, the bay was named Hillsborough Bay, after Lord Hillsborough, Secretary of State for the Colonies. Britain was more concerned with the strategically important Atlantic coast of Florida (especially St. Augustine, Florida) rather than mostly empty Gulf coast, and the Tampa area was by and large disregarded again.

With the native population having died from disease long before and the Seminoles still living to the north, the only (seasonal) residents of the Tampa Bay area were Cuban fishermen. These visitors stayed in temporary settlements along the shore, catching a large haul of fish from the teeming waters of the bay to take back and sell.http://www.webcoast.com/pinellas.htm

Florida becomes a U.S. Territory Spain regained control of Florida in 1783 as part of the Treaty of Paris at the end of the American Revolution. Once again, the Tampa area was not a vital concern to its European owner.

The United States purchased Florida in 1821 (see Adams-Onís Treaty) to stem the tide of escaped slaves fleeing to the wilds of Florida from neighboring states. In fact, one of the first official U.S. actions in the new territory was a raid which destroyed Angola, a village built by escaped slaves on the shores of Tampa Bay.

Birth of a pioneer town The Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823) created a large Indian reservation in the interior of the peninsular Florida. As part of efforts to establish control over the vast swampy wilderness, the U.S. government built a series of forts and trading posts throughout the new territory. "Cantonment Brooke" was established in 1823 by Colonels George Mercer Brooke and James Gadsden at the mouth of the Hillsborough River on Tampa Bay, at what is now the site of the Tampa Convention Center in Downtown Tampa. In 1824, the post was officially christened Fort Brooke.

A few settlers soon established homesteads around the wooden fort, but growth was very slow due to difficult conditions and the constant threat of attack from the Seminole Indians population, who lived nearby in an uneasy truce. When the Second Seminole War flared up in late 1835, Fort Brooke served as a vital military asset. After almost seven long years of vicious fighting, the war was over and the Seminoles were forced away from the Tampa region. The tiny village of Tampa soon began to grow up.

The Territory of Florida had grown enough by 1845 to become the 27th state. The settlement of Tampa had grown enough by 1849 to incorporate as the "Village of Tampa", which officially occurred on January 18. Tampa was home to 185 inhabitants, excluding military personnel stationed at Fort Brooke. The city's first U.S. Census count in 1850 listed Tampa-Fort Brooke, Florida as having 974 residents. 1850 Census of Population Tampa was reincorporated as a town on December 15, 1855, and Judge Joseph B. Lancaster became the first Mayor in 1856.http://www.tampagov.net/dept_City_Clerk/previous_mayors/index.asphttp://www.tampagov.net/dept_city_clerk/archives/Records/City_of_Tampa_Incorporation_History.asp

Tampa during the Civil War During the American Civil War, Florida seceded along with the rest of the south to form the Confederate States of America. Fort Brooke was manned by Confederate troops and martial law was declared in Tampa in January of 1862. Tampa's city government ceased to operate for the duration of the war.http://www.tampagov.net/dept_City_Clerk/Information_resources/previous_mayors/No_Municipal_Form_of_Government.asp

In late 1861, the Union (American Civil War) navy set up a blockade around many southern ports to cut off the Confederacy from outside help, and several ships were stationed near the mouth of Tampa Bay. However, blockade runners based in Tampa were able to repeatedly slip through the blockade to trade cattle and citrus for needed supplies, mainly with Spanish Cuba.http://www.tampagov.net/dept_City_Clerk/Information_resources/previous_mayors/james_mckaysr.asp

Trying to put a stop to this, Union gunboats sailed up Tampa Bay to bombard Fort Brooke and the surrounding city of Tampa. The Battle of Tampa on June 30-July 1, 1862 was inconclusive, as the shells fell ineffectually and there were no casualties on either side.http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/fl/fl002.htmlhttp://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/fl002.htm

Much more damaging to the Confederate cause was the Battle of Fort Brooke on October 17-18, 1863. Two Union gunboats shelled the fort and surrounding town and landed troops, who found blockade runners hidden up the Hillsborough River and destroyed them. http://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/civwar.htm The local militia mustered to intercept the Union troops, but they were able to return to their ships after a short skirmish and headed back out to sea.

The Appomattox Court House in Confederate defeat in April 1865. In May, federal troops arrived in Tampa to occupy the fort and the town as part of Reconstruction. They would remain until August, 1869.http://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/civwar.htm

The Lean Years The years after the Civil War were difficult ones in Tampa. With little industry and land transportation links limited to bumpy wagon roads from the east coast of Florida, Tampa was a small fishing village with poor prospects for development.

Then came yellow fever. Borne by mosquitos from the surrounding swampland, Tampa was hit by wave after wave of yellow fever epidemics and scares throughout the late 1860s and 1870s. The disease was little understood at the time, and many residents simply packed up and left rather than face the mysterious and deadly peril.

A telling moment occurred in 1869, when residents voted to abolish the City of Tampa government http://www.tampagov.net/dept_City_Clerk/Information_resources/archives/City_of_Tampa_Incorporation_History.asp. The population of "Tampa Town" was below 800 in the official 1870 census count and had fallen further by 1880. (see demographics, below). The little village was dying.

Another blow was to come. Fort Brooke, the seed from which Tampa had germinated, had served its purpose and was decommissioned in 1883. Except for two cannons displayed on the nearby University of Tampa campus, all traces of the fort are gone. In an odd nod to history, a large downtown parking garage near the old fort site is called the Fort Brooke Parking Garage.http://www.tampagov.net/dept_parking/Programs_and_services/Garages_and_Lots/ft_Brooke_garage.asp

Phosphate, Railroads, and Cigars Then, out of the blue, Tampa's fortunes took several sudden turns for the better. First, phosphate was discovered in the Bone Valley region southeast of Tampa in 1883. The mineral, which is vital for the production of fertilizers and other products, was soon being shipped out from the Port of Tampa in ever increasing volume. Tampa is still one of the world's leading phosphate exporters.

Henry B. Plant's railroad line reached Tampa and its port shortly thereafter, connecting the small town to the country's railroad system. Tampa finally had the overland transportation link that had been so sorely lacking. The railroad enabled phosphate and commercial fishing exports to go north http://www.baysoundings.com/sum05/phosphate4.html, brought many new products into the Tampa market, and started the first real tourist industry: visitors coming in modest numbers to Henry Plant's first Tampa-area resort built literally on Tampa Bay on stilts. (This was not the still-standing Tampa Bay Hotel, which came a few years later).

The new railroad link enabled another important industry to come to Tampa. In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade helped broker a land deal with Vicente Martinez Ybor to move his cigar manufacturing operations to Tampa from Key West. Close proximity to Cuba made imports of tobacco easy by sea, and Plant's railroad made shipment of finished cigars to the rest of the US market easy by land.

Since Tampa was still a small town at the time (population less than 5000), Ybor built hundreds of small houses around his factory to accommodate the immediate influx of mainly Cuban and Spanish people cigar workers. Other cigar factories soon moved in, and Ybor City (as the 40-odd acre settlement was dubbed) quickly made Tampa a major cigar production center. To round out the town's population, many Italians and a few eastern European Jewish immigrants also arrived starting in the late 1880s, mainly operating businesses and shops that catered to the cigar workers. The majority of Italian immigrants came from Alessandria Della Rocca and Santo Stefano Quisquina, two small Sicily towns with which Tampa still maintains strong ties.

In 1891, Henry B. Plant built a lavish 500+ room, quarter-mile long luxury resort hotel called the Henry B. Plant Museum among 150 acres of manicured gardens along the banks Hillsborough River. The eclectic structure cost $2.5 million to build, a huge sum in those days. Plant filled his expensive playground with exotic art collectables from around the world and installed electric lights and the first elevator in town.

The resort did great business for a few years, especially during the Spanish-American War (see below). But with Plant's death in 1899, the hotel's fortunes began to fade. It closed in 1930. In 1933, however, the stately building reopened as the University of Tampa.

Mainly because of Henry Plant's connections in the War Department, Tampa was chosen as an embarkation center for American troops in the Spanish-American War. Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were among the 30,000 troops who waited in Tampa for the order to ship out to Cuba during the summer of 1898, filling the town to bursting http://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/spanam.htm. Those months, while unpleasant for the troops wearing thick wool uniforms in the oppressive Florida heat, were a great boon to Tampa's growing economy. It was also the only time when Plant's Tampa Bay Hotel was full to capacity.

The founding of Ybor City, the building of Plant's railroad and hotels, and the discovery of phosphate - all within a dozen years in the late 1800s - were crucial to Tampa's deveopment. The town suddenly expanded from sleepy backwater village to bustling town to small city. Except for temporary bumps along the way, this growth has continued unabatted.

The Early 20th Century During the first few decades of the 20th century, the cigar making industry continued to be the backbone of Tampa's economy. 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.Ybor City: The Making of a Landmark Town by Frank Lastra As the market for cigars began to wane during the Great Depression, other industries came to the fore, especially shipping and, of course, tourism.

In 1904, a local civic association of local businessmen dubbed themselves Ye Mystic Krewe (named after local mythical pirate Jose Gaspar), and staged an "invasion" of the city followed by a parade. With a few exceptions, the Gasparilla Pirate Festival has been held every year since.

Bolita & the Mob Beginning in the late 1800s, illegal bolita lotteries were very popular among the Tampa working classes, especially in Ybor City. In the early 1920s, this small-time operation was taken over by Charlie Wall, the rebellious son of a prominent Tampa family, and went big-time. Bolita was able to openly thrive only because of kick-backs and bribes to key local politicians and law enforcement officials, and many were on the take.

Profits from the bolita lotteries and Prohibition-era bootlegging led to the development of several organized crime factions in the city. Charlie Wall was the first major boss, but various power struggles culminated in consolidation of control by Sicily mafia Santo Trafficante, Sr. and his faction in the 1950s. After his death in 1954 from cancer, control passed to his son Santo Trafficante, Jr., who established alliances with families in New York City and extended his power throughout Florida and into Fulgencio Batista-era Cuba.http://www.weeklyplanet.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A317http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_101.html

The era of rampant and open corruption ended in the 1950s, when the Kefauver's traveling Kefauver hearings came to town and were followed by the sensational misconduct trials of several local officials. Though many of the worse offenders in government and the mob were not charged, the trials helped to end the sense of lawlessness which had prevailed in Tampa for a long time.

Mid-Late 20th Century The University of South Florida was established in 1956, sparking development in northern Tampa and nearby Temple Terrace, Florida.

There were four attempts to consolidate Tampa with Hillsborough County (1967, 1970, 1971, and 1972), all of which failed at the ballot box with the biggest margin was 33,160 for and 73,568 against the proposed charter in 1972.http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04152005-170723/unrestricted/05_lsj_CHAPTER_4_b.pdf

The biggest development of the city was the development of New Tampa (Tampa), Florida that started in 1988 when the city annexed a 24-square mile (mostly rural) area between Interstate 275 (Florida) and Interstate 75.

On January 5, 2002, just four months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 15-year-old amateur pilot Charles Bishop stole a Cessna plane and flew into the Bank of America Tower (Tampa) in Downtown Tampa. Bishop died, but there were no other injuries (because the crash occurred on a Saturday, when few people were in the building). A suicide note found in the wreckage expressed support for Osama bin Laden. Bishop had been taking a Prescription drug medicine for Acne vulgaris called Accutane that may have had the Adverse effect (medicine) of clinical depression or Psychosis. His family later sued Hoffman-La Roche, the company that makes Accutane, for $70 million; however, an autopsy found no traces of the drug in the teenager's system.

See also 2002 Tampa plane crash

Geography Tampa is located on the West coast of Florida at (27.970898, -82.464640).

Topography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 441.9 km² (170.6 square mile). 290.3 km² (112.1 mi²) of it is land and 151.6 km² (58.5 mi²) of it (34.31%) is water. The highest point in the city is only in the forties. Tampa bordered by two bodies of water: Old Tampa Bay and Tampa Bay, which both flow to form Tampa Bay, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The Hillsborough River (Florida) flows out into Hillsborough Bay, passing directly in front of Downtown Tampa and supplying Tampa with its main source of water.

Climate Tampa's climate is subtropical, with hot summer days and a threat of winter frost only about every 2-3 years. Highs usually range between 65 and 95 Fahrenheit (18 and 35 Celsius) year round. Surprisingly to some, Tampa's official recorded high has never hit 100 °F (38 °C) - the all-time record high temperature is 99 °F (37 °C), recorded on June 5, 1985.http://weather.yahoo.com/climo/USFL0481_f.html

In the winter, the low rarely drops below freezing (32 °F , 0 °C). But since the Tampa area is home to much agriculture and aquaculture, cold snaps are a major worry. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Tampa was 18 °F (-7.8 °C) on December 13, 1962.http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/outdoors/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USFL0481?from=search Usually, the highs are around 70 °F (20 - 22 °C) with sunny skies in the winter, with the occasional passage of a cold front bringing the temperature down for a few days.

In the Great Blizzard of 1899, Tampa suffered its one and only known blizzard, with lake effect snow coming off of Tampa Bay. The last measurable snow in Tampa fell on January 19, 1977. The accumulation amounted to all of 0.2 inches, but the city, unprepared for and unaccustomed to wintry weather, came to a virtual standstill for a day. http://community.myfoxtampabay.com/blogs/Howard_Shapiro/2007/1

Temperatures are hot from around mid-May through mid-October, which coincides approximately with the rainy season. Summer days usually have highs in the low 90s °F (32-34 °C) with high humidity. The summer nighttime temperature usually drops into the mid 70s °F (21 - 23 °C).http://www.wordtravels.com/Cities/Florida/Tampa/Climate

Thunderstorms are a common feature of summer in Tampa. These afternoon boomers can sometimes become severe, bringing gusty winds, small hail, and torrential rain. Tornadoes are rare, but not unheard of. But the biggest danger they bring is lightning.

The Tampa Bay area is recognized as the "Lightning Capital of the North America". Every year, Florida averages 10 deaths and 30 injuries from lightning strikes, with several of these usually occurring in or around Tampa. http://www2.sptimes.com/weather/SW.1.html With each thunderstorm capable of unleashing thousands of individual bolts, it's best to stay inside until the weather clears. http://green.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/lightning-safety-tips.html

The most common summertime weather pattern is for heat-produced thermals to turn puffy white cumulus clouds into threatening thunderheads over the interior of the Florida peninsula. The typical wind pattern usually pushes these storms slowly westward toward the Tampa area. Sometimes they rain themselves out before making it to the coast; on many summer days in Tampa Bay, a stormy afternoon is followed by a pleasantly clear and cooler (though not exactly cool) evening. But occasionally the storms survive to move out over the Gulf of Mexico at night, where they can be seen from the beaches as spectacular light shows.

A westerly or southwesterly wind flow, however, will bring even more humidity than usual into the air. On those days, rain and thunder can strike anywhere at any time around Tampa Bay.

Because of these regular summer storms, Tampa has a pronounced wet season, averaging 20.6 inches (524 mm) between July and September, but only 6.2 inches (157 mm) between November and January. The wettest month is August, which averages 7.6 inches (193 mm). (August and especially September rain totals are augmented by tropical systems, which easily can dump many inches of rain in one day.) November is Tampa's driest month, averaging only 1.6 inches (41 mm). During the winter, most of the area's precipitation is delivered by the occasional cold front. Yearly precipitation averages 44.8 inches (1137 mm).

Cityscape The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns and unincorporated communities that were annexed by the growing city. Generally, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown Tampa, New Tampa, Florida, West Tampa, Florida, East Tampa, Tampa, Florida, North Tampa, Tampa, Florida, and South Tampa, Tampa, Florida.

Some well-known communities of Tampa include Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, Forest Hills (Tampa), Florida, Sulphur Springs, Tampa, Florida, Seminole Heights, Tampa, Florida, Tampa Heights (Tampa), Florida, Palma Ceia, Tampa, Florida, Hyde Park, Tampa, Florida, Tampa Palms, Tampa, Florida, College Hill, Tampa, Florida and non-residential areas of Gary, Tampa, Florida and the Westshore, Tampa.

Landmarks Tampa is also known for its significant landmarks. The Sulphur Springs Water Tower, a landmark in Sulphur Springs, Tampa, Florida section of the city dates back to the late 1920s. Also during this time period was the construction of Bayshore Boulevard, which parallel Hillsborough Bay from Downtown Tampa to areas in South Tampa (region). The road has a 4.5-mile continuous sidewalk on the eastern end, the longest in the world. Bayshore Boulevard Linear Park. Babe Zaharias Golf Course in the Forest Hills (Tampa), Florida area of Tampa has been designated a Historical Landmark by the National Register of Historic Places. It was bought in 1949 by the famous 'Babe' who had a residence nearby and closed at her death. In 1974, the City of Tampa opened the golf course to the public http://www.babezahariasgc.com/content.php?link=course_history.php

The Story of Tampa, a public painting by Lynn Ash, is a 4' x 8' oil 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 of Tampa's Public Art Program and can be found in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building. The Story of Tampa

Park Tower (Tampa, Florida) (originally the First Financial Bank of Florida), the first substantial skyscraper in Downtown Tampa. Completed in 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in Tampa until the completion of One Tampa City Center in 1981. Emporis.com: Park Tower

Future landmarks include The Tampa Riverwalk, a proposed continuous pedestrian walkway along the eastern end of the Hillsborough River (Florida). The sidewalk will extend from the Channel District, Tampa, Florida district to Tampa Heights (Tampa), Florida. Tampa Rivewalk The schedule time for completion is around 2010. Tampa Riverwalk: About Us.

Other landmarks within the city include theTampa Theatre, MOSI (which include the IMAX dome theater), Fun-Lan Drive-In (drive-in theater), and Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

Downtown Tampa boasts a number of landmark high rises, including the Suntrust Building, Sykes Building, SkyPoint Condominium, Towers of Channelside, and the Bank of America Building.

South of Tampa, spanning the southern part of Tampa Bay, is the region's most endearing landmark. In much the same way that San Francisco is recognizable world-wide because of its Golden Gate Bridge, the Tampa Bay area holds its massive steel-span Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the same regard.

Culture Nighttime hot spots include places such as Soho, Tampa, Florida, Channel District, Tampa, Florida, and Ybor City.

Some well-known shopping areas are the International Plaza and Bay Street, WestShore Plaza, Tampa, Westfield Brandon, Westfield Citrus Park and Hyde Park Village.

Events held annually in Tampa include the Outback Bowl (every New Year's Day), the Gasparilla Pirate Festival (every February), the Sant'Yago Knight Parade, the Florida State Fair (mid-February), Guavaween (every October).

Media Major daily newspapers serving the city are The Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times. La Gaceta is the nation's only trilingual newspaper, written in English, Spanish and Italian. There is also a wide variety of smaller regional newspapers, alternative weeklies and magazines, including the Florida Sentinel Bulletinhttp://www.flsentinel.com/ (which focuses coverage on the African American community in Tampa), Creative Loafing, The Oracle (University of South Florida), Tampa Bay Business Journal (legal industry paper), and MacDill Thunderbolthttp://www.macdillthunderbolt.com/. Centro Mi Diario is a free Spanish-language newspaper published by The Tampa Tribune.http://www.centrotampa.com/ SyFy Portal, SyUniverse Group Inc., parent corporation, based in Tampa as is its owner.

Religion Tampa's first church was the First Methodist Church, founded in a cabin by circuit rider J.C. Lay in 1846. The most famous church, however, is the Sacred Heart Catholic Church which was officially opened in 1905. The city also contains St. Paul's A.M.E. Church which was founded by Reverend Thomas W. Long in 1870 and is Tampa's oldest African-American congregation , and First Presbyterian Church which is housed in a Spanish mission style building from 1930. There are also many other churches such as St. Patrick Catholic Church and Christ the King Catholic Church.

Sports {| class="wikitable"! Club! Sport! League! Stadium|-| Tampa Bay Buccaneers| [National Football League (NFL) - National Football Conference| Raymond James Stadium| [Baseball - [American League| Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida|-| Tampa Bay Lightning| [National Hockey League (NHL) - Eastern Conference]|-| Tampa Bay Storm| [Arena Football League (AFL)]|-| University of South Florida| College Football - [Big East Conference|-| [University of South Florida| College Basketball - [Big East Conference|}

Tampa is represented by teams in four major professional sports leagues; the [NFL, the NHL,Major League Baseball, and the Arena Football League. Three of the teams play in Tampa proper, while the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of Major League Baseball play across the bay in St. Petersburg, Florida. All of the teams are considered to represent the entire Tampa Bay Area. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the area's first major franchise in 1976, and brought the area its first major sports championship at the end of the 2002 NFL season, winning Super Bowl XXXVII against the Oakland Raiders. The NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning was established in 1992, and currently play their games in the St. Pete Times Forum. The team won their first Stanley Cup championship in Tampa in an ultimate game 7 against the Calgary Flames at the end of the 2003-2004 NHL season. The Devil Rays began play in 1998, but have yet to be a major contender - finishing last in the American League American League East Division in nine of the ten seasons they have played. The Tampa Bay Storm play in the Arena Football League. Originally playing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the team moved to Tampa in 1991. The Storm won their first Arena Bowl championship in 1991, and have won four subsequent championships in 1993, 1995, 1996, and 2003, winning more than any other AFL team. Since 1997, the team has played its home games in the St. Pete Times Forum, which is located in Tampa.The University of South Florida football program, only eleven years old became ranked for the first time in school history after the team's week 2 victory in Auburn against the #17 ranked tigers. USF was ranked 23. After beating The University of North Carolina, they were ranked 18. Two weeks later on September 28, 2007, #18 USF hosted #5 ranked and Big East rival West Virginia University. The game was the first sell out in the university's short lived football history, with 67,018. That day in Tampa was proclaimed "Green and Gold Day" by the city's mayor, and the downtown Tampa skyline was illuminated green and gold. University of South Florida won biggest game in their history 21-13, and eventually be ranked 6 in the nation. After defeating cross-state rival, University of Central Florida soundly two weeks later, the USF Bulls would set another school record - marking the first time ever that the school has placed in the BCS Polls. The first BCS Poll of 2007 ranked the USF Bulls second in the nation, after Ohio State.

Other sports teams include:

The Bay Area Krewe rugby union team who play at Skyview Park
The Tampa Bay Titans rugby union team

Tampa has hosted several franchises of other professional leagues over the years. The first of these was the Tampa Bay Rowdies, started in 1975 as an expansion franchise of the defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). They played their games at Tampa Stadium. The Rowdies won the inaugural Soccer Bowl in 1975, bringing Tampa Bay its first professional sports championship. The NASL folded in 1984, while the Rowdies continued play in other indoor soccer leagues before folding in 1993. The Tampa Bay Bandits of the defunct United States Football League (USFL) began play in 1985, and played three seasons in Tampa Stadium before the league and the team folded. Coached by Steve Spurrier, their crowd-pleasing style of play was known as "banditball". The Tampa Bay Mutiny of Major League Soccer began play at Tampa Stadium in 1996, and continued through 2001 before folding.

Tampa has hosted three Super Bowls. Super Bowl 18 (1984) and Super Bowl 25 (1991). Super Bowl 35 was played in the newly built Raymond James Stadium in 2001. Tampa is slated to host the Super Bowl in February 2009.

The Tampa Bay Area also hosts a number of Major League Baseball teams for spring training, as well as several minor league baseball teams. Playing in the spring training Florida Grapefruit League are:

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays of Major League Baseball play spring training games at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg
The New York Yankees of Major League Baseball play spring training games at Legends Field in Tampa
The Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball play spring training games at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater
The Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball play spring training games at Knology Park in Dunedin

And playing in the Minor League Baseball Florida State League (Single-A baseball) are:

The Tampa Yankees: Legends Field in Tampa
The Clearwater Threshers: Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater
The Dunedin Blue Jays: Knology Park in Dunedin

The NCAA football Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium is held in Tampa each January.
Three Super Bowls have been held in Tampa, which will also be hosting the Super Bowl in 2009.
The USHRA holds an event every January at Raymond James Stadium.

Economy

Service, retail, finance, insurance, and real estate play a vital role in the area's economy.http://www.tampachamber.com/economic_development.asp Hillsborough County alone has an estimated 740,000 employees, a figure which is projected to increase to 922,000 by 2015.http://www.tampachamber.com/economic_development.asp Many corporations, such as large banks and telecommunications companies, maintain regional offices in Tampa.

Downtown Tampa is undergoing significant development and redevelopment in line with a general national trend toward urban residential development. The Tampa Downtown Partnership notes development proceeding on 20 residential, hotel, and mixed-use projects as of April 2007.http://tampasdowntown.com/default.aspx Many of the new downtown developments are nearing completion in the midst of a housing market slump, which has caused numerous projects to be delayed or revamped,http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBW9NU830F.html and some of the 20 projects TDP lists have not broken ground and are being refinanced. Nonetheless several developments are nearing completion, which city leaders hope will make downtown into a 24-hour neighborhood instead of 9 to 5 business district.http://www.tampagov.net/dept_mayor/files/speech_march_2005.pdf

Tampa's port is now the seventh largest in the nation and Florida’s largest tonnage port, handling nearly half of all seaborne commerce that passes through the state. Tampa currently ranks second in the state behind Miami in terms of cruise ship travel. Besides smaller regional cruise ships such as Yacht Starship and SunCruz Casino, Tampa also serves as a port of call for three cruiselines - Holland America's MS Veendam, Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas, and Carnival's Legend and Inspiration.{{cite web] companies are headquartered in the metropolitan area-- OSI Restaurant Partners (the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, and Bonefish Grill), TECO Energy which provides energy for the surrounding area, and Raymond James Financial, the namesake of Buccaneers home field Raymond James Stadium. Fortune 500 company Tech Data is based across the bay in Clearwater, Floridahttp://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2007/snapshots/1313.html.

Wikipedia is based in Tampa, with additional servers in Amsterdam and Seoul.

See also: List of foreign consulates in Tampa.

Government Tampa is governed under the strong mayor form of government. The Mayor of Tampa is the chief executive officer of city government. The Tampa City Council is a legislative body served by seven members, in which three are At-Large (serving citywide).http://www.tampagov.net/dept_City_Council/about_us/ Pam Iorio is the current mayor of Tampa.

Demographics {{USCensusPop| 1850= 974| 1870= 796| 1880= 720| 1890= 5532| 1900= 15839| 1910= 37782| 1920= 51608| 1930= 101161| 1940= 108391| 1950= 124681| 1960= 274970| 1970= 277714| 1980= 271523| 1990= 280015| 2000= 303447| estimate= 334550| estyear= 2006-->As of the census of 2000, there were 303,447 people, 124,758 households, and 71,236 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,045.4/km² (2,707.8/mi²). There were 135,776 housing units at an average density of 467.8/km² (1,211.6/mi²).

The racial makeup of the city was 64.22% White (U.S. Census) (51.0% White Non-Hispanic), 26.07% Black or African American (U.S. Census), 0.38% American Indians (U.S. Census) and Alaska Native, 2.15% Asian (U.S. Census), 0.09% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (U.S. Census), 4.17% from Race (United States Census), and 2.92% from two or more races. Hispanic (U.S. Census) or Latino (U.S. Census) of any race were 19.29% of the population.

There were 124,758 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were Marriage living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.7 years old. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,415, and the median income for a family was $40,517. Males had a median income of $31,452 versus $26,133 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,953. 18.1% of the population and 14.0% of families were below the poverty line. 26.8% of those under the age of 18 and 15.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty level.

As of 2000, English language spoken as a first language accounted for 77.43% of all residents, while 22.56% spoke other languages as their mother tongue. The most significant was Spanish language speakers who made up 17.76% of the population, while French language came up as the third most spoken language, which made up 0.63%, and Italian language was at fourth, with 0.56% of the population. Modern Language Association Data Center Results of Tampa, Florida

Infrastructure At present, there are three road bridges crossing Tampa Bay to Pinellas County, Florida: the Howard Frankland Bridge (Interstate 275 (Florida)), the Courtney Campbell Causeway (Florida State Road 60) and the Gandy Bridge (US 92).

Two major expressways are within the city limits. The Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway (SR-618), connects to downtown Tampa from suburban Brandon, Florida as its eastern terminus and neighborhoods in South Tampa (near MacDill Air Force Base) as its western terminus. The Florida State Road 589 (SR-589), meanwhile connects Tampa International Airport and the bay bridges to the northwestern suburbs as Carrollwood, Florida, Greater Northdale, Florida, and near Land O' Lakes, Florida.

Three freeways are within the city limits. Interstate 4, Interstate 275 (Florida), and a portion of Interstate 75 in Florida in New Tampa.

Along with highways, major surface roads serves as main arteries of the city. These roads are Hillsborough Avenue, Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Dale Mabry Highway, Busch Boulevard, U.S. Highway 41, Florida State Road 60, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Airports Little known fact: the Tampa Bay area was home to the first passenger airline. Just ten years after the historic first flight by the Wright Brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the St. Petersburg Tampa Bay Airboat Line became the first passenger airline in the world. The first flight was on January 1, 1914. The airline flew from roughly what is now St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport in St. Petersburg, Florida, across the bay to just south of where Tampa International Airport sits today. While visiting the Tampa Airport, you can see a memorial to this first passenger airline sitting next to the Wharf Restaurant. For this reason, nearby St. Petersburg has earned the distinction as the "Birthplace of Scheduled Air

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