Was Tampa originally laid out like New Orleans?? (2014, houses)

[theurbanfiles]

Was just curious whether a historian here could provide some info on this. If you look at the CBD of both, they have relatively little residential, and then further down is the industrial Harbour (which in modern days has morphed into the Riverwalk/Channelside developments you see there. They both have a cable car line running through major areas of the city. They both have a park a few miles outside the city ( Lowry/Audobon) that houses green spaces/city zoo. They both have an ethnic area on the east side of town that is filled with old country architecture. And they both have incredibly affluent waterfront/WASP neighborhoods on the west side of town , with a major thoroughfare (Kennedy/St. Charles) providing a stark contrast in neighborhood and living conditions. Anyone else noticed this?? Bern's=Commanders Palace whereas Galatoire=Columbia.

[MAniacTHW]

I'm not really familiar with New Orleans (outside of a trip I made a year ago). What I can tell you is that Tampa was built piece-by-piece. It started with Downtown. It was a very small, struggling town until Henry Plant put a train station in the city and Vicente Martinez-Ybor was given a heads up that Tampa had an environment that was similar to Cuba's that would allow him to make his cigars. Ybor got a plot of land outside of Tampa and started building his Cuban village. After Ybor's death, Tampa annexed Ybor into the city of Tampa and Hugh Macfarlane came in in and attempt to mimic Ybor's success. He bought some land on the outskirts of Tampa and built "West Tampa" (I have no idea how the name came to be, as it's on the east side of Tampa). He was successful in building up his own city and then West Tampa was annexed into the city of Tampa. Every neighborhood was originally a new city outside of the city of Tampa that would eventually be annexed into the city of Tampa.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by MAniacTHW

I'm not really familiar with New Orleans (outside of a trip I made a year ago). What I can tell you is that Tampa was built piece-by-piece. It started with Downtown. It was a very small, struggling town until Henry Plant put a train station in the city and Vicente Martinez-Ybor was given a heads up that Tampa had an environment that was similar to Cuba's that would allow him to make his cigars. Ybor got a plot of land outside of Tampa and started building his Cuban village. After Ybor's death, Tampa annexed Ybor into the city of Tampa and Hugh Macfarlane came in in and attempt to mimic Ybor's success. He bought some land on the outskirts of Tampa and built "West Tampa" (I have no idea how the name came to be, as it's on the east side of Tampa). He was successful in building up his own city and then West Tampa was annexed into the city of Tampa. Every neighborhood was originally a new city outside of the city of Tampa that would eventually be annexed into the city of Tampa.

Great info, Maniac. Just want to point out I grew up in "old West Tampa", it is on the west side and was called that due to being on the west side of the Hillsborough River.

[MAniacTHW]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Great info, Maniac. Just want to point out I grew up in "old West Tampa", it is on the west side and was called that due to being on the west side of the Hillsborough River.

As soon as I posted my post, I looked it up. I should've done it beforehand. Thanks for clearing it up.

[theurbanfiles]

Yes, definitely great info. A lot of similarities, perhaps just accidentally then. Another one: popularity of Gasparilla and Mardi Gras, albeit on a smaller scale.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

Yes, definitely great info. A lot of similarities, perhaps just accidentally then. Another one: popularity of Gasparilla and Mardi Gras, albeit on a smaller scale.

Not to mention Guavaween!

Guavaween 2014 : Voodoo Carnival

[NALEXAND]

The 2 cities certainly seem to be similar in many ways! When I take visitors to Ybor City they immediately draw comparisons to NOLA. Another similarity are the Tampa Bay parades' resemblance to the Mardi Gras parades with the throwing of the beads. Its seems someone had NOLA in mind, if not, its surely an ironic coincidence.

[theurbanfiles]

Yeah it is very interesting. I think the most telling difference for me is the change in neighborhoods north and south of Kennedy (a la, how St. Charles divides Central City, and then three blocks south of St. Charles is where the Mannings and Sandra Bullock live.)

[MAniacTHW]

Originally Posted by NALEXAND

The 2 cities certainly seem to be similar in many ways! When I take visitors to Ybor City they immediately draw comparisons to NOLA. Another similarity are the Tampa Bay parades' resemblance to the Mardi Gras parades with the throwing of the beads. Its seems someone had NOLA in mind, if not, its surely an ironic coincidence.

When I first saw Bourbon Street, the first thought I had was, "This is like Ybor if Tampa could ever figure it out."

[PDF]

Interesting, I never really thought about this. But yeah I guess they are pretty similar!