Misplaced Pages

El Pasaje

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

Ybor City ( / ˈ iː b ɔːr / EE -bor ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, Florida , United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba , Spain , and Italy . For the next 50 years, workers in Ybor City's cigar factories rolled hundreds of millions of cigars annually.

#780219

69-595: The El Pasaje (also known as the Cherokee Club ) is a historic site in Ybor City , Tampa , Florida . It was originally built in 1886 to house the offices for Vicente Martinez Ybor 's companies as he planned Ybor City and then ran his cigar factory and other businesses. El Pasaje has been home to many establishments since: a hotel, several restaurants, several bars and speakeasies , a military recruiting station, and newspaper offices, among others. Today, El Pasaje serves as

138-500: A 2018 genome -wide data study, the eastern region of the island had an average Native American ancestry contribution of 10%, as compared to an average of 5% in the rest of the island. Additionally, many North American Indians living in Spanish missions in Georgia and Florida were evacuated to Spanish Cuba along with the fleeing Spanish settlers following the loss of Spanish Florida . As

207-529: A bustling city in about 20 years and giving it the nickname "Cigar City". Ybor City grew and flourished from the 1890s until the Great Depression of the 1930s, when a drop in demand for fine cigars reduced the number of cigar factories and mechanization in the cigar industry greatly reduced employment opportunities in the neighborhood. This process accelerated after World War II , and a steady exodus of residents and businesses continued until large areas of

276-574: A community that combined Cuban, Spanish, Italian, and Jewish culture. "Ybor City is Tampa's Spanish India," observed a visitor to the area, "What a colorful, screaming, shrill, and turbulent world." An aspect of life were the mutual aid societies built and sustained mainly by ordinary citizens. These clubs were founded in Ybor's early days (the first was the Centro Español , established in 1891) and were run on dues collected from their members, usually 5% of

345-565: A feature that it shares with other dialects of Caribbean Spanish as well as the Canary Islands . Many Cuban-Americans, while remaining fluent in Spanish, use American English as one of their daily languages. Religion in Cuba (2010) Cuba's prevailing religion is Roman Catholicism , although in some instances it is profoundly modified and influenced through syncretism . A common syncretic religion

414-654: A higher concentration of Blacks than other parts of the island. Havana has the largest population of blacks of any city in Cuba. In the 2012 Census of Cuba, 26.6% (2.97 million) of the Cubans self-identified as mulatto or mestizo . Officially called amarilla ( yellow in English) in the Cuban census, Cubans of East Asian origins made up 1.02% of the population in the 2002 Census of Cuba. They are primarily made up of ethnic Chinese who are descendants of indentured laborers who came in

483-425: A lack of funds, the redevelopment did not happen. The primary legacy of the program was blocks of vacant lots which remained empty for decades. The construction of Interstate 4 through the center of the neighborhood during this period also resulted in the destruction of many buildings and cut most of the north–south routes through the area. By the early 1970s, very few businesses and residents remained, most notably

552-627: A major cigar production center. Italians were also among the early settlers of Ybor City. Most of them came from a few villages in southwestern Sicily. The villages were Santo Stefano Quisquina , Alessandria della Rocca , Bivona , Cianciana , and Contessa Entellina . Sixty percent of them came from Santo Stefano Quisquina. Before settling in Ybor City, many first worked in the sugar cane plantations in St. Cloud, central Florida. Some came by way of Louisiana. A number of families migrated from New Orleans after

621-407: A member's salary. In exchange, members and their whole family received services including free libraries, educational programs, sports teams, restaurants, numerous social functions like dances and picnics, and free medical services. Beyond the services, these clubs served as extended families and communal gathering places for generations of Ybor's citizens. There were clubs for each ethnic division in

690-490: A party destination, Ybor City is referenced extensively in the lyrics of Brooklyn-based rock band The Hold Steady . The song "Killer Parties", for instance, contains the line "Ybor City is très speedy , but they throw such killer parties." In May 2009 Swedish super-retailer IKEA opened its long-awaited Tampa location in the southern edge of Ybor City. The local museum is the Ybor City Museum State Park in

759-618: A result, descendants of the Calusa , Tequesta , Timucua and other now-extinct indigenous peoples of Florida have been assimilated into the mainstream Cuban population. They comprise part of Cuba's Amerindian genetic makeup. Intermarriage between diverse groups is so frequent as to be the rule. Cuba's birth rate (9.88 births per thousand population in 2006) is one of the lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Its overall population increased from around 7 million in 1961 to 11 million today, but

SECTION 10

#1732887371781

828-703: A significant turning point as it transformed the political landscape, reinforced a sense of national identity centered around revolutionary and socialist ideals and led to the continuing Cuban Exodus , thus establishing the Cuban Diaspora. The population of Cuba was 11,167,325 inhabitants in 2012. The largest urban populations of Cubans in Cuba (2012) are to be found in Havana (2,106,146), Santiago de Cuba (506,037), Holguín (346,195), Camagüey (323,309), Santa Clara (240,543) and Guantánamo (228,436). According to Cuba's Oficina Nacional de Estadisticas ONE 2012 Census,

897-459: A symbol of Cuba. In Santería, she has been syncretized with the goddess Ochún . The important religious festival "La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre" is celebrated by Cubans annually on 8 September. Other religions practised are Palo Monte , and Abakuá , which have large parts of their liturgy in African languages. The flag of Cuba is red, white, and blue; and was first adopted by Narciso López on

966-453: Is Cuban music and dancing, being well-known far outside the country. Well known Hispanic music styles such as mambo , salsa , rumba , cha-cha-chá , bolero , and son originated in Cuba. The origins of much of Cuban music can be found in the mix of Spanish and West African music, while American musical elements such as trombones and big band were also significant elements in the formation of Cuban music. Cuban literature includes some of

1035-546: Is Santería , which combined the Yoruba religion of the African slaves with some Catholicism; it shows similarities to Brazilian Umbanda and has been receiving a degree of official support. The Roman Catholic Church estimates that 60 percent of the population is Catholic, with 10 percent attending mass regularly, while independent sources estimate that as few 1.5 percent of Catholics do so. Membership in Protestant churches

1104-621: Is estimated to be 5 percent and includes Baptists , Pentecostals , Seventh-day Adventists , Presbyterians , Episcopal Church of Cuba|Episcopalians, Methodists , Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and Lutherans . Other groups include the Greek Orthodox Church , the Russian Orthodox Church , Jehovah's Witnesses , Hindus , Muslims , Buddhists , Jews , Baháʼís , and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Cuba

1173-402: Is home to a variety of syncretic religions of largely African cultural origin. According to a US State Department report, some sources estimate that as much as 80 percent of the population consults with practitioners of religions with West African roots, such as Santeria or Yoruba. Santería developed out of the traditions of the Yoruba , one of the African peoples who were imported to Cuba during

1242-478: Is one of the oldest sections of Tampa and is almost entirely an urban, built-up area. Commercial property comprises almost 50% of the land, institutional use (including the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Operations Center and a satellite campus of Hillsborough Community College ) 16%, residential use about 23%, and industrial use about 7% According to a 2003 survey, the top five business types in

1311-501: The Columbia Restaurant and a few other businesses along 7th Avenue. In the early 1980s, an influx of artists seeking interesting and inexpensive studio quarters started a slow recovery, followed by a period of commercial gentrification . By the early 1990s, many of the old long-empty brick buildings on 7th Avenue had been converted into bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other nightlife attractions. Traffic grew so much that

1380-538: The Spanish-American War of 1898 , which led to the end of Spanish colonial rule. The subsequent period of American influence, culminating in the formal independence of Cuba in 1902, initiated a complex process of national identity formation. This identity is characterized by a blend of Indigenous Taíno , African, and Spanish cultural elements, reflecting a unique multicultural heritage. The Cuban Revolution of 1959 , which brought Fidel Castro to power , marked

1449-565: The "10 Great Streets in America" by the American Planning Association . In 2010 Columbia Restaurant , which is Florida's oldest restaurant, was named a "Top 50 All-American icon" by Nation's Restaurant News magazine. In the early 1880s, Tampa was an isolated village with a population of less than 1000 and a struggling economy. However, its combination of a good port, Henry Plant's new railroad line, and humid climate attracted

SECTION 20

#1732887371781

1518-453: The 16th through 19th centuries to work on the sugar plantations. Santería blends elements of Christianity and West African beliefs and as such made it possible for the slaves to retain their traditional beliefs while appearing to practice Catholicism. La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Our Lady Of Charity) is the Catholic patroness of Cuba, and is greatly revered by the Cuban people and seen as

1587-432: The 1930s as the remaining cigar factories gradually switched from traditional hand-rolled manufacturing to cheaper mechanized methods, further reducing the number of jobs and the salaries paid to workers. After World War II , many returning veterans chose to leave Ybor City due to a lack of well-paying jobs and a US Veterans Administration home loan program that was only applicable to new homes, of which there were few in

1656-551: The 19th century to build railroads and work in mines . Historically, Chinese descendants in Cuba were once classified as "white". The number of people identifying as Taíno has not been formally recorded. Most of them live on the eastern part of the island, notably in Granma, Guantánamo, and Las Tunas. The intermixing between European settlers and the native Taíno was prevalent in the early colonial era. Their mixed-race descendants have been historically undercounted. According to

1725-596: The Canaries have been detected in Cuba and Iberoamerica, demonstrates that Canary Islanders with indigenous Guanche ancestors actively participated in the American colonization. The United States has the largest number of Cubans outside Cuba. As of 2023, the United States Census Bureau 's American Community Survey showed a total population of 1,450,808 Cuban immigrants. As of 2015, 68% of Cuban-born residents of

1794-575: The Deutsch Amerikanischer Verein. The club building is still standing on Nebraska and 11th Avenue . It contained a restaurant open to the public that served German food. In 1919, because of anti-German feelings from World War I, they sold the building to the Young Men's Hebrew Association. The building is now used as offices for the City of Tampa. In 1887, Tampa annexed the neighborhood. By 1900,

1863-513: The Eastern region having more African and Native American genetic contribution. Cuban genealogy has become a rising interest for Cubans in the last 15 years. A 1995 study done on the population of Pinar del Río , found that 50% of the Mt-DNA lineages (female lineages) could be traced back to Europeans, 46% to Africans and 3% to Americans. This figure is consistent with both the historical background of

1932-485: The Historic Ybor neighborhood are I-4 to the north, 22nd Street to the east, Adamo Drive to the south, and Nebraska Avenue to the west. The area of this district is about 1 square mile (about 2.6 km ). Though modern Ybor City also includes some of the surrounding area, its exact dimensions are loosely defined and subject to debate. At the height of its life as a thriving immigrant community, Ybor City's population

2001-453: The Italian women worked as cigar strippers in 1900, an undesirable position mainly held by women who could find nothing else. However, eventually many of them became skilled cigar makers, earning more than the male Italian cigar makers. Other Italian immigrants started small businesses built around the cigar industry, such as cafés, food stores, restaurants, and boardinghouses. The least known of

2070-476: The National Register of Historic Places is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ybor City The neighborhood had features unusual among contemporary communities in the south, most notably its multiethnic and multiracial population and their many mutual aid societies . The cigar industry employed thousands of well-paid workers, helping Tampa grow from an economically depressed village to

2139-539: The Soviet Union and Castro's transformation of Cuba into a declared socialist republic . Cuban soldiers were sent overseas to fight in the Angolan Civil War and Ogaden War in the 1970s-1980s. Castro remained in power until 2008, first as Prime Minister then from 1976 as President of Cuba . Fidel was succeeded by his brother Raúl Castro . Miguel Díaz-Canel succeeds the brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro, making him

El Pasaje - Misplaced Pages Continue

2208-626: The Spanish embassy in their home country and turn in documentation that proves their parents or grandparents fled Spain between 1936 and 1955. They did not need to relinquish their current citizenship. The first people known to have inhabited Cuba was the Siboney , an Amerindian people. They were followed by another Amerindian people, the Taíno who were the main population both of Cuba and other islands in The Antilles when Christopher Columbus first sighted

2277-781: The United States have naturalized automatically losing their Cuban citizenship. Significant populations of Cubans exist in the cities of Hialeah and Miami in Florida (995,439 Cubans in this state in 2017) and in Texas (60,381), New Jersey (44,974), California (35,364), New York (26,875), and Illinois (22,541) The second largest Cuban diaspora is in Spain. As of 2019, there were 151,423 Cubans in Spain. Smaller numbers of Cubans live in Brazil , Uruguay , Italy * , Mexico * , and Canada . After

2346-530: The United States, led to the Spanish–American War , and in 1902 Cuba gained formal independence. During the first decades of the 20th century, USA interests were dominant and in Cuba, leading to large influence over the island. This ended in 1959 when de facto leader Fulgencio Batista was ousted by revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro . Quickly deteriorating relations with the US led to Cuba's alliance with

2415-473: The West Eurasian fraction, the vast majority of individuals belong to West European haplogroup R1b . The African lineages found in Cubans have a Western (haplogroups E1 , E2 , E1b1a ) and Northern ( E1b1b-M81 ) African origin. The North African haplogroup E1b1b1b (E-M81), is found at a frequency of 6.1%. According to Fregel et al. (2009), the fact that autochthonous male E-M81 and female U6 lineages from

2484-411: The area were professional services (22.8%), retail (18.4%), manufacturing (14.0%), wholesale/distribution (13.2%), and restaurants & bars (11.4%). For the most part, Ybor City still uses the gridded street system laid out by Gavino Guiterrez in 1885. Many roadways are now paved with modern materials, though a few brick streets remain. Because 21st and 22nd Streets, which cut north–south through

2553-475: The area's economy has diversified with more offices and residences, and the population has shown notable growth for the first time in over half a century. Ybor City has been designated as a National Historic Landmark District , and several structures in the area are listed in the National Register of Historic Places . In 2008, 7th Avenue, Ybor City's main commercial thoroughfare, was recognized as one of

2622-448: The area, were once the main traffic routes between Interstate 4 and the Port of Tampa Bay , there was a large volume of semi-trailer truck traffic funneling through the historic district for many years. This caused damage to narrow city roads, was a danger to pedestrians, and sometimes resulted in trucks colliding with historic buildings. In 2014, the elevated I-4/Selmon Expressway Connector

2691-407: The attention of Vicente Martinez Ybor , a prominent Spanish cigar manufacturer. Ybor had moved his cigar-making operation from Cuba to Key West, Florida , in 1869, due to political turmoil in the then-Spanish colony. But, labor unrest and the lack of room for expansion had him looking for another base of operations, preferably in his own company town . Ybor considered several communities in

2760-445: The birth of Ybor City. Cigar making was a specialized trade, and Tampa did not possess a workforce able to man the new factories. To attract employees, Ybor built hundreds of small houses for the coming influx of mainly Cuban and Spanish cigar workers, many of whom followed him from Key West and Cuba. Other cigar manufacturers, drawn by incentives provided by Ybor to further increase the labor pool, also moved in, quickly making Tampa

2829-504: The citizens and nationals of Cuba . The Cuban people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish . The larger Cuban diaspora includes individuals that trace ancestry to Cuba and self-identify as Cuban but are not necessarily Cuban by citizenship . The United States has the largest Cuban population in the world after Cuba. The modern nation of Cuba, located in the Caribbean , emerged as an independent country following

El Pasaje - Misplaced Pages Continue

2898-534: The city built parking garages and closed 7th Ave. to traffic to deal with the visitors. Since around 2000, the city of Tampa and the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce have encouraged a broader emphasis in development. With financial help from the city, Centro Ybor, a family-oriented shopping complex and movie theater, opened in the former home of the Centro Español social club. The Florida Brewing Company building

2967-533: The community – the Deutscher-Americaner Club (for German and eastern Europeans), L'Unione Italiana (for Italians), El Circulo Cubano (for light-skinned Cubans), La Union Marti-Maceo (for Afro-Cubans), El Centro Español (for Spaniards), and the largest, El Centro Asturiano , which accepted members from any ethnic group Though there was little overt racism inside the diverse neighborhood, Florida's Jim Crow laws forbade Afro-Cubans from belonging to

3036-459: The descendants of people who went into exile after its brutal 1936-39 Civil War, part of a 2007 law meant to address the painful legacy of the conflict. This new Historical Memory Law has granted to more than 140,000 Cubans of Spanish ancestry the Spanish citizenship , and there were 143,048 Cubans with Spanish citizenship in Cuba and 93,004 in Spain on January 1, 2019. Under the law, the descendants had until December 2011 to present themselves at

3105-584: The factories of Ybor City. Not coincidentally, that was also the year that the Great Depression began. During the 1920s, organized crime families thrived in both Tampa and Ybor. Aside from bootlegging, the Ybor mafia ran numerous numbers rackets, called bolita . By 1927, there were over 300 bolita houses in Ybor City. The Depression was a major blow to cigar manufacturers. Worldwide demand plummeted as consumers sought to cut costs by switching to less-expensive cigarettes, and factories responded by laying off workers or shutting down. This trend continued throughout

3174-488: The first non-Castro leader of Cuba since the revolution in 2018.Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel y Bermúdez (Spanish: [mi.ˈɣel ˈdi.as kaˈnel]; born 20 April 1960) is a politician and engineer who is the third first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba. The culture of Cuba reflects the island's influences from various cultures, primarily European (Spanish),Taino and African. One of the most distinctive parts of Cuban culture

3243-510: The former Ferlita Bakery building (originally La Joven Francesca) building on 9th Avenue. Tours of the gardens and the "casitas" (small homes of cigar company workers) are provided by a ranger. Exhibits, period photos and a video cover the founding of Ybor City and the cigar making industry. Historically, the boundaries of "Greater Ybor City" stretched from Tampa Bay on the south to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (formerly Buffalo Avenue) on

3312-401: The formerly vibrant neighborhood were virtually abandoned by the late 1970s. Attempts at redevelopment failed until the 1980s, when an influx of artists began a slow process of gentrification . In the 1990s and early 2000s, a portion of the original neighborhood around 7th Avenue developed into a nightclub and entertainment district, and many old buildings were renovated for new uses. Since then,

3381-462: The founding of the republic in 1902, a considerable migration (over 1 million) arrived from the Iberian peninsula to the island, between them were more than a few former Spanish soldiers who participated in the wars, and yet it never created an obstacle for the respect and affection of Cubans, who have always been proud of their origins. In December 2008, Spain began accepting citizenship applications from

3450-486: The headquarters of TheIncLab, the first AI+X defense lab. The two-story brick building is located at the corner of 14th Street (Avenida Republica De Cuba) and East 9th Avenue across the street from Ybor's original cigar factory, what is today Ybor Square . On November 15, 1972, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places . This article about a property in Hillsborough County, Florida on

3519-624: The immigrants that came to Ybor City are the Germans, the Romanian Jews, and the Chinese. The Chinese and Jews were employed mainly in service trades and retail businesses. The Germans arrived after the 1890s, and most were businessmen. In the cigar factories, they worked as managers, bookkeepers, and supervisors. Cigar boxes were made by German-owned factories. Several early cigar box labels were made by German lithographers. The Germans formed their own club,

SECTION 50

#1732887371781

3588-406: The island in 1492. He claimed the islands for Spain and Cuba became a Spanish colony . It was to remain so until 1902 apart from a brief occupation by Britain in 1762, before being returned in exchange for Florida . Towards the end of the 19th century, Spain had lost most of its American possessions and a series of rebellions had shaken Cuba. This, combined with calls for annexation of Cuba in

3657-409: The island, primarily to Miami, Florida , where a vocal, well-educated and economically successful exile community exists. An autosomal study from 2014 found the genetic ancestry in Cuba to be 72% European, 20% African and 8% Amerindian. Of note, there is high variability between regions within Cuba, with individuals from Western provinces having higher European ancestry on average, and those in

3726-420: The lynching of eleven Italians in 1891 during the "Mafia Riot". Italians mostly brought their entire families with them, unlike other immigrants. The foreign-born Italian population of Tampa grew from 56 in 1890 to 2,684 in 1940. Once arriving in Ybor City, Italians settled mainly in the eastern and southern fringes of the city. The area was referred to as La Pachata, after a Cuban rent collector in that area. It

3795-427: The most well-known names of the islands, such as writer and independence hero José Martí in the late 19th century. More contemporary Cuban authors include Daína Chaviano , Pedro Juan Gutiérrez , Antonio Orlando Rodríguez , Zoé Valdés and Leonardo Padura Fuentes . The Spanish language is spoken by virtually all Cubans on the island itself. Cuban Spanish is characterized by the reduction of several consonants,

3864-437: The neighborhood. In fact, the home stock was aging poorly, as many of the structures built in the early days of Ybor City were still in use. As the historic neighborhood continued to empty out and deteriorate through the 1950s and 1960s, the federal Urban Renewal program sought to revitalize the area by demolishing older structures and encouraging new residential and commercial development. The demolition took place, but due to

3933-418: The north, and from Nebraska Avenue on the west to 40th Street on the east. This eventually included all of today's neighborhoods of Historic Ybor, East Ybor , VM Ybor , and Ybor Heights plus a portion of East Tampa . The Ybor City Historic District encompasses the central portion of that area, approximately straddling Interstate 4 , which bisected the neighborhood in the 1960s. The official boundaries of

4002-502: The population was 11,167,325 including: 5,570,825 men and 5,596,500 women. Source. In the 2012 Census of Cuba, 64.1% of the inhabitants self-identified as white . Based on genetic testing (2014) in Cuba, the average percentages of European, African and Native American ancestry in those auto-reporting to be white were 86%, 6.7%, and 7.8%, respectively. The majority of the European ancestry comes from Spain. The Afro-Cuban population

4071-469: The rate of increase slowed over time and has recently turned to a decrease, with the Cuban government in 2006 reporting the first drop in the population since the Mariel boatlift . Immigration and emigration have had noticeable effects on the demographic profile of Cuba during the 20th century. Between 1900 and 1930, close to a million Spaniards migrated to the island. Since 1959, over two million Cubans have left

4140-584: The region, and the current demographics of it. According to another study in 2008, regarding the geographical origin attributed to each mtDNA haplogroup, 55% of the sequences found in Cubans are of West Eurasian origin (namely, Europe and the Middle East) and 45% of African origin Regarding Y-chromosome haplogroups (male lineages), 78.8% of the sequences found in Cubans are of West Eurasian origin, 19.7% of African origin and 1.5% of East Asian origin. Among

4209-401: The rough frontier settlement of wooden buildings and sandy streets had been transformed into a bustling town with brick buildings and streets, a streetcar line, and many social and cultural opportunities. Largely due to the growth of Ybor City, Tampa's population had jumped to almost 16,000. Ybor City grew and prospered during the first decades of the 20th century. Thousands of residents built

SECTION 60

#1732887371781

4278-432: The same social organization as their more European-looking countrymen. Sometimes differences in skin color within the same family made joining the same Cuban club impossible. In general, the rivalries between all the clubs were friendly, and families were known to switch affiliations depending on which one offered preferred services and events. Cigar production reached its peak in 1929, when 500 million cigars were rolled in

4347-484: The southern United States and decided that an area of sandy scrubland just northeast of Tampa would be the best location. In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade helped broker an initial purchase of 40 acres (160,000 m ) of land, and Ybor quickly bought more. However, Ybor City very nearly didn't happen at all. Vicente Ybor initially failed to come to an agreement with the owner of the 40 acre parcel. The Tampa Board of Trade

4416-508: Was 9.3% in the 2012 Census of Cuba. Just about 1.3 million Cubans described themselves as black . Thus a significant proportion of those living on the island affirm some sub-Saharan African ancestry. Based on genetic testing in 2014, the average African, European and Native American ancestry in those self-reporting to be "negro (Black)" was 65.5% "African", 29% "European" ancestry and 5.5% "Native American" or other ancestry. Although Afro-Cubans can be found throughout Cuba, Eastern Cuba has

4485-505: Was also called "Little Italy". Unlike Cubans and Spaniards, the Italians arrived in the cigar town without cigar-making skills. When the early Italians entered the factories, it was at the bottom of the ladder, positions which did not involve handling tobacco. Working beside unskilled Cubans, mainly Afro-Cubans, they swept and hauled and were porters and doorkeepers. In time, many did become cigar workers, including Italian women. The majority of

4554-615: Was built to siphon heavy truck traffic away from the historic district. The TECO Line Streetcar , which links Ybor City, the Channelside District and Downtown Tampa , began operating in October 2002. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority ( HARTline ) operates the streetcars as well as the bus system. Small startups have also begun utilizing NEVs to shuttle passengers between Tampa's core neighborhoods including Ybor. Cubans Cubans ( Spanish : Cubanos ) are

4623-447: Was horrified to find that the purchase had failed and hatched a plan to get the buyer and seller back together. Vicente Ybor was sitting in the train station on his way to Jacksonville to look at more property when the Board of Trade (a group of five, one of whom was Frederick Salomonson, future 3-time mayor of Tampa) arrived and persuaded Ybor to reconsider and the deal went forward from there,

4692-403: Was numbered in the tens of thousands. In the lowest point in the late 1970s, perhaps 1000 residents called the neighborhood home. In recent years, the numbers have begun to climb once more. Ybor City's population grew an estimated 42.5% between 2000 and 2003, mainly as a result of new condominium and apartment construction. As of 2003, approximately 2,900 residents lived in the area. Ybor City

4761-410: Was restored into a commercial building in 2001. New apartments, condominiums and a hotel have been built on long-vacant lots, and old buildings have been restored and converted into residences and hotels. New residents began moving into Ybor City for the first time in many years. The blocks surrounding 7th Avenue also thrive with restaurants, nightlife and shopping. Reflecting the district's status as

#780219