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21-579: The Tampa Convention Center is built on the historical site of Fort Brooke , the original American outpost on Tampa Bay established in 1824. The community of Tampa slowly grew around Fort Brooke through two wars with the Seminole Indians and the American Civil War . The post was decommissioned by the United States Army in 1883 and the land was sold for private use. The former location of

42-478: A huge hickory tree atop an ancient Indian mound , most likely built by the Tocobaga culture centuries before. Brooke directed his troops to clear the area for the construction of a wooden log fort and support buildings, but he ordered that several ancient live oak trees inside the encampment be spared to provide shade and cheer. In 1824, the post was officially rechristened Fort Brooke. Fort Brooke would serve as

63-478: A large hotel. However, financial difficulties and problems with developers caused this portion of the plan to be delayed until 2000, when the 27-story Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel, the city's largest at the time, opened less than a block away on Garrison Channel. In 2006, more adjacent lodging was added when a 20-story Embassy Suites hotel opened directly across Franklin Street from the convention center, connecting to

84-507: A major outpost on Florida's west coast during all three Seminole Indian Wars and the Civil War . The fort also played a part in the development of the village of Tampa. In October 1863, the small Civil War Battle of Fort Brooke was fought nearby. On May 6, 1864, both Fort Brooke and Tampa were captured by Union forces. As Tampa languished during the 1870s and early 1880s, so did Fort Brooke. The last roll call of soldiers occurred in 1882 and

105-696: A small concession kiosk with restrooms. The park is bordered by the Tampa Museum of Art and the Glazer Children's Museum on the north, Ashley Drive on the east, and the Rivergate Tower and parking garage to the south. On the west side of the park is the Hillsborough River and the Tampa Riverwalk , a 2.4 mile long walkway which connects Curtis Hixon Park to several attractions and facilities (including

126-506: Is an 8 acres (3.2 ha) public park located along the Hillsborough river in downtown Tampa , Florida that opened in its current configuration in 2010. It is adjacent to the Tampa Riverwalk , Florida Museum of Photographic Arts , Tampa Museum of Art , Glazer Children's Museum , and Rivergate Tower . The park overlooks the University of Tampa 's Plant Hall, which is directly across

147-678: The Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell , the native remains were transferred to the Seminole Tribe of Florida , and the artifacts were given to the Tampa Bay History Center and other institutions for research and preservation. In 1823, Colonels George Mercer Brooke and James Gadsden of the United States Army were ordered to establish a military presence on Tampa Bay in the newly acquired Florida Territory to contain

168-786: The Garrison Channel . Most of the fort's structures were situated at the current site of the Tampa Convention Center , with the military reserve stretching from the current location of the Tampa Bay History Center to the southeast to Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park to the northwest, with many modern buildings and public spaces (including Amalie Arena and much of the Tampa Riverwalk now located in its former footprint. Several unmapped army and Seminole cemeteries along with many artifacts were discovered during various construction projects. The soldiers' remains were re-interred at

189-615: The Seminole Indians according to the Treaty of Moultrie Creek and to curtail illegal activities along the Gulf coast. On 10 January 1824, Brooke and four full companies of the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment from Pensacola established "Cantonment Brooke" at the mouth of the Hillsborough River , just about where today's Tampa Convention Center sits in downtown Tampa . The site was marked by

210-601: The Tampa Bay Times Forum . It hosts the yearly Tampa Bay Comic Con, anime convention MetroCon , as well as the Florida Bar Exam. Official website This article about a building or structure in Florida is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Fort Brooke 27°56′28″N 82°27′18″W  /  27.941147°N 82.454887°W  / 27.941147; -82.454887 Fort Brooke

231-547: The Tampa Convention Center and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts ), many hotels and restaurants, and a series of smaller parks along Tampa's downtown waterfront. Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park regularly hosts a wide variety of events large and small, including concerts and music festivals, food festivals, arts and crafts shows, evening yoga classes, temporary ice skating, and many other activities. Though relatively new,

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252-537: The convention center via a skybridge . With the Waterstreet revitalization, a third hotel was opened in 2022, JW Marriott Waterstreet Tampa, concluding the last corner on the Convention Center square. Designed by the same architects that created Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel, Nichols Architects, the hotel was JW Marriot 's 100th property in the world, featuring 100,000 sq. ft of meeting and event space, including

273-408: The fort during this period, and the area was the site of a minor raid and skirmish during the American Civil War . The obsolete outpost was sparsely garrisoned after the war, and it was decommissioned in 1883 just before Tampa began a period of rapid growth, opening the land for development. Fort Brooke was located on what is now the southern end of downtown Tampa along eastern bank of the river and

294-559: The fort was used for various industrial and commercial purposes until the late 1980s, when it was cleared to make way for a new convention center to replace Tampa's aging Curtis Hixon Hall . Construction began in early 1989, with the city of Tampa paying the $ 140 million cost by issuing municipal bonds . It opened in October 1990. The city's original development plan called for the Tampa Convention Center to be built concurrently with

315-487: The largest hotel ballroom in Tampa Bay at approximately 30,000 sq. ft. In combination with its sister property, Tampa Marriott Waterside, the complex boasts over 40,000 sq. ft. of additional total event space, with both hotels connected by a glass sky bridge located on the third floor. The Tampa Convention Center was the media center for the 2012 Republican National Convention , which was held approximately two blocks away at

336-517: The old Tampa Museum of Art building and its adjoining parking garage, which had hemmed in Curtis Hixon Park on the south and limited public access to the riverfront. A new art museum building plus the Glazer Children's Museum were constructed on the north side of the park, while the old park was greatly expanded to the south and was completely reconfigured by landscape architect Thomas Balsley to allow for open views from Ashley Boulevard across to

357-488: The post was decommissioned by the U.S. Army in 1883. After the fort's closure, most of the land was open to homesteaders, and some garrison buildings remained on site. Shortly after the post was decommissioned, Fort Brooke became an independent incorporated town in 1885. Fort Brooke was annexed by Tampa in 1907. Tampa-Fort Brooke , a single census unit recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1850 . Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park

378-431: The public space has become a popular local destination and has been called "Tampa's town square". Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is located adjacent to the former site of Curtis Hixon Hall , Tampa's first convention center and general purpose indoor arena which was built in 1965. Both the park and the former building were named for Curtis Hixon , a mayor of Tampa who died while in office in 1956. After Curtis Hixon Hall

399-486: The river. The park is in an area known as the Waterfront Arts District . Much of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park consists of an open grassy lawn that slopes gently towards the river in a series of wide terraces . Around this greenspace are several fountains, a large playground, a public boat dock, a dog park, several shaded pavilions, an amphitheater , various sculptures, a garden area designed by Dan Kiley , and

420-509: Was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native Seminoles who had been confined to an interior reservation by the Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823), and it served as a military headquarters and port during the Second Seminole War (1835–1842). The village of Tampa developed just north of

441-418: Was made obsolete by newer facilities and demolished in 1993, the original Curtis Hixon Park was built on the site. This small park was not widely utilized due to a poor connection to both the river and the rest of downtown, few amenities, and a lack of other things to do in downtown Tampa during evenings and weekends. By the early 2000s, Tampa's long-planned Riverwalk project began taking shape. The city razed

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