JOSE GASPARILLA II Pirate Ship – 303 Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa
Once a year the 1956 JOSE GASPARILLA pirate ship leaves Ballast Point loaded with pirates to take over the City of Tampa in the largest pirate celebration in the USA. Since 1911 Tampa has featured the invasion of imaginary pirates. The rest of the year the 137-foot flat-bottomed barge which is towed by tugboats sits in dock along busy Bayshore Boulevard. Few morning commuters even notice the vessel as they speed past downtown.
JACK KEROUAC’S Flamingo Sports Bar 1230 9th st north, Saint Petersburg
Most people identify Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation author, with California, but he wrote most of his stuff in Orlando and Saint Petersburg. He and his third wife lived at 101 2nd Avenue North, but his favorite hangout was the small Flamingo Sports Bar, which still honors its most famous regular.
BABE RUTH’S LONGEST HOME RUN Univ. of Tampa Campus
Most tourists visited the historic Tampa Bay Hotel on the campus of the University of Tampa notice the old schoolhouse, the first across the Hillsborough River in Hyde Park. They visit the museum in the hotel building. What they rarely notice is a plaque near the school auditorium. It states that at Plant Field Babe Ruth hit a 587-foot measured home run while playing for the Boston Red Sox against the New York Giants, April 4, 1919.
SHOWMANS MUSEUM 6938 Riverview Drive, Gibsonton
Most tourists driving US41 to Tampa are not aware that Gibsonton, a small town on the eastern shore of Tampa Bay, was the longtime winter home of dozens of carnivals. The city even made concessions to carnies with wild animals and huge amusement rides. With the Giant’s Fish Camp gone, the best memories for this town’s history are at this museum and the Showman’s winter arena and trade gathering site.
SAFETY HARBOR MOUND Philippe Park Safety Harbor
Located on Upper Tampa Bay is the largest Tampa Bay Indian mound, headquarters of the Tocobaga and southernmost site of the Mississippian culture. The 92-acre site is a popular spot for picnics, walks along the shore, and visits to historic markers.
AL LOPEZ HOME (TAMPA BASEBALL MUSEUM) 2003 N. 19th Street, Ybor City
The last stop on the Teco Line Streetcar from downtown Tampa ends at the Ybor City Museum and the Tampa Baseball Museum. The latter is more than a tribute to Florida baseball; it was the home of Al Lopez who played MLB from 1928 to 1947 and coached the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians from 1957 to 1965. Al Lopez never had a losing season as manager in those years. He was the first Tampan to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2001 ODYSSEY FLYING SAUCER 2309 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa
In the 1960’s Finnish architect Matti Suuronen was the symbol with his flying saucer futuristic homes. Few of them exist today but this one on the roof of the 2001 Odyssey strip club, a few blocks south of the Buccaneer football stadium, is still in use. You don’t have to be a little green person to visit.
PAUL EPPLING SECURITY LIZARD I-275 and 5th Avenue North entrance, St Petersburg
My favorite roadside masterpiece in Tampa Bay is the ferocious Security Lizard sitting east of the 5th Avenue North exit on I-275. The late Paul Eppling made the lizard out of auto parts, which fits the building; the St Petersburg Fleet Management Building.
REV. BILLY GRAHAM PLAQUE corner of Fortune and Franklin, Tampa
In 1940 a young student at the Florida Bible Institute at nearby Temple Terrace decided to spiritual preach to the homeless and others on this corner of downtown Tampa. It was the beginning of the career of one of the world’s most famous evangelists.
DR KIVAN PATEL PALACE (SURYA) 3611 West Busch Blvd., Tampa
As you drive north on Dale Mabry Highway, the rise over Busch Boulevard, gives you a short look at the Indian-Persian-Italian palace of billionaire Dr. Patel. The 63,376 sq foot main house is dwarfed by a 500-seat auditorium, plus 40,000 other square feet. It was said the City of Tampa refused to allow elephants on the property.
WHIMZEYLAND 1206 Third Street North, Safety Harbor
Don’t bother to put up holiday decorations at Whimzeyland, because this landmark cookie house has more color to the square inch than anyplace, I have ever seen. One photograph cannot cover the decoration of this home.
