Part of the fun of the Penguin Winter Carnival will be the opportunity to
make new penguin friends throughout the weekend, particularly during our
small group outings on Friday afternoon. We are offering four choices of
small group outings.
OUTING D:
Ybor Historic District and Trolley Ride
Approximate cost: This is a no-fixed-cost, pay-as-you-go outing. :)
Explore local Tampa area attractions with possibly a group streetcar trip, walking tour of Ybor,
some shopping time, and a happy hour. Participants who are not running
the next day may wish to stay out later and eat dinner together if they
don't wish to come back to the host hotel for our own pizza/pasta party.
Tampa streetcars: http://www.tecolinestreetcar.org/home.html
Ybor City: http://www.ybor.org/default.asp
Ybor City, Tampa's National Historic Landmark District, "Florida's
Latin Quarter" (3 miles from downtown Tampa on streetcar route)
Ybor City is Tampa's famous National Historic Landmark District.
Florida's Latin Quarter experience beckons you back to another era.
Wrought iron balconies, globe streetlights, brick-lined walkways and
the majestic architecture of cigar factories, social clubs and other
unique buildings, provide a glimpse into an era rich with culture and
history. Today, Ybor City is a shopping, dining and entertainment
district where the ancient art of premium hand-rolled cigar making
lives on. It also boasts a nightlife as colorful as Spanish Flamenco
dancers.
http://www.ybortimes.com/history.cfm
tells more about the area:
You'll know you've entered Ybor City when the streets turn from
asphalt to brick and the lampposts from concrete to ornate wrought
iron. When the atmosphere turns from button-down to bottoms up. No
sterile high-rises here. Ybor City's buildings bespeak a bygone era
when craftsmen prided themselves on quality workmanship. At every turn
are elements of classical and Mediterranean architecture.
This multicultural enclave started out as 40 acres of swamp and scrub
northeast of Tampa. The name Ybor (pronounced EE-bore) belongs to one
its founders. In 1886 cigarmakers Vicente Martinez-Ybor and Ignacio
Haya moved their cigar factories from Key West to Tampa. Tampa had
everything the cigarmakers needed: a railroad, a port and a warm
climate that provided a natural humidor for the tobacco leaf. Once the
cigarmaking was under way, Ybor City became home to Cuban, Spanish and
Italian immigrants who worked in more than 140 cigar factories in and
around the area, producing 250-million cigars a year. For more than
half a century, Ybor City was the "Cigar Capital of the
World." While the cigar industry was thriving, Ybor City was
alive and kicking with Latin culture and language. Residents depended
on clubs such as the Centro Espanol, Centro Asturiano and Unione
Italiana for all their medical and social needs. Many of those
buildings have been renovated and are in use today. Many cigar workers
lived in and owned small homes called casitas. Three of the casitas
have been restored and are part of the Ybor City State Museum at 1818
Ninth Ave. The museum also offers walking tours of Ybor City.
The city's past is still very much a part of the present. One of the
city's renovated cigar factories is home to Ybor Square, a mall filled
with dining and retail establishments at 1901 N 13th St. The
113-year-old building retains its original brick walls and wood beams
and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Ybor
City Brewing Co. is located in another renovated cigar building, a
104-year-old brick structure at 2205 N 20th St. Its Ybor Gold has
become a favorite beer among locals.
Ybor City is a scant 1.6 miles from our host hotel for Penguin Winter
Carnival and participants will likely be heading there in small groups
on both Friday and Saturday nights for happy hour, scrumptious ethnic
dinners, and (for those not running the next day) perhaps even staying
out into the wee hours!
Please note all outings are currently tentative and
may be changed to suit registrant preferences up until the time of Penguin Winter Carnival 2005.
