Writes of Passage

One of many areas in Tampa. 7th Avenue is the Main Street, filled with cigar bars and restaurants. It’s pretty dead during the day but very much alive after 9pm.

cigar bars

• La Faraona Cigars
• Sterling w/ live music

Restaurants & wine bars

1. Columbia Restaurant
2. Casa Santo Stefano
3. Bernini
4. Beaune’s Wine Bar @ Chateau Cellars, Ybor

… other destinations

• Candlelight concert by Fever
• Centro Asturiano de Tampa
• Halloween

Are
you
on
the
Highway
to
hell?

Am I???

There are many road side signs on 7th Avenue or around Ybor:

THE ROUGH RIDERS RODE BY HERE 1898: The intersection of Seventh Avenue and Twenty second Street was a sandy cross-road connecting three army encampments in the Ybor City area during the Spanish-American War.

At this cross-road was located a water-trough where the Rough Riders watered their mounts.

Col. “Teddy” Roosevelt frequently rode by here on his horse “Texas,” followed by his little dog, “Cuba.”

Erected by the Columbia Restaurant 1961

The Krewe of the Knights of Sant’ Yago

In 1175, Pope Alexander III, authorized “La Orden Real Sant’ Yago” to protect the Pilgrims’ Way to the shrine of Santiago (St. James), at Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. Among the Spanish conquerors of America, Ponce De Leon, Panfilo De Narvaez and Hernando De Soto were members.

In 1972, Ybor City civic leaders, Dr. Henry Fernandez, Cesar Gonzmart, Joe Granda, Joe Lopez, and Daniel Martinez obtained the first charter of the Order in America. The Krewe is dedicated to the preservation of Latin traditions in Tampa. The Columbia Restuarant is Krewe headquarters. Many of its functions are held here.

This road side sign was erected in the memory of Don Giovanni A. Grimaldi:

“With the advent of the cigar industry in 1886, the Italians were attracted in mass to the environs of Ybor City. They found employment in cigar factories, the building of the Tampa Bay Hotel, the construction of railroads, and farming.

The Italians settled in the eastern area of Ybor City, then called “La Pachata” in honor of a Cuban rent collector and the first settler in the area.

Their descendants have achieved high political positions and notable success in the fields of finance, commerce, and various professions. Their contributions to the growth and cultural life of the Tampa Community have been substantial.”

A night out June 2024

Halloween 2023