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Our History

On The Right: Aerial of area around Buffalo (Now MLK Boulevard) and North Boulevard.

December 9, 1957

All photos courtesy of Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library

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From Scrubland To Real Estate Heaven

In the early 1900s, Tampa had a thriving business community and a growing population. By 1907, a trolley line connected downtown Tampa to Sulphur Springs, a fledgling resort destination five miles north of town through mostly unpopulated forest and scrubland.

 

In 1911, developer T. Roy Young recognized the potential of the land surrounding the trolley line, and his Seminole Development Corporation began erecting “California bungalows” on a plot of land encompassing roughly 12 square blocks (now designated a historic district both nationally and locally) along what is now Central Avenue. The houses were offered to the public at prices starting at $5,000.

 

By 1912, the Mutual Development Company, owned by Milton and Giddings Mabry, and the Dekle Investment Company, owned by Lee and James Dekle, surveyed and platted land just north of Seminole Heights to form the Suwanee Heights subdivision. 

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Exterior building views of the Seminole Heights Branch of the Tampa Public Library taken around the time of its opening in 1965

The Postwar Landscape

Postwar prosperity transformed life all across America, new commuter suburbs spread northward of Seminole Heights. As travel to and from central Tampa by car increased, the trolley lines fell into disuse and were replaced by highway infrastructure. Heightened traffic also brought increased noise and congestion to the area, its attractiveness declined, and in 1967 the state began demolishing scores of grand homes to make room for a new Interstate freeway that split the area in half. Despite these stresses, however, the sense of community that had originally developed during the 1930s and still survived held the old neighborhood together until a new generation began to discover it in the 1980s.

 

In 1988, as a direct response to the state’s plan to widen Hillsborough Ave., residents banded together to form the Old Seminole Heights Preservation Committee (predecessor to today’s neighborhood association) to demand that the new roadway be designed and built in a way that blended in with the neighborhood’s 1920s aesthetic. That their voices were heard is evident today in the brick walls, period lighting, and verdant landscaping that lines the avenue. 

The Postwar Landscape

Postwar prosperity transformed life all across America, new commuter suburbs spread northward of Seminole Heights. As travel to and from central Tampa by car increased, the trolley lines fell into disuse and were replaced by highway infrastructure. Heightened traffic also brought increased noise and congestion to the area, its attractiveness declined, and in 1967 the state began demolishing scores of grand homes to make room for a new Interstate freeway that split the area in half. Despite these stresses, however, the sense of community that had originally developed during the 1930s and still survived held the old neighborhood together until a new generation began to discover it in the 1980s.

 

In 1988, as a direct response to the state’s plan to widen Hillsborough Ave., residents banded together to form the Old Seminole Heights Preservation Committee (predecessor to today’s neighborhood association) to demand that the new roadway be designed and built in a way that blended in with the neighborhood’s 1920s aesthetic. That their voices were heard is evident today in the brick walls, period lighting, and verdant landscaping that lines the avenue. 

An Oral History

While not in the formal boundaries of South Seminole Heights, Front Porch Grill is a neighborhood staple, but did you know that the restaurant was actually someone's house? From 1896 to 1993, it was the residence of the Nelms-Broach-Barton family. 

Listen to Judy Barton as she discusses her family's experience growing up in Tampa throughout the last century. From the misadventures of her grandfather in the 1930s, her own journey to becoming a single mother and sales dynamo, or her family's role in crippling the Tampa Mob, this interview is full of color that will surely give you a new perspective about your city and neighborhood.

Judy Barton oral history interview by Jennifer Diaz, September 10, 2010
00:00 / 52:46
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