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Tampa is a city in and the county seat of Hillsborough County, Florida, United States located on the west coast of Florida on Tampa Bay, near the Gulf of Mexico. The city had a population of 346,037 in 2011.
The current location of Tampa was once inhabited by indigenous peoples of the Safety Harbor culture, most notably the Tocobaga and the Pohoy, who lived along the shores of Tampa Bay. It was explored by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, resulting in brief and violent conflicts with the native peoples and the introduction of European diseases, which wiped out the original native cultures over the next few decades. While Spain claimed Florida as part of New Spain, it did not found a colony in the Tampa area, and there were no permanent American or European settlements within today's city limits until after the United States had acquired Florida from Spain in 1819. In 1824, the United States Army established a frontier outpost called Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, near the site of today's Tampa Convention Center. The first civilian residents were pioneers who settled near the fort for protection from the nearby Seminole population, and the small village was first incorporated as "Tampa" in 1849. The town grew slowly until the 1880s, when railroad links, the discovery of phosphate, and the arrival of the cigar industry jump-started its development, helping it to grow from a quiet village of less than 800 residents in 1880 to a bustling city of over 30,000 by the early 1900s.
Today, Tampa is a part of the metropolitan area most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area. Tampa is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwacal area. The four-county area is composed of roughly 2.9 million residents, making it the second largest metropolitan statistie state, and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States, behind Miami, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. The Greater Tampa Bay area has over 4 million residents and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas. The Tampa Bay Partnership and U.S. Census data showed an average annual growth of 2.47 percent, or a gain of approximately 97,000 residents per year. Between 2000 and 2006, the Greater Tampa Bay Market experienced a combined growth rate of 14.8 percent, growing from 3.4 million to 3.9 million and hitting the 4 million population mark on April 1, 2007. A 2012 estimate shows the Tampa Bay area population to have 4,310,524 people and a 2017 projection of 4,536,854 people.
In 2008, Tampa was ranked as the 5th best outdoor city by Forbes. A 2004 survey by the NYU newspaper Washington Square News ranked Tampa as a top city for "twenty-somethings." Tampa also ranks as the fifth most popular American city, based on where people want to live, according to a 2009 Pew Research Center study. Tampa is now ranked as a "Gamma+" world city by Loughborough University. According to Loughborough, Tampa ranks alongside other world cities such as Phoenix, Charlotte, Rotterdam, and Santo Domingo. In recent years Tampa has seen a notable upsurge in high-market demand from consumers, signaling more wealth concentrated in the area. Tampa hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention and the 15th International Indian Film Academy Awards in April 2014
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 170.6 square miles (442 km2) including 112.1 square miles (290 km2) of land and 58.5 square miles (151.5 km2) (34.31%) of water. The highest point in the city is only 48 feet (15 m). Tampa is bordered by two bodies of water, Old Tampa Bay and Hillsborough Bay, both of which flow together to form Tampa Bay, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The Hillsborough River flows out into Hillsborough Bay, passing directly in front of Downtown Tampa and supplying Tampa's main source of fresh water. Palm River is a smaller river flowing from just east of the city into McKay Bay, which is a smaller inlet, sited at the northeast end of Hillsborough Bay Tampa's geography is marked by the Interbay Peninsula which divides Hillsborough Bay (the eastern) from Old Tampa Bay (the western).
Architecture
Tampa displays a wide variety of architectural designs and styles. Most of Tampa's high rises demonstrate Post-modern architecture. The design for the renovated Tampa Museum of Art, displays Post-modern architecture, while the city hall and the Tampa Theatre belong to Art Deco architecture. The Tampa mayor Pam Iorio made the redevelopment of Tampa's downtown, especially residential development, a priority.[65] Several residential and mixed-development high-rises have been constructed. Another of Mayor Iorio's initiatives was the Tampa Riverwalk, a mixed use path along the Hillsborough River in downtown and Channelside (Channelside was recently approved[66] to undergo major renovations by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik along with other investors). Several museums are part of the plan, including new homes for the Tampa Bay History Center, the Tampa Children's Museum, and the Tampa Museum of Art. Mayor Bob Buckhorn has continued these developments.
Tampa is the site of several skyscrapers. Overall, there are 18 completed buildings that rise over 250 feet (76 m) high. The city also has 69 high-rises, second only to Miami in the state of Florida. The tallest building in the city is 100 North Tampa, formerly the AmSouth Building, which rises 42 floors and 579 feet (176 m) in Downtown Tampa. The structure was completed in 1992, and is the tallest building in Florida outside of Miami and Jacksonville.
Neighborhoods and surrounding municipalities
The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns and unincorporated communities annexed by the growing city. Generally, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown Tampa, New Tampa, West Tampa, East Tampa, North Tampa, and South Tampa. Well-known neighborhoods include Ybor City, Forest Hills, Ballast Point, Sulphur Springs, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, Palma Ceia, Hyde Park, Davis Islands, Tampa Palms, College Hill, and non-residential areas of Gary and the Westshore Business District.
Surrounding communities
Northwest: Citrus Park, Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Carrollwood, Northdale, New Port Richey, Port Richey, Odessa, East Lake, Keystone, Holiday, Dunedin, Trinity, Bayonet Point, Connerton, Beacon Square, Elfers, Jasmine Estates, Hudson, Shady Hills, Spring Hill North: Lutz, Land O' Lakes, University Area, Cheval, Lake Magdalene, Saint Leo, San Antonio, Wesley Chapel Northeast: Temple Terrace, Thonotosassa, Wesley Chapel South, Mango, New Tampa, Pebble Creek, Dade City, Lacoochee, Zephryhills, Crystal Springs
West: Westchase, Town 'n' Country, Egypt Lake, Leto, Clearwater, Largo, Clearwater Beach, Belleair, Feather Sound, Harbor Bluffs, Safety Harbor Tampa East: Brandon, Gibsonton, Seffner, Valrico, Dover, Plant City, East Tampa, Progress Village, Bloomingdale, Del Rio, Palm River, Orient Park
Southwest: St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, Pinellas Park, Tierra Verde, Gulfport, Seminole, Treasure Island, Bay Pines, Kenneth City, South Pasadena, Madeira Beach South: Apollo Beach, Anna Maria, Bradenton, Ellenton, Lakewood Ranch, Florida, Longboat Key, Memphis, Palmetto, Parrish, Sarasota, Siesta Key, Sun City Center, Venice Southeast: Balm, Boyette, Fish Hawk, Gibsonton, Keysville, Lithia, Riverview, Ruskin, Sun City Center, Wimauma
Landmarks
Tampa Theatre
The Sulphur Springs Water Tower, a landmark in Sulphur Springs section of the city, dates back to the late 1920s. This boom period for Florida also saw the construction of an ornate movie palace, the Tampa Theater, a Mediterranean revival on Davis Islands, and Bayshore Boulevard, which borders Hillsborough Bay from downtown Tampa to areas in South Tampa. The road has a 6-mile (10 km) continuous sidewalk on the eastern end, the longest in the world.
The Ybor City District is home to several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and has been declared a National Historic Landmark. Notable structures include El Centro Español de Tampa, Centro Asturiano de Tampa and other social clubs built in the early 1900s.
Babe Zaharias Golf Course in the Forest Hills area of Tampa has been designated a Historical Landmark by the National Register of Historic Places. It was bought in 1949 by the famous 'Babe', who had a residence nearby, and closed upon her death. In 1974, the city of Tampa opened the golf course to the public. The Story of Tampa, a public painting by Lynn Ash, is a 4-by-8-foot (1.2 m × 2.4 m) oil on masonite mural that weaves together many of the notable aspects of Tampa's unique character and identity. It was commissioned in 2003 by the city's Public Art Program and can be found in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building. Park Tower (originally the First Financial Bank of Florida) is the first substantial skyscraper in downtown Tampa. Completed in 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in Tampa until the completion of One Tampa City Center in 1981. The Rivergate building, a cylindrical building known as the "Beer Can building", was featured in the movie "The Punisher".
Spanning the southern part of Tampa Bay, is the massive steel-span Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Tampa is home to the Bro Bowl, one of the last remaining skateparks built during skateboarding's "Golden Era" in the 1970s. It opened in 1979 and was constructed by Tampa Parks and Recreation. It was the first public skatepark to be constructed in Florida and the third on the East Coast.[citation needed]
Climate
Tampa's climate shows characteristics of a tropical climate, but is situated on the southern fringe of the humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) zone. Tampa's climate generally features hot summer days with frequent thunderstorms in the summer (rain is less frequent in the fall and winter), and a threat of a light winter freeze from November 15 through March 5 caused by occasional cold fronts from the north. Freezes do not happen every year though, especially towards South Tampa and areas near the bay. Light freezes every year are more likely in northern Tampa and areas away from the water. Since Tampa has some characteristics of a tropical climate, hard freezes (defined by the National Weather Service as below 28 °F (−2.2 °C)) happen rarely (every 5 to 20 years depending on location). Because of Tampa Bay, Tampa is split between two USDA climate zones. According to the 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Tampa is listed as USDA zone 9b north of Kennedy Boulevard away from the bay and 10a south of Kennedy Boulevard and along the bay, Zone 10a is about the northern limit of where coconut palms and royal palms can be grown, although some specimens do grow in northern Tampa. Southern Tampa has much more tropical foliage than the northern parts of the city. Average highs range from 70 to 90 °F (21 to 32 °C) year round, and lows 52 to 76 °F (11 to 24 °C). Tampa's official recorded high has never hit 100 °F (37.8 °C) – the all-time record high temperature is 99 °F (37 °C), recorded on June 5, 1985
Temperatures are warm to hot from around mid-May through mid-October, which roughly coincides with the rainy season. Summertime weather is very consistent from June through September, with daytime highs near 90 °F (32 °C), lows in the mid-70s °F (23–24 °C), and high humidity. Afternoon thunderstorms, usually generated by the interaction of the Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes, are such a regular occurrence during the summer that the Tampa Bay area is recognized as the "Lightning Capital of North America". Every year, Florida averages 10 deaths and 30 injuries from lightning strikes, with several of these usually occurring in or around Tampa.
In the winter, average temperatures range from the low to mid 70s °F (21–24 °C) during the day to the low to mid 50s °F (10–13 °C) at night. However, sustained colder air from Canada pushes into the area on several occasions every winter, dropping the highs and lows to 15 °F (8 °C) below the average (or even colder) for several days at a time before seasonal average temperatures return. The temperature can fall below freezing an average of 2 to 3 times per year, though this does not occur every season. Since the Tampa area is home to a diverse range of freeze-sensitive agriculture and aquaculture, hard freezes, although very infrequent, are a major concern. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Tampa was 18 °F (−8 °C) on December 13, 1962.
In the Great Blizzard of 1899, Tampa experienced its one and only known blizzard, with "bay effect" snow coming off Tampa Bay. The last measurable snow in Tampa fell on January 19, 1977. The accumulation amounted to all of 0.2 inches (0.5 cm), but the city, unprepared for and unaccustomed to wintry weather, came to a virtual standstill for a day.
The last trace of snow occurred on January 11, 2010 during a prolonged cold snap where there was a hard freeze in the northern parts of Tampa. The temperature fell as low as 23 °F (−5.0 °C) during this cold snap. On January 11, 2010, sleet (mixed with rain and a few snowflakes) fell in northern Tampa and further north according to a CoCoRaHS observer.[80] According to CoCoRaHS observers and the National Weather Service, this was the longest stretch of cold weather in the history of Tampa. It has been colder, but never this cold this long. Temperatures did not get above 49 °F (9.4 °C) for 5 days and there were freezes every night in northern Tampa for a week straight. There was significant damage to tropical foliage all over Tampa.
Three major freezes occurred in the 1980s: in January 1982, January 1985, and December 1989. The losses suffered by farmers forced many to sell off their citrus groves, which helped fuel a boom in subdivision development in the 1990s and 2000s.
Severe weather
August 2004: Hurricane Charley was forecast to make landfall in Tampa but veered east.
Tropical systems
Though it is affected by tropical storms every few years and threatened by tropical systems almost annually, Tampa has not taken a direct hit from a hurricane since 1921.[citation needed] That seemed about to change in 2004, when Hurricane Charley was forecast to make landfall near downtown Tampa, with potentially devastating effects for the entire region. The danger prompted one of the largest evacuations in state history.[citation needed] But Charley never reached Tampa Bay. After paralleling Florida's southwest coastline, the storm swerved to the east and slammed into Punta Gorda instead.
Severe thunderstorms
The regular summertime afternoon thundershowers occasionally intensify into a severe thunderstorm, bringing heavy downpours, frequent lightning, strong straight-line winds, and sometimes hail.
Tornadoes and waterspouts are less common, and they tend to be weaker and shorter-lived (typically EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale) than those in tornado alley. The arrival of spring cold fronts sometimes bring stronger tornadoes to west central Florida. An F4 (Old Fujita scale) struck northern Tampa and the University of South Florida on April 4, 1966 causing severe damage and killing 3 people in north Tampa. However, this was an unusual event.
Yearly precipitation trends
Because of the frequent summer thunderstorms, Tampa has a pronounced wet season, receiving an average of 26.1 inches (663 mm) of rain from June to September but only about 18.6 inches (472 mm) during the remaining eight months of the year. The historical averages during the late summer, especially September, are augmented by passing tropical systems, which can easily dump many inches of rain in one day. Tropical Storm Debby in 2012 dropped 8.57 inches of rain at Tampa International Airport on June 24, 2012 and amounts up to 10.36 inches was reported by a CoCoRaHS observer in NW Tampa. Outside of the summer rainy season, most of the area's precipitation is delivered by the occasional passage of a weather front.
Service, retail, finance, insurance, shipping by air and sea, national defense, professional sports, tourism, and real estate all play a vital role in the area's economy. Hillsborough County alone has an estimated 740,000 employees, a figure which is projected to increase to 922,000 by 2015.[94] Many corporations, such as large banks and telecommunications companies, maintain regional offices in Tampa.
Tampa Convention Center, built at the site of Fort Brooke
Several Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in the metropolitan area, including OSI Restaurant Partners, WellCare, TECO Energy, and Raymond James Financial.
MacDill Air Force Base also remains a major employer as the parent installation for over 15,000 active uniformed military, Department of Defense (DoD) civil service and DoD contractor personnel in the Tampa Bay area. A significant majority of the civil service and contractor personnel are, in fact, themselves retired career military personnel. In addition to the 6th Air Mobility Wing, which is "host wing" for the base, MacDill is also home to Headquarters, United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the 927th Air Refueling Wing, Headquarters, United States Marine Forces Central Command (USMARCENT), Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command Central (USSOCCENT), and numerous other military activities of the active and reserve components of the armed forces.
Downtown Tampa is undergoing significant development and redevelopment in line with a general national trend toward urban residential development. The Tampa Downtown Partnership notes development proceeding on 20 residential, hotel, and mixed-use projects as of April 2007. Many of the new downtown developments are nearing completion in the midst of a housing market slump, which has caused numerous projects to be delayed or revamped, and some of the 20 projects TDP lists have not broken ground and are being refinanced. Nonetheless several developments are nearing completion, which city leaders hope will make downtown into a 24-hour neighborhood instead of 9 to 5 business district.[98] As it stands, Tampa residents face a decline in rent which has decreased an average of 2% next year. Nationally rent has decreased 4%.[99] The Tampa Business Journal found Tampa to be the number two city for real estate investment in 2014.
Tampa's port is now the seventh largest in the nation and Florida's largest tonnage port, handling nearly half of all seaborne commerce that passes through the state. Tampa currently ranks second in the state behind Miami in terms of cruise ship travel. Besides smaller regional cruise ships such as Yacht Starship and SunCruz Casino, Tampa also serves as a port of call for three cruise lines: Holland America's MS Veendam, Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas, and Carnival's Legend and Inspiration.
The main server farm for Wikipedia and other Wikimedia Foundation projects is located in Tampa.
MacDill Air Force Base
A KC-135R stationed at MacDill flying over Tampa Bay.
MacDill Air Force Base, located in south Tampa, was constructed as MacDill Field just prior to World War II. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was a Strategic Air Command base for B-47 and B-52 bombers. In the 1960s, it transitioned to a Tactical Air Command installation for F-4 Phantom II fighters, followed by F-16s in the 1980s. It is currently an Air Mobility Command installation, home to the 6th Air Mobility Wing, and includes both the 310th Airlift Squadron, flying the C-37, and the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, flying the KC-135. MacDill AFB is also home to the headquarters for two of the U.S. military's joint war fighting commands: Headquarters, United States Central Command (CENTCOM), and Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Both commands are independent from one another and each is commanded by a respective 4-star general or admiral.
The MacDill AFB flight line was temporarily closed and the 56th Fighter Wing transferred to Luke AFB, Arizona following the 1991 round of base closings under the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) discussions; at the time, the base was used for F-16 fighter training and operations and increasing level of civilian air traffic in the Tampa Bay area was considered detrimental to training. The noise produced by the fighter aircraft was also considered inappropriate in a densely populated area. However, despite committee recommendations, the base remained open to house and support CENTCOM and SOCOM under the cognizance of the newly activated 6th Air Base Wing. With the disestablishment of Tactical Air Command a few months later, claimancy for MacDill passed to the newly created Air Combat Command.
The MacDill flight line was initially reopened in 1992 to temporarily support F-16 aircraft from the 31st Fighter Wing and the Air Force Reserve's 482d Fighter Wing, following the destruction of their home station, Homestead AFB, Florida, in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. In 1993 the MacDill flightline was permanently reopened for NOAA WP-3D "hurricane hunter" operations, which had relocated from Miami International Airport.
In 1996, the 91st Air Refueling Squadron moved to MacDill from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, the 6th Air Base Wing was renamed the 6th Air Refueling Wing. It was renamed the 6th Air Mobility Wing after the 310th Airlift Squadron was activated on the base and the installation officially came under the Air Mobility Command.
Approximately 14,000 people work at MacDill Air Force Base, with a significant number of military personnel and their families living on base in military housing, while remaining servicemembers and military families live off base in the Tampa Bay area. MacDill AFB is a significant contributor to Tampa's economy and the city is very supportive of the military community. In 2001 and 2003, the Tampa Bay area was awarded the Abilene Trophy, which annually honors the most supportive Air Force city in Air Mobility Command.
MacDill also hosts an annual air show that is enjoyed by thousands of spectators each year. However, there were no shows in 2002 and 2003 due to 9/11. The 2006 show was also canceled due to security concerns on base,[104] but was reinstated in 2008. In 2008, pursuant to BRAC 2005, the Air Force Reserve Command's 927th Air Refueling Wing (927 ARW) relocated without aircraft or equipment from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan to MacDill AFB, where it became an "Associate" wing to the 6th Air Mobility Wing sharing the same KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft.
The current location of Tampa was once inhabited by indigenous peoples of the Safety Harbor culture, most notably the Tocobaga and the Pohoy, who lived along the shores of Tampa Bay. It was explored by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, resulting in brief and violent conflicts with the native peoples and the introduction of European diseases, which wiped out the original native cultures over the next few decades. While Spain claimed Florida as part of New Spain, it did not found a colony in the Tampa area, and there were no permanent American or European settlements within today's city limits until after the United States had acquired Florida from Spain in 1819. In 1824, the United States Army established a frontier outpost called Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, near the site of today's Tampa Convention Center. The first civilian residents were pioneers who settled near the fort for protection from the nearby Seminole population, and the small village was first incorporated as "Tampa" in 1849. The town grew slowly until the 1880s, when railroad links, the discovery of phosphate, and the arrival of the cigar industry jump-started its development, helping it to grow from a quiet village of less than 800 residents in 1880 to a bustling city of over 30,000 by the early 1900s.
Today, Tampa is a part of the metropolitan area most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area. Tampa is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwacal area. The four-county area is composed of roughly 2.9 million residents, making it the second largest metropolitan statistie state, and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States, behind Miami, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. The Greater Tampa Bay area has over 4 million residents and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas. The Tampa Bay Partnership and U.S. Census data showed an average annual growth of 2.47 percent, or a gain of approximately 97,000 residents per year. Between 2000 and 2006, the Greater Tampa Bay Market experienced a combined growth rate of 14.8 percent, growing from 3.4 million to 3.9 million and hitting the 4 million population mark on April 1, 2007. A 2012 estimate shows the Tampa Bay area population to have 4,310,524 people and a 2017 projection of 4,536,854 people.
In 2008, Tampa was ranked as the 5th best outdoor city by Forbes. A 2004 survey by the NYU newspaper Washington Square News ranked Tampa as a top city for "twenty-somethings." Tampa also ranks as the fifth most popular American city, based on where people want to live, according to a 2009 Pew Research Center study. Tampa is now ranked as a "Gamma+" world city by Loughborough University. According to Loughborough, Tampa ranks alongside other world cities such as Phoenix, Charlotte, Rotterdam, and Santo Domingo. In recent years Tampa has seen a notable upsurge in high-market demand from consumers, signaling more wealth concentrated in the area. Tampa hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention and the 15th International Indian Film Academy Awards in April 2014
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 170.6 square miles (442 km2) including 112.1 square miles (290 km2) of land and 58.5 square miles (151.5 km2) (34.31%) of water. The highest point in the city is only 48 feet (15 m). Tampa is bordered by two bodies of water, Old Tampa Bay and Hillsborough Bay, both of which flow together to form Tampa Bay, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The Hillsborough River flows out into Hillsborough Bay, passing directly in front of Downtown Tampa and supplying Tampa's main source of fresh water. Palm River is a smaller river flowing from just east of the city into McKay Bay, which is a smaller inlet, sited at the northeast end of Hillsborough Bay Tampa's geography is marked by the Interbay Peninsula which divides Hillsborough Bay (the eastern) from Old Tampa Bay (the western).
Architecture
Tampa displays a wide variety of architectural designs and styles. Most of Tampa's high rises demonstrate Post-modern architecture. The design for the renovated Tampa Museum of Art, displays Post-modern architecture, while the city hall and the Tampa Theatre belong to Art Deco architecture. The Tampa mayor Pam Iorio made the redevelopment of Tampa's downtown, especially residential development, a priority.[65] Several residential and mixed-development high-rises have been constructed. Another of Mayor Iorio's initiatives was the Tampa Riverwalk, a mixed use path along the Hillsborough River in downtown and Channelside (Channelside was recently approved[66] to undergo major renovations by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik along with other investors). Several museums are part of the plan, including new homes for the Tampa Bay History Center, the Tampa Children's Museum, and the Tampa Museum of Art. Mayor Bob Buckhorn has continued these developments.
Tampa is the site of several skyscrapers. Overall, there are 18 completed buildings that rise over 250 feet (76 m) high. The city also has 69 high-rises, second only to Miami in the state of Florida. The tallest building in the city is 100 North Tampa, formerly the AmSouth Building, which rises 42 floors and 579 feet (176 m) in Downtown Tampa. The structure was completed in 1992, and is the tallest building in Florida outside of Miami and Jacksonville.
Neighborhoods and surrounding municipalities
The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns and unincorporated communities annexed by the growing city. Generally, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown Tampa, New Tampa, West Tampa, East Tampa, North Tampa, and South Tampa. Well-known neighborhoods include Ybor City, Forest Hills, Ballast Point, Sulphur Springs, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, Palma Ceia, Hyde Park, Davis Islands, Tampa Palms, College Hill, and non-residential areas of Gary and the Westshore Business District.
Surrounding communities
Northwest: Citrus Park, Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Carrollwood, Northdale, New Port Richey, Port Richey, Odessa, East Lake, Keystone, Holiday, Dunedin, Trinity, Bayonet Point, Connerton, Beacon Square, Elfers, Jasmine Estates, Hudson, Shady Hills, Spring Hill North: Lutz, Land O' Lakes, University Area, Cheval, Lake Magdalene, Saint Leo, San Antonio, Wesley Chapel Northeast: Temple Terrace, Thonotosassa, Wesley Chapel South, Mango, New Tampa, Pebble Creek, Dade City, Lacoochee, Zephryhills, Crystal Springs
West: Westchase, Town 'n' Country, Egypt Lake, Leto, Clearwater, Largo, Clearwater Beach, Belleair, Feather Sound, Harbor Bluffs, Safety Harbor Tampa East: Brandon, Gibsonton, Seffner, Valrico, Dover, Plant City, East Tampa, Progress Village, Bloomingdale, Del Rio, Palm River, Orient Park
Southwest: St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, Pinellas Park, Tierra Verde, Gulfport, Seminole, Treasure Island, Bay Pines, Kenneth City, South Pasadena, Madeira Beach South: Apollo Beach, Anna Maria, Bradenton, Ellenton, Lakewood Ranch, Florida, Longboat Key, Memphis, Palmetto, Parrish, Sarasota, Siesta Key, Sun City Center, Venice Southeast: Balm, Boyette, Fish Hawk, Gibsonton, Keysville, Lithia, Riverview, Ruskin, Sun City Center, Wimauma
Landmarks
Tampa Theatre
The Sulphur Springs Water Tower, a landmark in Sulphur Springs section of the city, dates back to the late 1920s. This boom period for Florida also saw the construction of an ornate movie palace, the Tampa Theater, a Mediterranean revival on Davis Islands, and Bayshore Boulevard, which borders Hillsborough Bay from downtown Tampa to areas in South Tampa. The road has a 6-mile (10 km) continuous sidewalk on the eastern end, the longest in the world.
The Ybor City District is home to several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and has been declared a National Historic Landmark. Notable structures include El Centro Español de Tampa, Centro Asturiano de Tampa and other social clubs built in the early 1900s.
Babe Zaharias Golf Course in the Forest Hills area of Tampa has been designated a Historical Landmark by the National Register of Historic Places. It was bought in 1949 by the famous 'Babe', who had a residence nearby, and closed upon her death. In 1974, the city of Tampa opened the golf course to the public. The Story of Tampa, a public painting by Lynn Ash, is a 4-by-8-foot (1.2 m × 2.4 m) oil on masonite mural that weaves together many of the notable aspects of Tampa's unique character and identity. It was commissioned in 2003 by the city's Public Art Program and can be found in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building. Park Tower (originally the First Financial Bank of Florida) is the first substantial skyscraper in downtown Tampa. Completed in 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in Tampa until the completion of One Tampa City Center in 1981. The Rivergate building, a cylindrical building known as the "Beer Can building", was featured in the movie "The Punisher".
Spanning the southern part of Tampa Bay, is the massive steel-span Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Tampa is home to the Bro Bowl, one of the last remaining skateparks built during skateboarding's "Golden Era" in the 1970s. It opened in 1979 and was constructed by Tampa Parks and Recreation. It was the first public skatepark to be constructed in Florida and the third on the East Coast.[citation needed]
Climate
Tampa's climate shows characteristics of a tropical climate, but is situated on the southern fringe of the humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) zone. Tampa's climate generally features hot summer days with frequent thunderstorms in the summer (rain is less frequent in the fall and winter), and a threat of a light winter freeze from November 15 through March 5 caused by occasional cold fronts from the north. Freezes do not happen every year though, especially towards South Tampa and areas near the bay. Light freezes every year are more likely in northern Tampa and areas away from the water. Since Tampa has some characteristics of a tropical climate, hard freezes (defined by the National Weather Service as below 28 °F (−2.2 °C)) happen rarely (every 5 to 20 years depending on location). Because of Tampa Bay, Tampa is split between two USDA climate zones. According to the 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Tampa is listed as USDA zone 9b north of Kennedy Boulevard away from the bay and 10a south of Kennedy Boulevard and along the bay, Zone 10a is about the northern limit of where coconut palms and royal palms can be grown, although some specimens do grow in northern Tampa. Southern Tampa has much more tropical foliage than the northern parts of the city. Average highs range from 70 to 90 °F (21 to 32 °C) year round, and lows 52 to 76 °F (11 to 24 °C). Tampa's official recorded high has never hit 100 °F (37.8 °C) – the all-time record high temperature is 99 °F (37 °C), recorded on June 5, 1985
Temperatures are warm to hot from around mid-May through mid-October, which roughly coincides with the rainy season. Summertime weather is very consistent from June through September, with daytime highs near 90 °F (32 °C), lows in the mid-70s °F (23–24 °C), and high humidity. Afternoon thunderstorms, usually generated by the interaction of the Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes, are such a regular occurrence during the summer that the Tampa Bay area is recognized as the "Lightning Capital of North America". Every year, Florida averages 10 deaths and 30 injuries from lightning strikes, with several of these usually occurring in or around Tampa.
In the winter, average temperatures range from the low to mid 70s °F (21–24 °C) during the day to the low to mid 50s °F (10–13 °C) at night. However, sustained colder air from Canada pushes into the area on several occasions every winter, dropping the highs and lows to 15 °F (8 °C) below the average (or even colder) for several days at a time before seasonal average temperatures return. The temperature can fall below freezing an average of 2 to 3 times per year, though this does not occur every season. Since the Tampa area is home to a diverse range of freeze-sensitive agriculture and aquaculture, hard freezes, although very infrequent, are a major concern. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Tampa was 18 °F (−8 °C) on December 13, 1962.
In the Great Blizzard of 1899, Tampa experienced its one and only known blizzard, with "bay effect" snow coming off Tampa Bay. The last measurable snow in Tampa fell on January 19, 1977. The accumulation amounted to all of 0.2 inches (0.5 cm), but the city, unprepared for and unaccustomed to wintry weather, came to a virtual standstill for a day.
The last trace of snow occurred on January 11, 2010 during a prolonged cold snap where there was a hard freeze in the northern parts of Tampa. The temperature fell as low as 23 °F (−5.0 °C) during this cold snap. On January 11, 2010, sleet (mixed with rain and a few snowflakes) fell in northern Tampa and further north according to a CoCoRaHS observer.[80] According to CoCoRaHS observers and the National Weather Service, this was the longest stretch of cold weather in the history of Tampa. It has been colder, but never this cold this long. Temperatures did not get above 49 °F (9.4 °C) for 5 days and there were freezes every night in northern Tampa for a week straight. There was significant damage to tropical foliage all over Tampa.
Three major freezes occurred in the 1980s: in January 1982, January 1985, and December 1989. The losses suffered by farmers forced many to sell off their citrus groves, which helped fuel a boom in subdivision development in the 1990s and 2000s.
Severe weather
August 2004: Hurricane Charley was forecast to make landfall in Tampa but veered east.
Tropical systems
Though it is affected by tropical storms every few years and threatened by tropical systems almost annually, Tampa has not taken a direct hit from a hurricane since 1921.[citation needed] That seemed about to change in 2004, when Hurricane Charley was forecast to make landfall near downtown Tampa, with potentially devastating effects for the entire region. The danger prompted one of the largest evacuations in state history.[citation needed] But Charley never reached Tampa Bay. After paralleling Florida's southwest coastline, the storm swerved to the east and slammed into Punta Gorda instead.
Severe thunderstorms
The regular summertime afternoon thundershowers occasionally intensify into a severe thunderstorm, bringing heavy downpours, frequent lightning, strong straight-line winds, and sometimes hail.
Tornadoes and waterspouts are less common, and they tend to be weaker and shorter-lived (typically EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale) than those in tornado alley. The arrival of spring cold fronts sometimes bring stronger tornadoes to west central Florida. An F4 (Old Fujita scale) struck northern Tampa and the University of South Florida on April 4, 1966 causing severe damage and killing 3 people in north Tampa. However, this was an unusual event.
Yearly precipitation trends
Because of the frequent summer thunderstorms, Tampa has a pronounced wet season, receiving an average of 26.1 inches (663 mm) of rain from June to September but only about 18.6 inches (472 mm) during the remaining eight months of the year. The historical averages during the late summer, especially September, are augmented by passing tropical systems, which can easily dump many inches of rain in one day. Tropical Storm Debby in 2012 dropped 8.57 inches of rain at Tampa International Airport on June 24, 2012 and amounts up to 10.36 inches was reported by a CoCoRaHS observer in NW Tampa. Outside of the summer rainy season, most of the area's precipitation is delivered by the occasional passage of a weather front.
Service, retail, finance, insurance, shipping by air and sea, national defense, professional sports, tourism, and real estate all play a vital role in the area's economy. Hillsborough County alone has an estimated 740,000 employees, a figure which is projected to increase to 922,000 by 2015.[94] Many corporations, such as large banks and telecommunications companies, maintain regional offices in Tampa.
Tampa Convention Center, built at the site of Fort Brooke
Several Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in the metropolitan area, including OSI Restaurant Partners, WellCare, TECO Energy, and Raymond James Financial.
MacDill Air Force Base also remains a major employer as the parent installation for over 15,000 active uniformed military, Department of Defense (DoD) civil service and DoD contractor personnel in the Tampa Bay area. A significant majority of the civil service and contractor personnel are, in fact, themselves retired career military personnel. In addition to the 6th Air Mobility Wing, which is "host wing" for the base, MacDill is also home to Headquarters, United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the 927th Air Refueling Wing, Headquarters, United States Marine Forces Central Command (USMARCENT), Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command Central (USSOCCENT), and numerous other military activities of the active and reserve components of the armed forces.
Downtown Tampa is undergoing significant development and redevelopment in line with a general national trend toward urban residential development. The Tampa Downtown Partnership notes development proceeding on 20 residential, hotel, and mixed-use projects as of April 2007. Many of the new downtown developments are nearing completion in the midst of a housing market slump, which has caused numerous projects to be delayed or revamped, and some of the 20 projects TDP lists have not broken ground and are being refinanced. Nonetheless several developments are nearing completion, which city leaders hope will make downtown into a 24-hour neighborhood instead of 9 to 5 business district.[98] As it stands, Tampa residents face a decline in rent which has decreased an average of 2% next year. Nationally rent has decreased 4%.[99] The Tampa Business Journal found Tampa to be the number two city for real estate investment in 2014.
Tampa's port is now the seventh largest in the nation and Florida's largest tonnage port, handling nearly half of all seaborne commerce that passes through the state. Tampa currently ranks second in the state behind Miami in terms of cruise ship travel. Besides smaller regional cruise ships such as Yacht Starship and SunCruz Casino, Tampa also serves as a port of call for three cruise lines: Holland America's MS Veendam, Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas, and Carnival's Legend and Inspiration.
The main server farm for Wikipedia and other Wikimedia Foundation projects is located in Tampa.
MacDill Air Force Base
A KC-135R stationed at MacDill flying over Tampa Bay.
MacDill Air Force Base, located in south Tampa, was constructed as MacDill Field just prior to World War II. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was a Strategic Air Command base for B-47 and B-52 bombers. In the 1960s, it transitioned to a Tactical Air Command installation for F-4 Phantom II fighters, followed by F-16s in the 1980s. It is currently an Air Mobility Command installation, home to the 6th Air Mobility Wing, and includes both the 310th Airlift Squadron, flying the C-37, and the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, flying the KC-135. MacDill AFB is also home to the headquarters for two of the U.S. military's joint war fighting commands: Headquarters, United States Central Command (CENTCOM), and Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Both commands are independent from one another and each is commanded by a respective 4-star general or admiral.
The MacDill AFB flight line was temporarily closed and the 56th Fighter Wing transferred to Luke AFB, Arizona following the 1991 round of base closings under the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) discussions; at the time, the base was used for F-16 fighter training and operations and increasing level of civilian air traffic in the Tampa Bay area was considered detrimental to training. The noise produced by the fighter aircraft was also considered inappropriate in a densely populated area. However, despite committee recommendations, the base remained open to house and support CENTCOM and SOCOM under the cognizance of the newly activated 6th Air Base Wing. With the disestablishment of Tactical Air Command a few months later, claimancy for MacDill passed to the newly created Air Combat Command.
The MacDill flight line was initially reopened in 1992 to temporarily support F-16 aircraft from the 31st Fighter Wing and the Air Force Reserve's 482d Fighter Wing, following the destruction of their home station, Homestead AFB, Florida, in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. In 1993 the MacDill flightline was permanently reopened for NOAA WP-3D "hurricane hunter" operations, which had relocated from Miami International Airport.
In 1996, the 91st Air Refueling Squadron moved to MacDill from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, the 6th Air Base Wing was renamed the 6th Air Refueling Wing. It was renamed the 6th Air Mobility Wing after the 310th Airlift Squadron was activated on the base and the installation officially came under the Air Mobility Command.
Approximately 14,000 people work at MacDill Air Force Base, with a significant number of military personnel and their families living on base in military housing, while remaining servicemembers and military families live off base in the Tampa Bay area. MacDill AFB is a significant contributor to Tampa's economy and the city is very supportive of the military community. In 2001 and 2003, the Tampa Bay area was awarded the Abilene Trophy, which annually honors the most supportive Air Force city in Air Mobility Command.
MacDill also hosts an annual air show that is enjoyed by thousands of spectators each year. However, there were no shows in 2002 and 2003 due to 9/11. The 2006 show was also canceled due to security concerns on base,[104] but was reinstated in 2008. In 2008, pursuant to BRAC 2005, the Air Force Reserve Command's 927th Air Refueling Wing (927 ARW) relocated without aircraft or equipment from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan to MacDill AFB, where it became an "Associate" wing to the 6th Air Mobility Wing sharing the same KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft.