Ybor City Guide

Ybor City was founded in the 1880s when Vicente Ybor and Ignacio Haya moved their cigar factories from Key West to Tampa. Ybor purchased 40+ acres northeast of Tampa for $5,000. On that land, he built his cigar factory and his city, which including blocks of small cottage-style homes, casitas, which he rented or sold to his workers for $1.50 to $2.50 a week or $400 to $900, respectively. Lured by the promise of good wages and affordable home ownership, thousands of immigrants from Spain, Cuba and Italy flooded Ybor City. Over the next 50 years, more and more cigar factories, over 140 in all, produced more and more cigars until, in 1929, Ybor reached its peak production, with workers rolling out more than 500 million cigars in a single year. The city tumbled into decline after the Great Depression; factories scaled back, closed down or mechanized to the extent that the city was a virtual ghost town by the 1950s. In the 1980s, artists discovered Ybor's low rent, eclectic facilities, and began moving in en-masse. By the early 1990s, Ybor was a sea of bars, restaurants and nightclubs; weekends became a nighttime carnival with pedestrian traffic so heavy along 7th Avenue that it was closed to vehicular traffic. Ybor today, which still attracts more than two million visitor a year, is slowly moving away from its tawdry reputation; over the last ten years, city planners have been implementing steps to turn Ybor into a family-friendly affair, attracting more shops, restaurants and galleries, as well as to make it attractive to young professionals seeking an urban lifestyle close to downtown Tampa. Most historic buildings have been rehabbed and occupied; and much of Ybor's vacant land has been residentially developed. The last ten years has also seen 200 new businesses move into the area, and one million square feet of space renovated. Future plans call for significant investment and changes to bring people, users and quality of life services to the city, including more parks and open spaces, streetscape beautification projects, and additional parking and wireless Internet in the revitalization districts. Shopping and Dining in Ybor City There's plenty to taste in Ybor City, which is especially known for its authentic Cuban and and Spanish dishes. The Columbia Restaurant on 7th Avenue is one of the world's largest and Tampa's oldest, with a two-storied courtyard and 1,200 seats spread throughout a dozen rooms, including the 1936 Don Quizote Room with scenes by Sergio de Meza. Any trip to Ybor City is incomplete without a visit to this Tampa institution. A stroll down La Setima, the Historic District's main thoroughfare, brings you within reach of various cuisines, including Spanish, Cuban, Italian, Greek and French. Enjoy a cup of Ybor's famous caf Ybor City Guide is a post from: Traveling China from Traveling China http://www.chinaya.org

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