Tampa

Button Bush

We started our day in the Pinewood Cultural Park in Largo, FL about half an hour from our campsite. This is a combination botanical garden and historical recreated village. Unfortunately, the village was closed on Tuesdays. We enjoyed the gardens, they explained a lot about how waste water is purified by going into natural bogs. The gardens focused on natural plants that can be grown locally, both flowering plants and trees. As usual, we found several species we’d never seen before. It was a pleasant morning walk, if a little hot.

Tampa Bay Hotel

In the afternoon, we visited a unique site, the Henry B Plant Museum. Henry Plant was largely responsible for turning Florida into a vacation paradise. After the Civil War, he bought up railroads and ship lines, creating a major transportation network in the Southeastern U.S. To encourage tourism he built several large resorts, and the one in Tampa could be called the first “Magic Kingdom” Built in 1891 at a cost of $2.5 million with $0.5 million of art and furnishings, the Tampa Bay Hotel has very unique architecture. The hotel has multiple turrets and most of the entry ways remind one of Moorish design. The history of the hotel is also closely tied to the Spanish American War of 1898. The railroads brought the army and cavalry to the port of Tampa to wait the beginning of the war (which only lasted 5 months), but resulted in the U.S. gaining possession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. The war was led by what were called the armchair generals who could often be seen on the veranda of the hotel. Unfortunately Plant died shortly after the war and his splendid hotel was bought by the city of Tampa for $125,000. It later became the site of the University of Tampa. The museum itself covers half the first floor of the hotel and tells the story of Plant, his hotel, and the Spanish American War. It is filled with many of the original furnishings of the hotel. I highly recommend a visit. 

The Arm Chair Generals