looking back, moving forward
The Power of a Fine Cigar By Luke Carothers
We are honored and energized by your presence at this year’s Elevate- AEC conference in Tampa, Florida. The schedule is set for this year’s conference to take things yet another level higher, pushing the boundar- ies of what a conference can look like. Our goal every year is to match the energy that you bring to this wonderful industry every day and to celebrate with the same passion you display every day in designing and maintaining the built environment. For me, there is no place more fit for such a celebration than Tampa. Much of Tampa’s history has been written in stories of growth and ex- pansion. For almost the entirety of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st, Tampa and the surrounding communities along Tampa Bay have grown to house more residents, tourists, and industries. However, the longer history of Tampa tells a rather different story—one that con- nects historical changes and developments to the built environment with our modern understanding of Tampa. Native Americans were living and thriving along the shores of Tampa Bay as early as 2,000 years ago, but, in its place within the United States, the area that would eventually come to hold the city of Tampa began with a declaration from the federal government to construct a series of forts along their newly-purchased territory. With the flourish of a pen, the history of Tampa’s built environment as we know it began. Fort Brooke was built on the eastern bank of the Hillsborough River in 1824, and a small settlement grew up just outside the isolated fort. Two decades later in 1849, the village of Tampa was established, but the area remained isolated and growth was little to non-existent. Despite housing a military fortification, the area continued as an afterthought be - fore and during the American Civil War, seeing a few small skirmishes during that time. Following the Civil War, the area remained stagnant in terms of growth, supporting little more than a modest ocean-going port and a civilian population well under a thousand people. By 1883, the area was bereft of its main economic and population source when Fort Brooke was decommissioned. However, despite a steep decline in population, the immediate economic downturn that followed the closing of Fort Brooke would be short lived, and the space once occupied by the fort was soon repurposed for shipping when phosphate was discovered nearby. Phosphate was and remains an incredibly valuable resource, and soon after its discovery it was being shipped out of the city via Tampa’s port. Quickly, the valu- able space along the Hillsborough River that had once been occupied by the fort was repurposed into warehouses and other infrastructure to support the export of phosphate with the added benefit of expanding the city’s once-meager commercial fishing industry. Despite years of stagnation and isolation, Tampa was suddenly a tin- derbox waiting to ignite with economic expansion. In 1884, just a year after the closing of Fort Brooke, the railroad came to Tampa, providing an important pathway into the city’s future. The South Florida Railroad provided the city its first reliable overland shipping route. With easy
means of shipping goods via the port and now railroad, Tampa was the perfect destination for entrepreneurs with big plans. One such entrepre- neur was Vincente Martinez-Ybor, who established the area’s first cigar factory just outside what was then the city of Tampa while looking to capitalize on the city’s growing infrastructure and its humid climate. Knowing he would need a specialized workforce to produce cigars, Ybor quickly began to build housing as he brought in workers from Cuba, Spain, and Italy who had worked at various levels of the cigar manufacturing industry. Living in the city constructed by Ybor for this very purpose, these immigrants soon became the economic lifeblood of a rapidly expanding town, rolling and shipping millions of cigars while receiving good wages and housing. This massive wave of immigration had a profound effect on Tampa’s population, which grew to well over 15,000 by the turn of the 20th century. Ybor’s decision to build a cigar business in Tampa proved consequential to the city’s history. This initial wave of immigration kicked off what would become Tampa’s legacy of growth and expansion that continues until this day. Crucial to this legacy, however, is how this mass of newly immigrated workers im- pacted the city’s built environment. Ybor knew he had to make massive changes to the city’s built envi- ronment. He built homes, schools, hospitals, social clubs, roads, and grocery stores to support the working population. The result of this decision proved to be a catalyst for Tampa’s growth. In addition to establishing a legacy of growth and development, Ybor’s decision to establish his cigar enterprise still bears its testament on Tampa’s built environment. As we embark upon our two days of connection and cel- ebration in this wonderful city, we do so in a place that has historically demonstrated a path forward—through a bold and innovative approach to changing the built environment.
LUKE CAROTHERS is the Editor for Civil + Structural Engineer Media. If you want us to cover your project or want to feature your own article, he can be reached at lcarothers@zweiggroup.com.
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