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Top Attractions in Tampa

Busch Gardens Tampa

Busch Gardens Tampa is a 335-acre 19th century African-themed animal theme park located in the city of Tampa, Florida. It opened on March 31, 1959, as an admission-free hospitality facility for Tampa Anheuser-Busch; in addition to various beer tastings, they had a bird garden and the Stairway to the Stars, which was an escalator that took guests to the roof of the brewery. Busch Gardens continued to grow, and in 1965, opened the 29-acre Serengeti Plains, which allowed the African wildlife to roam freely. It continued to focus on its tropical landscape, exotic animals, and amusements to draw visitors. Busch Gardens began charging admission as the entertainment became more complex, with extra fees for the thrill rides, such as the roller coasters for which Busch Gardens is now known. Alongside sister waterpark Adventure Island ), Busch Gardens is the anchor of Tampas 365-acre amusement multiplex. Currently Busch Gardens competes with other such parks in Florida and charges comparable fees. The park is operated by SeaWorld Entertainment, majority owned by the private equity firm The Blackstone Group. Busch Gardens is currently accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums . In 2011, the park hosted 4.3 million people, placing in the top 20 of the most-visited theme parks in the United States and in the top 25 worldwide.

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa is a gaming complex and Four Diamond hotel that opened in 2004. It is located on Tampa Reservation, off Interstate 4 just east of Tampa, Florida. The 190,000 square foot casino is the sixth-largest in the world, and has been expanded multiple times since its opening. It is a 24-hour venue that permits smoking indoors. It includes many displays of rock and roll memorabilia, such as clothing and musical instruments. Rock videos and music play on multiple screens, including one displayed inside a waterfall. Many song lyrics are displayed on the walls. Among its many services are a food court and tour bus parking. Special membership cards allow points accumulated by gambling to be redeemed for retail discounts.

SS American Victory

SS American Victory is a Victory ship which saw brief service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during the waning months of World War II, Korea from 1951-1954, and Vietnam from 1967-1969. Built in June 1945, she carried ammunition and other cargo from U.S. West Coast ports to Southeast Asia, then ferried cargo, equipment and troops back to the U.S. after the war ended. She survived two typhoons, and one hurricane. She sailed across the world twice. American Victory spent half of the period between 1946 to 1966 chartered to commercial carriers and the other half in two stints in U.S. reserve fleets. From 1966 to 1969 she delivered cargo to Southeast Asia in the Vietnam War, then three decades again in reserve. In April of 1999, she was turned over to a preservation organization to serve as a museum ship. Today she is the main feature of the American Victory Ship Museum, also known as the American Victory Mariners Memorial Museum Ship in Tampa, Floridas Channel District.

Glazer Children’s Museum

The Glazer Childrens Museum is located at 110 W Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, Florida. It is located downtown, next door to the Tampa Museum of Art and Curtis Hixon Park, alongside the Tampa Riverwalk. It is part of the Waterfront Arts District. The Glazer Children’s Museum promotes learning through hands-on, interactive play. The majority of the Museum’s effort is focused on visitor experience and educational programming. The Museum offers a variety of programs ranging from formal curriculum based classes for visiting schools, to informal workshops for visiting families, to camps and specialized programs. Based in a 53,000 square foot facility in downtown Tampa, Florida, the Museum has 170 hands-on exhibits in multiple themed areas. Exhibits are designed to engage children in the discovery process through play. Traveling exhibits supplement the Museum’s permanent collection twice throughout the year. These 3-4 month exhibits are meant to create an additional level of engagement for visitors and enhance the guests’ educational experience. Recent awards to the Museum include: 2012 WEDU Be More Award winner for Outstanding Educational Outreach 2012 Tampa Downtown Partnership Urban Excellence Award Recipient 2012 Tampa Bay Business Journal Arts Culture and Humanities Non-Profit of the Year .

Congo River Rapids

Busch Gardens Tampa is a 335-acre 19th century African-themed animal theme park located in the city of Tampa, Florida. It opened on March 31, 1959, as an admission-free hospitality facility for Tampa Anheuser-Busch; in addition to various beer tastings, they had a bird garden and the Stairway to the Stars, which was an escalator that took guests to the roof of the brewery. Busch Gardens continued to grow, and in 1965, opened the 29-acre Serengeti Plains, which allowed the African wildlife to roam freely. It continued to focus on its tropical landscape, exotic animals, and amusements to draw visitors. Busch Gardens began charging admission as the entertainment became more complex, with extra fees for the thrill rides, such as the roller coasters for which Busch Gardens is now known. Alongside sister waterpark Adventure Island (30-acre (12 ha)), Busch Gardens is the anchor of Tampa's 365-acre amusement multiplex. Currently Busch Gardens competes with other such parks in Florida and charges comparable fees. The park is operated by SeaWorld Entertainment, majority owned by the private equity firm The Blackstone Group. Busch Gardens is currently accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). In 2011, the park hosted 4.3 million people, placing in the top 20 of the most-visited theme parks in the United States and in the top 25 worldwide.

Gandy Bridge

Gandy Bridge is the southernmost bridge spanning Old Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa, Florida. The original 1924 span was dismantled in 1975. The second bridge, constructed in 1956 was used for vehicular traffic until 1997, when it was converted to recreational use by non-motorized traffic. It became known as the Friendship Trail Bridge and is currently being demolished after closing in 2008 due to hazardous conditions and several failed efforts to preserve the span. The third and fourth spans of the Gandy Bridge are currently being used for vehicle traffic. Almost three miles long, the Gandy Bridge is one of three bridges connecting the mainland of Hillsborough County and Pinellas County; the others being the Howard Frankland Bridge and the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

Henry B. Plant Museum

The Henry B. Plant Museum is located in the south wing of Plant Hall on the University of Tampa’s campus, at 401 West Kennedy Boulevard. Plant Hall was formerly known as the Tampa Bay Hotel, which was a 500+ room resort hotel opened in 1891 by Henry B. Plant near the terminus of his rail line. The museums exhibits focus on Gilded Age tourism, the elite lifestyle of the hotels guests,and the buildings use during the Spanish–American War. It was designed by architect J.A. Wood who also created the old Hillsborough County Courthouse and the Oglethorpe Hotel. The museum is open to the public every day except Monday and major holidays. During the Christmas holiday season, the museum hosts the annual Victorian Christmas Stroll. The entire building is a U.S. National Historic Landmark, designated as such on December 5, 1972. On April 18, 2012, the AIAs Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.

Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center

The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors as the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa, Florida in July 1987 and has welcomed more than 10 million guests. The venue was renamed in November 2009 to recognize the generous donation, the largest individual philanthropic gift ever made to a cultural institution in the Tampa Bay area, of financier David A. Straz, Jr. The Straz Center is located downtown on a 9-acre site along the east bank of the Hillsborough River. As the second largest performing arts complex in the Southeastern United States (behind the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts), the 335,000-square-foot venue provides an environment for a variety of events. It has a leading Broadway series and produces grand opera, as well as presenting a variety of concerts, performances and events. 680,000 patrons attended 4,148 events during the 2007-2008 season. In 2009, the Straz Center officially began a new program entitled the "Broadway Genesis Project," which intends to present the world premieres of musicals and plays which hopefully will move to Broadway. The first show staged as part of this series is Frank Wildhorn's newest musical, Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure, which opened officially on December 5, following previews beginning November 24.

Centre Gallery

The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is an American metropolitan public research university located in Tampa, Florida, United States. USF also a member institution of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1956, USF is the fourth-largest public university in the state of Florida, with a total enrollment of 48,373 as of the 2014-2015 academic year. The USF system comprises three institutions: USF Tampa, USF St. Petersburg and USF Sarasota-Manatee. Each institution is separately accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 80 undergraduate majors and more than 130 graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in the top tier of research universities, and is among three other universities in Florida to hold this highest level of classification. In its 2011 ranking, the Intellectual Property Owners Association placed USF 10th among all universities worldwide in the number of US patents granted. The university has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of over $3.7 billion. In a ranking compiled by the National Science Foundation, USF ranks 43rd in the United States for total research spending amongst all universities, public and private. USF ranks in the top 100 best public schools in the 2014 Best Colleges edition of U.S. News & World Report. USF was named a national leader in online education by Guide to Online Schools. USF graduate level programs including Public Health, Library and Information Studies, Education, and Criminology continue to rank among the nation's 50 best in the U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings.

Glazer Children's Museum

The Glazer Children's Museum is located at 110 W Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, Florida. It is located downtown, next door to the Tampa Museum of Art and Curtis Hixon Park, alongside the Tampa Riverwalk. It is part of the Waterfront Arts District. The Glazer Children’s Museum promotes learning through hands-on, interactive play. The majority of the Museum’s effort is focused on visitor experience and educational programming. The Museum offers a variety of programs ranging from formal curriculum based classes for visiting schools, to informal workshops for visiting families, to camps and specialized programs. Based in a 53,000 square foot facility in downtown Tampa, Florida, the Museum has 170 hands-on exhibits in multiple themed areas. Exhibits are designed to engage children in the discovery process through play. Traveling exhibits supplement the Museum’s permanent collection twice throughout the year. These 3-4 month exhibits are meant to create an additional level of engagement for visitors and enhance the guests’ educational experience. Recent awards to the Museum include: 2012 WEDU Be More Award winner for Outstanding Educational Outreach 2012 Tampa Downtown Partnership Urban Excellence Award Recipient 2012 Tampa Bay Business Journal Arts Culture and Humanities Non-Profit of the Year .

El Centro Español of West Tampa

The El Centro Español of West Tampa is a historic site in the West Tampa neighborhood of Tampa, Florida, United States. It is located at 2306 North Howard Avenue . It was designed by Fred J. James. On July 30, 1974, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Centro of West Tampa was a branch of El Centro Español de Tampa of Ybor City, and was built using membership dues of cigar workers in Ybor City and West Tampa. Members could use either building for amenities such as a gym, casino , cafe, health clinic, etc. Centro Español de West Tampa also included the Royal Theater where live stage shows were performed; later movies were shown in the Royal Theater. The building was empty for years, and private attempts at restoration have been unsuccessful due to the high costs involved. However, the city of Tampa restored Centro and used it as a temporary home for the Tampa Museum of Art while a new museum building was built downtown. Another chapter opened for El Centro Español of West Tampa with the execution of a 10-year lease between the City of Tampa and the Hillsborough Education Foundation in January 2010. The Hillsborough Education Foundation is a non-profit which has been garnering private resources to support public education since 1988. In 2007 the Foundation added Teaching Tools for Hillsborough Schools to its roster of programs. This is a resource store where teachers from Hillsborough schools with the greatest need may obtain free supplies for their students and classrooms. The store had been operated out of rented space and was in need of a permanent home. With the lease of Centro, now all Foundation programs and staff are housed in this historic building. Renovations continue, but as of June 14, 2010 the Foundation moved its programs into the building.

Tampa Bay Hotel

The Henry B. Plant Museum is located in the south wing of Plant Hall on the University of Tampa’s campus, at 401 West Kennedy Boulevard. Plant Hall was formerly known as the Tampa Bay Hotel, which was a 511 room resort hotel opened on February 5, 1891 by Henry B. Plant near the terminus of his rail line. The museum's exhibits focus on Gilded Age tourism, the elite lifestyle of the hotel's guests,and the building's use during the Spanish–American War. It was designed by architect J.A. Wood who also created the old Hillsborough County Courthouse and the Oglethorpe Hotel. The museum is open to the public every day except Monday and major holidays. During the Christmas holiday season, the museum hosts the annual Victorian Christmas Stroll. The entire building (under the title of Tampa Bay Hotel) is a U.S. National Historic Landmark, designated as such on December 5, 1972. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.

Tampa Museum of Art

The Tampa Museum of Art is located in downtown Tampa, Florida. It exhibits modern and contemporary art, as well as Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. The museum was founded in 1979 and debuted an award-winning new building in 2010 just north of its original site along Tampa's Riverwalk on the banks of Hillsborough River. Since its inception, museum planners knew that the Tampa Museum of Art's original building was too small for its collection. Proposals for expansion or relocation were the subject of discussion and controversy for years. Several different plans were proposed either by the city of Tampa or the museum board, including: in 2001, architect Rafael Vinoly designed a dramatic $76 million building which would have included a huge metal canopy overhanging nearby city streets. The project proved too costly and perhaps unsafe in a hurricane. from 2003 to 2005, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio proposed that the museum be relocated to one of several abandoned or underutilized buildings downtown, including an old federal courthouse and a small office tower. However, the museum board was unenthusiastic about the choices. As it turned out, converting the courthouse into usable museum space proved too expensive and disagreement over the appraised price of the office tower scrapped those plans as well.In 2006, the museum board and the city of Tampa agreed to use public and private funds to construct a $33 million 66,000-square-foot (6,100 m2) new museum building just a half-block north of its original location. The museum is integrated into the city's Riverwalk project in Curtis Hixon Park at the site of old Curtis Hixon Hall. A new home for the Tampa Children's Museum (now known as the Glazer Children's Museum) was built simultaneously next door. The old museum building had to be torn down to make way for the current one. In the interim, the Tampa Museum of Art was temporarily moved to the historic Centro Espanol building in West Tampa, which had been vacant for several years. Groundbreaking for the project took place on April 18, 2008, and the grand opening of the new Tampa Museum of Art took place on February 6, 2010 The building, by architect Stanley Saitowitz, is designed to look like "an electronic jewelbox box sitting on a glass pedestal" and makes use of aluminum, glass, and fiber optic color-changing lights in the exterior walls to "make the building itself a work of art".The interior is more neutral, with mostly white surfaces and subdued lighting. The architect describes it as "a frame for the display of art, an empty canvass to be filled with paintings, a beautiful but blank container to be completed by its contents." It includes a gift shop and an indoor/outdoor cafe. In 2010, the Tampa Museum of Art was chosen as a winner of an American Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.

El Centro Español de Tampa

For the similarly named building in West Tampa see El Centro Español of West Tampa El Centro Español de Tampa is a historic building in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, in the U.S. state of Florida. Built as an ethnic and cultural clubhouse in 1912, the red brick structure situated at 1526–1536 East 7th Avenue is today part of a shopping and entertainment complex. It remains one of the few surviving structures specific to Spanish immigration to the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a legacy which garnered the Centro Español building recognition as a U.S. National Historic Landmark on June 3, 1988. El Centro Español de Tampa is one of two individual structures within Hillsborough County to be so designated. The historic and cultural significance of El Centro Español de Tampa was noted well before the announcement of its NHL status. As early as 1974, the building was included by the National Register of Historic Places as one of the Contributing Properites within the Ybor City Historic District. The building remains an important component of the district, which on December 4, 1990, gained more distinct recognition as a National Historic Landmark District. It is now home to Jason Fernandezs restaurant Carne.
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