Ybor City and its rich history linked to Tampa

Photo Credit: yborcityonline.com

Now home to exciting nightlife, delicious food and unique shopping opportunities, Ybor City, FL is an old city with a lot of rich history.

It was founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers, Vincente Martinez-Ybor being one of them, all mostly from Cuba, Italy and Spain. Ybor then became known as “Cigar City,” having exploded in about 20 years, creating thousands of jobs in cigar factories, and providing cigars for people all over the world.

In the 1980s, there was an influx of artists that visited and created a whole knew atmosphere for the space. Ybor City transformed into the entertainment and nightlife atmosphere it is today.

A lot of Tampa’s history dates back very far, and Ybor City contributes to a lot of that interest and excitement. Ybor truly was one of the oldest cities in the area. With all of the cigar manufacturing, local railroad mogul Henry B. Plant came down here and got involved with the cigar business as well.

Today, the city of Tampa values Ybor because it is truly what expanded the city. Ybor brought jobs and people to the area, and those effects still show today.

Ybor is an exciting place to go out to eat, club, or just shop for unique items. I enjoy the little piece of history more and more every year, as they work little by little gentrifying the spaces.