Inside Ybor City, Florida, Centro Asturiano de Tampa, a gathering during the sixth month of a 1920 cigar workers strike. Credit: Photo c/o Tampa Bay History Center

Tampa is home to one of the finest history museums in the South, but just a short trolley ride from the Tampa Bay History Center is the living breathing artifact Tampeños (and the people who want to be one) call Ybor City.

For many, the district the closest one can get to Cuba without violating a harsh embargo. For others, it is a reminder of the immigrants who helped carve a culture out of a dusty town that seems to welcome a new high rise each month.

Five of its notable structures get the spotlight this week thanks to the Ybor City Historical Society’s popular architecture tour, which kicks off this year at J.C. Newman Cigar Company’s recently opened Cigar Worker’s Park.

Other sites include the new addition Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, the former mutual aid societies and current social clubs for Italians and Austrians, plus the old Florida Brewing Company that is now home to the offices of Swope, Rodante P.A. Tickets include the send off party, light bites and beverages at each stop, guided tours and an optional lift to each site via Jolley Trolley.

Tickets for the Buildings Alive! Ybor City Architecture Hop on Thursday, March 13 are still available and start at $65. Readers are invited to submit their own events to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s things to do calendar.

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This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2025.