Dobyville School, 307 S. Dakota Ave., May Day King, Queen and their court; Tampa, Fla. Credit: Photo by Burgert Brothers c/o Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Hyde Park is a pretty good example of a Tampa neighborhood that’s been able to preserve a lot of its character while also mixing in new development and multi-family housing. Is it perfect? No, and that history will all be part of this full day of tours that ends with a special exhibit at the Old Hyde Park Art Center.

The tours go down hourly, starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 5, and tickets start at $25.
Especially significant in 2022 is a 1 p.m. guided tour of Dobyville, once one of Tampa’s prominent Black neighborhoods. Not sure how much you’ve walked between the boundaries of Gray and Horatio Streets and Rome and Willow Avenues, but the neighborhood looks a lot different than it did in the 1920s, and we’re eager to hear the guide’s take on such a complicated part of the city’s history.

Masks will be required to be properly worn at all times while touring the homes and the Old Hyde Park Arts Center.

This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2022.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...