Learn About Us & Our Rich History

Our Menu's Inspiration

Dobyville

In the 1900’s, during the era of segregation, Dobyville was one of the first Black communities located in Tampa Bay. Dobyville was named for Robert Cornellus Doby, who was a black businessman and local leader, he purchased a large parcel of land where the community was housed. The historic boundaries begin at the northeast corner of North Willow, at Fig Street south to Swann, west to South Albany, north to Kennedy, east to Rome, north to Fig and back east to North Willow. Often referred to as “West Hyde Park,” this flourishing Black community was home to cooks, servants, and nannies for affluent white families. A 1927 study found that approximately 10 percent of Tampa's Blacks called Dobyville home at that time. Unfortunately, much of Dobyville was destroyed due to the construction of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. The Doby Family House at 1405 Azeele Street is the only remaining building standing.

The Scrub

The Scrub was the first Black community in the Tampa Bay area, settled in the post-civil war era by freemen and emancipated enslaved. By the late 1920s, it was the most densely populated Black neighborhood in Tampa. Often dubbed the “Harlem of the South,” The Scrub was the center of Black life and culture in Tampa. The thriving neighborhood is where popular musicians of the day went to perform — Ray Charles, Cab Calloway and Ella Fitzgerald among them.

Although it was one of Tampa’s most culturally and historically significant neighborhoods, in the 1950’s planners of the interstate highway system routed highways Interstate 4, Interstate 275 and the Cass-Orange Connector directly, and purposefully, through this thriving Black community. Federal funds were used to eliminate the vibrant Black business district from existence, and currently the housing development “Encore” stands in its place. Today the area is owned by the federal government and managed by Tampa Housing Authority, who once helped wipe out the Scrub and it's Black residents.

These photos were taken on April 25, 1952 of houses in "the Scrub section" of Tampa. Photo credit: Courtesy of the Special Collections Department, University of South Florida. Digitization provided by the USF Libraries Digitization Center.

Central Avenue

The heart of “The Scrub” was the Central Avenue Business District which was the center of Black life and culture in Tampa. Due to segregation, Central Avenue was once the only place that Black residents of Tampa could go to enjoy themselves. The thriving district housed nearly 100 Black-owned businesses, and was where Black residents found their shops, stores, clubs, and restaurants. Notably, Cozy Corner, was a famous barbecue restaurant owned by the iconic Moses White an American businessman, civil rights leader, and community advocate. Central Ave was a stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit, which was a network of clubs, theaters, and other venues where Black entertainers were allowed to perform. Popular musicians of the day such as Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, B.B. King, Hank Ballard, Tampa Red, and Ella Fitzgerald all performed on Central Ave in establishments such as the Cotton Club and Blue Room. Unfortunately, federal grants were used to buy out Black property owners along Central Avenue, and the construction of Interstate 4 displaced and destroyed the remaining businesses in the one-time epicenter of Tampa’s Black community.

Central Ave - Photo credit: Courtesy of the Special Collections Department, University of South Florida. Digitization provided by the USF Libraries Digitization Center.

The Central Hotel - Photo credit: Courtesy of the Special Collections Department, University of South Florida. Digitization provided by the USF Libraries Digitization Center.

The Garrison

The Garrison was a Black community that formed around Fort Brooke, which was a former Army post from 1824 - 1882. After the fort property was decommissioned by the War Department three Black residents, Julius Caesar, Frank Jones, and a Mrs. Stilling, claimed and were awarded homestead of the land. Though small, the community consisted of a few dozen homes and some small businesses. Located in the area today known as Water Street/Channel District, south of Whiting Street from the Hillsborough River to the area around the Amalie Arena.

A photograph from 1936 of Tampa's historic Black neighborhood known as the Garrison. Photo credit: Courtesy of the Special Collections Department, University of South Florida. Digitization provided by the USF Libraries Digitization Center

St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal

St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal was founded in 1870 in downtown Tampa, and the red brick church was constructed between 1915 - 1917. During the 1950s and 1960s, St Paul AME and its congregants were the center of civil rights activism in the Black Tampa Bay community. Notable civil rights activists such as Paul Robeson, Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall have given addresses at the church. In addition, the honorable Dr. Martin Luther King met with St. Paul members and leaders in November, 1961 to discuss the Civil Rights movement in Florida. Notably, strategy developed from meetings at St Paul AME were used during the 1960s sit-in demonstrations at the F.W. Woolworth.

Cotton Club

The Cotton Club on Central Avenue, which was considered a musical hub, was one of the cornerstones of the black business district. The Cotton Club owned by the Joyner family was a stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit. Popular musicians such as Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and James Brown were just a few of the headliners at the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club was one of the last business on Central Avenue, and unfortunate closed in doors 1974, due to the construction of Interstate 4.

Ray Charles in Tampa

Singer Ray Charles arrived in Tampa in 1947, a few short months after his mothers death, when Central Avenue was flourishing as the city’s center of African American life. He resided at 813 Short Emery St. in Tampa, and listed this address in his autobiography titled Brother Ray. Tampa was where Charles began to fully develop his skills as an arranger, performer and singer. Ray Charles started playing shows in Tampa with any band that would hire him, at clubs like the Manhattan Casino in St. Petersburg and the Blue Room and the Cotton Club in Tampa. Charles recorded his first song in a boarding house in Tampa, and titled the song 'The St. Pete Blues' due to the fact that most tourists knew where St. Pete was as opposed to Tampa. In 1949, Louise Mitchell gave birth to Charles’ first child, Evelyn, who still lives in Tampa. After 3 years of living in Tampa, Charles relocated to Seattle where his career took off after a meeting with Quincy Jones.

Robles Pond

Robles Pond was a 45-acre all-Black community established in an area outside of the city limits of Tampa during the time of segregation. The rough boundaries were Florida Avenue to Central Avenue, and Virginia Avenue to Lake Avenue. Adjacent to Robles Pond were many white owned businesses that Black residents could patron, and included Henry West Hardware, Clark’s Drugstore, the Black & White Cafe, Robert’s Shoe Store and a movie theater on the corner of Nebraska Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

In 1894, Black developer and Hyde Park resident Richard Doby purchased property along the 3700 block of North Florida Ave. for $140, and established Robles Pond School, First Mt. Carmel AME, and in 1901 Zion Cemetery. Zion Cemetery was believed to be Tampa’s first Black burial ground. In the 1920’s white developers purchased Zion Cemetery and built a storefront on the portion facing Florida Avenue. In 1951 the town was seized through eminent domain, and demolished to make way for Robles Park Village which was a new public housing complex of 67 buildings for white residents only. The construction of the new, whites only housing complex, was contested by the Black residents, but failed. It was estimated that 200 Black families lived in Robles Pond at the time of the demolition. Today, Robles Park Village and the housing complex — 67 buildings, home to about 1,120 people — is inhabited largely by African-Americans. The Housing Authority revealed that during the construction of the whites only residences, 127 coffins were left behind in the nearby Zion Cemetery, and possibly hundreds more. To date, around 300 caskets have been discovered by ground-penetrating radar. Archaeologists say there are likely hundreds more.

Harlem Academy School

The Harlem Academy School, originally named Tampa School No. 2, was known as "The Mother of African- American Schools.” Its first classes were held in 1868 in the Hillsborough County Courthouse. However, in the early 1870s, the Freedmen's Bureau financed the construction of the school, making it the first public school erected for Black children in Tampa. The Harlem Academy School was located in the Scrub on Harrison and Morgan streets. Its present day location would be what is now known as Downtown Tampa. In 1892, Harlem Academy was destroyed in a fire and St Paul AME and other churches provided space until a new building was completed in 1895. In 1964 the Tampa Housing Authority, in cooperation with the Bank of America, demolished the Harlem Academy to make way for condominiums and apartments. Unfortunately official records of the school were destroyed after the school closed.

Ella Fitzgerald in Tampa

Ella Fitzgerald wrote her famous song, "A Tisket, A Tasket” which became her breakout hit, while staying at the Jackson Rooming House on Central Ave in 1938. The Jackson Rooming House was once a haven that provided accommodations for black entertainers, athletes, teachers, clergymen, and visitors to Tampa. The Jackson Rooming House still stands tall at 851 Zack Street as one of the few remaining reminders of the rich and vibrant history of Black residents in Tampa.