Photo by Ronald Slaton
Black Americans make up a good chunk of the community of Tampa and carry an untold architectural history that is deeply tied not only to the city but to the whole of Florida.
Despite tremendous contributions to the history of Tampa and making up almost a fourth of the city’s population, these Black Floridians are hardly known outside of the buildings their names have graced. This speaks to the relative obscurity of the early black community of Tampa and their untold architectural histories. Yet these Black Americans were critical to the many changes around Florida, not just around Tampa Bay, where many landmarks now bear their names.
Tampa Landmarks and the Black Floridians They Are Named After
Throughout the streets of Tampa, the history of Black people stands quietly, without pomp and noise.
The following buildings and places are all named after Black Floridians who fought against adversity to better their communities, the city, and the state.
Armwood High School in Seffner is named after Blanche Armwood, a prominent educator and advocate. She graduated from college at 16 and started teaching the same year. By 18, she had become the principal of College Hill Primary in Ybor City. Armwood was a pioneer of the home economics curriculum and became a supervisor for Black schools after being appointed by the Hillsborough Country School Board in 1922. Throughout her 49 years of life, Armwood spent an enormous effort to boost working conditions for Black teachers. She was also critical in opening up the first accredited Black high school in America, Booker T. Washington High in Tampa.
Bessie Coleman Boulevard acquired its current name in 2000 after a petition from the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees. The service road’s namesake, Bessie Coleman, was the first recorded Black American aviator after receiving her pilot’s license in 1921. Despite her zeal and dedication to flying, American flight schools rejected her because of racial and gender biases. This led to Coleman going to Europe for acrobatic stunt flying training. Upon returning to the States, she dazzled the public with her improbable skills, gaining the monikers “Brave Bess” and “Queen Bess.”
C. Blythe Andrews Jr. Public Library was formerly known as College Hill Public Library but received its new name in 2010. Cyril Blythe Andrews Jr. was the owner and publisher of the Florida Sentinel, an African American newspaper that was owned by his family. In 1959, the Florida Sentinel Bulletin was made after merging with the Tampa Bulletin. A civil rights activist and a well-known philanthropist, Andrews Jr. broke barriers as the first Black man to serve in the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board in 1966 and the Tampa Sports Authority in 1975.
Fortune Street and Madame Fortune Taylor Bridge are both Tampa landmarks that bear the name of Madame Fortune Taylor, a former slave who came to Florida after the Civil War and became a prominent businesswoman in the area. Running a baked goods business and growing fruit with her husband, she amassed 33 acres of land by the Hillsborough River. Hugh McFarlane, the eventual founder of West Tampa, would ask permission to construct a bridge that would pass her land; in return, the bridge would be named after her. Her neighbors also petitioned to have the adjoining street named after her as well.
George E. Edgecomb Courthouse is the first building in Tampa to be named after a Black person in 2004. The courthouse’s namesake, George E. Edgecomb, was the county’s first Black prosecutor and its first Black country judge.
The Robert W. Saunders Library is named after the prominent civil rights activist Robert W. Saunders, who dedicated his life to bringing Black Floridians safety and equality. His most impactful actions resulted in pay increases for Black teachers, school desegregation, and the establishment of public housing and beaches. He was also one of the key figures vital to bringing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Tampa in 1961.
