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Central Avenue (Tampa)

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Central Avenue in Tampa, Florida is a road in downtown that was the heart of its African American community before being seized by eminent domain and razed for interstate construction and a park.

Contents

Location

Central Avenue runs north from downtown Tampa through the Heights district to the Hillsborough River. Originally, Central Avenue ran continuously to the river, only interrupted by Robles Park. Today, it is split by the interstate.

History

In the late 1800s, Central Avenue was situated on the western edge of the neighborhood known as The Scrub, Tampa's first African-American neighborhood. Central Avenue was first listed as Center Avenue in the Tampa City directory in 1886. At that time, the directory did not list any African-American-owned businesses on Central Ave. As Tampa began to grow, so did Central Avenue. By 1899, records show 19 black-owned businesses on the avenue, eventually also becoming home to Tampa's first African-American newspaper, The Florida Reporter. [1] [2]

The area grew into a thriving black business district and entertainment hot spot. [3] One of the cornerstones of the black business district was the Cotton Club on Central Avenue, which hosted some all-time greats, including Ella_Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. Central Avenue was one of the major stops on what was known as the Chitlin Circuit.

The area also inspired artist Ray Charles, who wrote the "St. Pete Florida Blues" and Hank Ballard. Ballard, upon seeing young people on Central Avenue doing a new dance move, wrote "The Twist", which was later recorded by Chubby Checker and became a number one hit .

The Cotton Club was the last business standing in the historically black section of Central Avenue. It closed in 1974 due to civil unrest and interstate expansion. [4]

A historical marker commemorating its history can be found at the intersection of North Orange Avenue and East Harrison Street on the grounds of Perry Harvey, Sr. Park [5]

WEDU produced a documentary on Central Avenue and its history. [6]

References

  1. ↑ Kite-Powell, Rodney (2014-07-13). "Central to the Community". The Tampa Tribune. p. 51. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  2. ↑ "Tampa's Central Avenue and the Scrub". 2023-03-02.
  3. ↑ Cowan, Kelly (2024-06-17). "City of Tampa to establish its first Black History Museum at historic church".
  4. ↑ Crawford, Liz (2023-02-03). "Did you know Tampa was the 'Harlem of the South'?".
  5. ↑ "Central Avenue Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
  6. ↑ "WEDU Documentaries | Central Avenue Remembered" – via www.pbs.org.


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