Share

I was recently drawn to visit the new "Tampa Bay History Center" in downtown Tampa, by their temporary exhibit of sci-fi uniforms from movie and TV.

The Tampa Bay History Center is in a beautiful building, but gets bad marks for its handicap accessibility. In 2011 that a new city museum would be built with the museum on the second floor with limited handicap access is simply not acceptable.

The first floor is dedicated to the Seminole Indians, their culture, and the Seminole Indian Wars when I guess Florida tried to eradicate the native Floridians. I was not really interested, as you had to watch a film and read a lot of literature. I want my museums to be visual.

The Second floor contained more current Tampa Bay History. But absent was so much information about Ybor City, Tampa Theatre, and other historic data I was interested in. I wanted to learn about Tampa, during its vibrant years, in the early 1900's to the 1960's. I wanted to learn about the thriving downtown back then, with movie theaters and dept. stores long before malls. I wanted to learn about the seedy Ybor and Fort Brooke district of clubs and speakeasy's. Instead I got a huge display of Tampa Bay Sports teams. So lame. Like I cannot remember when the Bucs went to the Super Bowl.

The fourth floor contained the sci-fi exhibit. While it was cool to see the costumes displayed, especially the Darth Vader costume, there was only maybe 30 or so costumes, much smaller than I expected.

The vibe at the "Tampa Bay History Center" is cool, unlike the last time I visited the alleged "Tampa Museum of Art", and a security guard followed me around the whole time. So if you are interested in learning about the old history of Tampa and want to see the sci-fi exhibit, which ends 12-31-2011, now is a good time to visit.


On your way out take time to relax at the Columbia cafe for some cuban coffee or a beverage.
http://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/index.html