Tampa Landmarks · Port Tampa Neighborhood Port Tampa War Memorial ParkGazebo, Historical Marker & Veterans Plaza — S. Westshore Blvd. at Interbay Blvd., Port Tampa ✦ ✦ ✦At the corner of S. Westshore and Interbay Boulevards in the Port Tampa neighborhood stands a quiet but significant memorial — a gazebo, a plaza with flagpole, and two historical markers commemorating the 30,000 soldiers who passed through Tampa, and the veterans who encamped on this very ground, in the spring of 1898. What You'll Find at the ParkMemorial GazeboA historic gazebo at the heart of the park, approximately 10 feet from the state historical marker. State Historical MarkerFlorida State Marker No. F-42 — Tampa as Point of Embarkation for Spanish American War — erected 1961. Veterans Plaza & FlagpoleA beautiful plaza with a flagpole flying the American Flag, approximately 20 feet from the gazebo. The park also features a second historic plaque placed by the Port Tampa City Woman's Club, dedicated to the memory of Spanish-American War veterans who encamped on this ground in 1898 — making this site both a regional memorial and a specific local tribute to the men who were here. State Historical Marker F-42Tampa as Point of Embarkation for Spanish American WarFrom April to June 1898, Tampa served as a port of embarkation for U.S. troops on their way to Cuba. Some 30,000 troops arrived in Tampa and 16,000 embarked from Port Tampa on June 7. The Tampa Bay Hotel was headquarters for the force's leaders including Generals Miles and Shafter and Colonel "Teddy" Roosevelt. The city also swarmed with visiting civilians including Richard Harding Davis and Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. Erected 1961 by the Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorials. · Marker No. F-42. Port Tampa City Woman's Club PlaqueCity Park — Dedicated to the Memory of Spanish American War VeteransNear the gazebo, a historic plaque placed by the Port Tampa City Woman's Club reads: "City Park Dedicated to the Memory of Spanish American War Veterans Encamped Here in 1898." This plaque connects the memorial park directly to the ground on which soldiers actually camped during the 1898 staging period — making Port Tampa War Memorial Park one of the most historically specific sites in the entire Tampa Landmarks collection. Tampa's Role in 1898The marker's inscription captures Tampa's extraordinary moment in the spring of 1898 in a single paragraph. Thirty thousand soldiers flooded a city of roughly 26,000 residents. The Tampa Bay Hotel became Army headquarters. Richard Harding Davis — the most famous journalist of the era — filed dispatches from its verandas. Clara Barton organized Red Cross relief operations. And from Port Tampa's single pier, 16,000 soldiers departed for the most consequential American military campaign in a generation. The Port Tampa neighborhood itself was transformed. Soldiers encamped on the very ground where this park now stands. For the Cuban exile community that made up so much of Port Tampa's population, the moment was deeply personal — these men were sailing to fight for the independence of their homeland. LocationS. Westshore Blvd. at Interbay Blvd., Port Tampa
Coordinates: 27° 51.992′ N, 82° 31.605′ W |
