Circulo Cubano de Tampa - Ybor City, Tampa, FL
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Lat34North
N 27° 57.735 W 082° 26.662
17R E 357928 N 3093860
Circulo Cubano de Tampa (Cuban Club) located at 10th Ave. and 14th St., in Ybor City, Tampa, FL.
Waymark Code: WM5XR3
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/26/2009
Views: 8
Source: El Circulo Cubana de Tampa (
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On October 10, 1899, Cuban immigrants formed a recreational society known as El Club Nacional Cubano. Three years later, the society of three hundred members changed its name to El Círculo Cubano. According to the 1902 charter, the Círculo Cubano was formed "for the mutual benefit and enjoyment of its members and for the charitable purposes and instruction of its members and the dissemination of knowledge among all classes of people." In order to preserve harmony among its diverse membership, the statutes of the club expressly prohibited any discussion within the society of labor, politics, or religion. In 1917, the Cuban Club opened the doors of its neoclassic clubhouse at 2010 Avenida República de Cuba in Ybor City. Since then, the Círculo Cubano has provided a theater, grand ballroom, medical clinic, cantina, gym, and library to its members. The activities of the Cuban Club have changed over time, but it remains open to all men and women who are dedicated to the preservation of the Cuban heritage and culture of Florida. Members do not have to be Cuban or of Cuban ancestry, but they must be committed to the original purposes for which the club was founded.
Source - Historic Marker (
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Late 19th and early 20th century Cuban immigration to the United States was impressive for the craft talents brought to the country. Along with their Spanish counterparts, skilled Cuban cigar makers made Tampas hand-rolled cigars world famous. As early as 1899 Cuban immigrants formed recreational societies with varying degrees of success, and in 1902, Cuban workers founded El Circulo Cubano as a mutual aid society to bind all Cuban residents of Tampa into a fraternal group, to offer assistance and help to the sick. When fire destroyed the first clubhouse in 1916, members immediately initiated plans for its replacement. The present four-story, yellow brick building with Neo-Classical design elements sits on the original site at 14th Street and 10th Avenue. Constructed in 1917, the building contained a theater, pharmacy, library, ballroom, and cantina. Imported tile, stained glass windows and elaborately carved scraffito spandrels decorated the structure. The ballroom ceiling displayed elaborate murals. The clubhouse provided an elegant gathering place for members and served as a unifying force in the Cuban community. The National Register of Historic Places listed El Circulo Cubano in 1972.
Sponsors: Historic Tampa/Hillsborough County Preservation Board and the Florida Department of State