CONVENT OF THE HOLY NAMES
ACADEMY OF THE HOLY NAMES
OLDEST SCHOOL IN TAMPA
At midnight, July 18, 1881, two sisters, Marie Augustin, Marie Maurice of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, arrived in Tampa from Key West to establish a Catholic school.
"They came empty handed:, the first money was raised from the soldiers at Fort Brooke. In September the school was started in a former gunsmith shop on Zack St. By 1891, the school was located in a majestic building at Twiggs and Marion Streets. In 1928, the Academy of the Holy Names was moved to its present location on Bayshore Boulevard.
Erected by Academy of the Holy Names Foundation with the cooperation of The Tampa Historical Society.
______________________________________________________________________
History...
n July 17, 1881, two Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary arrived from Key West to open a two-room school house in a blacksmith shop on Zack Street in Tampa. Thirty-five pupils were enrolled initially, but by the end of the first academic year, their numbers had increased to 70 day scholars and two resident students.
By April 1889, the site of the school was moved to a two-story building at the corner of Franklin and Harrison Streets.
In 1891, the late Bishop John Moore, second Bishop of St. Augustine, purchased property on Twiggs Street where a larger school, which served the community for 34 years, was built.
By 1926, further growth necessitated larger accommodations, and the school was moved to temporary quarters on Central Avenue while the present building on Bayshore Boulevard was under construction. Bishop Barry, Bishop of St. Augustine, laid the cornerstone in 1928, and Florida's Governor-elect Carlton spoke at the ceremony.
The following September saw the opening of the new school, but financial difficulties halted building progress before the structure was completed. However, with increasing enrollment, growth of the school continued; the building was completed; and by 1952, two new school wings were added, along with the chapel and auditorium.
A separate boys division for grades one through eight was established in 1962, and in 1970 a kindergarten was added. Today the staff of Sisters and their lay associates instruct over 850 students in the coeducational elementary division and the high school for young women.
The school's centenary was celebrated during the 1980-81 school year. At that time an historic marker was unveiled in front of the school on Bayshore Boulevard to commemorate 100 years of service of the Sisters of the Holy Names on Florida's West Coast.
Information taken from (
visit link)