Downtown Tampa in the context of "Port Tampa Bay"

Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater inflow into the bay is the Hillsborough River, which flows into Hillsborough Bay in downtown Tampa. Many other smaller rivers and streams also flow into Tampa Bay, resulting in a large watershed area.

The shores of Tampa Bay were home to the Weeden Island Culture and then the Safety Harbor culture for thousands of years. These cultures relied heavily on Tampa Bay for food, and the waters were rich enough that they were one of the few Native American cultures that did not have to farm. The Tocobaga was likely the dominant chiefdom in the area when Spanish explorers arrived in the early 1500s, but there were likely smaller chiefdoms on the eastern side of the bay which were not well documented. The indigenous population had been decimated by disease and warfare by the late 1600s, and there were no permanent human settlements in the area for over a century. The United States took possession of Florida in 1821 and established Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in 1824.

Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida, in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native Seminoles, who had been confined to an interior reservation by the Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823), and it served as a military headquarters and port during the Second Seminole War (1835–1842). The village of Tampa developed just north of the fort during this period, and the area was the site of a minor raid and skirmish during the American Civil War. The obsolete outpost was sparsely garrisoned after the war, and it was decommissioned in 1883, just before Tampa began a period of rapid growth, opening the land for development.

Fort Brooke was located on what is now the southern end of downtown Tampa along eastern bank of the river and the Garrison Channel. Most of the fort's structures were situated at the current site of the Tampa Convention Center, with the military reserve stretching from the current location of the Tampa Bay History Center to the southeast to Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park to the northwest, with many modern buildings and public spaces (including Benchmark International Arena and much of the Tampa Riverwalk now located in its former footprint. Several unmapped army and Seminole cemeteries along with many artifacts were discovered during various construction projects. The soldiers' remains were reinterred at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, the native remains were transferred to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the artifacts were given to the Tampa Bay History Center and other institutions for research and preservation.

Ybor City (/ˈiːbɔːr/ EE-bor) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba, Spain, and Italy. For the next 50 years, workers in Ybor City's cigar factories rolled hundreds of millions of cigars annually.

The neighborhood had features unusual among contemporary communities in the south, most notably its multiethnic and multiracial population and their many mutual aid societies. The cigar industry employed thousands of well-paid workers, helping Tampa grow from an economically depressed village to a bustling city in about 20 years and giving it the nickname "Cigar City".

The Tampa Theatre is a historic U.S. theater and city landmark in Downtown Tampa, Florida. Designed as an atmospheric theatre-style movie palace by architect John Eberson, it opened on October 15, 1926. The theatre features a wide range of independent, foreign, and documentary films. It is Tampa's only non-profit movie palace, and operating costs are supported by its members, donors, and corporate sponsors, as well as by ticket and concessions sales. The theatre is a multi-use venue, hosting over 700 events annually including live concerts, classic and first-run films, special events, theatre tours, and educational programs.