History center gets ready for Saturday debut

TAMPA -- Crews are putting finishing touches on the Tampa Bay History Center in preparation of its grand opening celebration Saturday.

Exhibits in the $52-million, 60,000-square-foot waterfront facility in downtown Tampa cover everything from the first explorers to the Seminole Indians and sports teams.

Interactive exhibits allow visitors to design their own citrus labels, bounce in a saddle while watching a cattle roundup video, and sit on wooden crates and a metal cargo container while learning about the Port of Tampa. A cigar store with a stamped metal ceiling and tile floor is packed with original glass display cases, factory tools and vintage cigar boxes.

"This is a fantasy cigar store that would have probably been in Philadelphia, New York or Washington," said Mike Turbeville, an antiques dealer who spent years combing the country for the items and sold them to the museum.

Museum president and CEO C.J. Roberts said the goal of the museum is to make learning about bay area history fun. "At the end of the day, if it doesn't have maximum value for education, then we missed the boat," he said.

The grand opening from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday will feature music, cigar-rolling and sponge-cutting demonstrations, performances by flamenco dancers, and Elvis and Ray Charles impersonators. The museum is at 801 Old Water St. (formerly St. Pete Times Forum Drive). Cost is $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, college students and children ages 13 to 17; $7 for children 4 to 12; free for children under 3.

Planning for the museum began more than 20 years ago, with the history center housing modest exhibits in a downtown storefront. The dream of enough space to display most of the center's collection became reality after a $17-million contribution for construction from Hillsborough County, a $2-million land donation from Tampa, and a $32-million fundraising campaign that has almost reached its goal.

Board Chairman George Howell has been involved in the project from the beginning. "The original goal was to build one of the finest regional history museums in the United States," he said.

Because historymaking never stops, the third floor was built with the possibility of a 7,000-foot expansion.

"It's taken a long time to get this thing done," Howell said. "But the possibilities for the future are endless."

Janet Zink, Times staff writer

[Photos courtesy of Tampa Bay History Center]

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