Mayor Iorio Dedicates Riverwalk South Plaza

Mayor Pam Iorio joined Hillsborough County Commissioner Rose Ferlita, City Council Chairman Thomas Scott, Friends of the Riverwalk, and others for the official dedication of the Tampa Riverwalk South Plaza.

“Our city has so many wonderful things, but one thing it lacks is connectivity,” she said, adding, “One day you’ll be able to walk from the Channel District all the way to Tampa Heights.”

After cutting the ribbon, the Mayor walked with the crowd down the Riverwalk, the Blake High School marching band leading the way. The procession stopped in front of the Tampa Bay History Center before the Mayor invited everyone to enjoy complimentary refreshments at the Columbia Café.

Once completed, the 2.2 mile Riverwalk will link the Channel District and the Tampa Bay History Center to other cultural destinations located along the Hillsborough River.

Pine Needle Basket Making Demonstration in Museum Store

Local artist Teri Thompson will conduct a pine needle basket weaving demonstration at the Tampa Bay History Center this Saturday, October 24, from noon to 4:00 p.m. Ms. Thompson will talk about the history and making of the baskets in the Seminole Indian tradition.

The demonstration with take place in the History Center’s museum store, where examples of Thompson’s craftwork will be on display and for sale.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the museum store at (813) 675-8973.

Hillsborough County Commissioners Vote to Re-Name Tampa Bay History Center

On Wednesday, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners voted 7-0 to rename the Tampa Bay History Center building the 'J. Thomas Touchton Tampa Bay History Center.' The name of the institution will remain Tampa Bay History Center.

This renaming was brought forward by Commissioner Rose Ferlita to honor the dedication and drive Touchton demonstrated to make the new facility a reality. Touchton, the founding chairperson, spent 20 years actively raising both endowment and capital funds for the History Center project. In addition, the Touchtons are in the process of donating their historic map collection of more than 3,000 items to the Center. These maps and charts represent some of the "Florida" map-makers visions that have been created over the past 400 years. Many of these maps are already on display at the Center. "It pleases us very much to know that our maps will find a good and appropriate home at the Tampa Bay History Center, an institution which we confidently believe will become one of the finest regional history museums in America," said Mr. Touchton.

Please join us in congratulating the Touchton family on this great honor.

History Center Welcomes Carlton Ward, Jr.

The Tampa Bay History Center is pleased to welcome acclaimed photographer Carlton Ward, Jr. for the next installment of the Florida Conversations Lecture Series, Thursday, October 22nd at 7:00 p.m. in the History Center’s TECO Hall, where a collection of Ward’s photographs are on display.

The History Centers museum store is the first retailer to carry Ward's new book, Florida Cowboys: Keepers of the Last Frontier, which documents Florida’s rural ranchlands, quite a contrast to more familiar, cosmopolitan views of the state. His stunning photographs, complemented by twenty historical, cultural, and environmental essays from Dana Ste Claire, Joe Akerman, The Nature Conservancy, Audubon of Florida, and the Seminole Tribe, among others, celebrate the grit and raw beauty of the Florida heartland and its enduring cowboys.

Carlton Ward, Jr. is an eighth-generation Floridian from a pioneering ranching family. An ecologist by training, Ward regularly produces stories for newspapers and magazines, including Smithsonian, GEO, National Wildlife, Africa Geographic, Nature Conservancy and Outdoor Photographer. He began his career as a travel photographer for the St. Petersburg Times in 2001. Ward was featured in the June 2008 issue of Popular Photography as one of three photographers working to save vanishing America. Ward is a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) and founded the Legacy Institute for Nature & Culture (LINC) in 2004 to promote Florida conservation through the necessary collaboration of science and art.