Tip of the hat to early entrepreneurs

The next time you visit downtown Tampa, take a walk along the Historical Monument Trail and spend a few moments appreciating the efforts of the city's business pioneers.

The city has recognized several entrepreneurs who helped shape Tampa Bay's history with bronze busts on granite pedestals along The Tampa Riverwalk. The leaders include Henry Bradley Plant, who brought rail service and ships to Tampa, and built the Tampa Bay Hotel, now part of the University of Tampa. James McKay Sr., an early developer of Tampa and its maritime industry, is also immortalized.

Another stop along the Monument Trail features Vicente Martinez-Ybor. In the 1880s, he moved his cigar factory from Key West to Tampa Bay, inspiring other cigar-makers to follow suit. Born in Spain, Martinez-Ybor had lived in Cuba for years, according to Tampa historians. The cigar industry flourished at Ybor City, where Martinez-Ybor built the largest brick building in the state at the time. Today, the former cigar hub has become an eclectic center for shops, restaurants, and nightlife, with the conversion of former warehouses and factories.

Clara Frye, an early founder of hospital care for African Americans, is also recognized on the trail. After permitting surgeries and other medical procedures in her own home, she bought and renovated a two-story building, converting it into a hospital.

Why should the business community care about the past? “It's important for us to develop an identity of Tampa, and to do that we've got to understand where we came from,” says Steven A. Anderson, an attorney and member of Friends of the Tampa Riverwalk executive steering committee. “We know that economic tourism is a real factor” in Tampa's growth, he says. The monuments play a role in attracting visitors to the city, he asserts. “It's education, pride, and the economy.”

Mayor Bob Buckhorn unveiled the first six honorees in a recent ceremony. Bright House Networks has pledged $50,000 to the trail. Friends of the Riverwalk and the Tampa Bay History Center plan to increase the eventual number of influential people recognized on the trail to more than 30.