Ybor City

This category may contain sites in topical sub-categories as well as links to other geographic categories. Ybor City (pronounced E-bor), known as Florida's Latin Quarter, is a National Historic Landmark District and a vital part of Tampa's nightlife.

The Tampa community was founded in 1886 by Don Vicente Martinez Ybor, Ignacio Haya, and Gavino Gutierrez, Spanish businessmen who purchased adjacent parcels of land northeast of downtown Tampa. Ybor and Haya moved their cigar factories from Key West to Ybor City. The community was soon settled by Spaniards, Cubans, and Sicilians, forming a rich cultural mix, enhanced and sustained by mutual aid societies called social clubs.

Ybor City hit hard times in the changing economic conditions following World War II, but many hung on and today continue to share their culture in a revitalized community.