Harbour Island (Tampa) Explained

Harbour Island
Settlement Type:Neighborhood
Pushpin Map:USA Florida
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within the state of Florida
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Florida
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Hillsborough
Subdivision Type3:City
Subdivision Name3:Tampa
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2000
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Postal Code Type:ZIP Code
Postal Code:33602
Area Code:813
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID

Harbour Island is an island neighborhood within the city limits of Tampa, Florida and the sub-district within Downtown Tampa. The ZIP Code serving the area is 33602.[1]

Geography

Harbour Island is situated adjacent to Downtown across the Garrison Channel. Other nearby areas include Davis Islands and Channelside. The Tampa Convention Center is located directly across the Harbour Island Bridge and Channelside is just across Beneficial Drive, both walking distance.

History

Harbour Island was originally known as Seddon Island, which was named after W. L. Seddon, chief engineer for the Seaboard Air Line Railway. In 1906, a public hearing was held to plan a new port for the city. Seddon's plans were adopted and soon his company dredged a channel and established a port facility on what was then called Grassy Island. The Seaboard Coast Line later sold the 177acres island to the Beneficial Land Corporation in 1979 for residential, office and retail development purposes. The first phase of development did not begin until 1985. Up to that point, the island still housed a phosphate terminal and had freight rail access.[1] Beneficial's chief executive, Finn M. W. Caspersen (1941-2009) envisioned transforming the island into a bustling waterfront with offices, shops and restaurants, much like Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Between 1985 and January 1999, Harbour Island was linked to Downtown Tampa by the Harbour Island People Mover, an automated rubber tired tram manufactured by Otis Transportation Systems that ran on an elevated concrete guideway connecting the Knights Point shopping center on Harbour Island, to the Ft Brooke Parking Garage half of a mile to the north, adjacent to the downtown core on the mainland.[2]

Today

Today, the island consists of mostly private residential areas, including high-rise condos, apartments, row houses, single-family homes and large houses, as well as a yacht club. The island has a Westin hotel, Jackson's Bistro Bar & Sushi restaurant spanning 20,000 square feet boasting special event space, Sunday Brunch, waterfront dining, and a Friday and Saturday nightclub; as well as a Pizza and Sushi Shop that delivers. Located in the center of the island there are small shops; a Coffee Shop that specializes in fresh ingredients for breakfast & lunch, and local hotspot Cafe Dufrain focusing on seasonal cuisine & seafood with waterfront dining.[3] [4] [5] The TECO Line Streetcar "in-town" trolley connects the island to downtown and Channelside.[6] NEVs also connect the island to other core neighborhoods such as Hyde Park.[7]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Neighborhoods in Tampa Bay, Florida . 2008-04-09 . 2008-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080509054632/http://jeannewolfe.com/Tampa-Neighborhoods-Harbour-Island.htm . dead .
  2. News: Sloan . Jim . It's the end of the line . The Tampa Tribune . Metro 1 . January 3, 1999.
  3. http://www.tampabay.com/features/events/article845662.ece "Electra, McCarthy, Kardashian hosting Super Bowl party at Jackson's"
  4. http://www.baynews9.com/content/29/2008/3/15/331551.html "Cafe Dufrain"
  5. http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/01/Citytimes/A_new_era_for_island.shtml "A new era for island?"
  6. http://www.tecolinestreetcar.org/about/maps/system_map_6-9-08.pdf
  7. https://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/article459794.ece "Hop Tampa ready to give folks a ride downtown"