Lisa Browder

Writer

Tampa Bay History Center & Columbia Cafe

Tampa Bay History Center is well worth your time. It has three floors of exhibits covering a multitude of topics pertinent to Tampa – the cigar industry, indigenous tribes then and now, the Civil War participation, the Mafia, pirates and privateers and much more.

The clever set-up encourages visitors to linger at the displays. Not just a series of single artifacts behind glass to be glanced at before moving on, each exhibit is cleverly individualized, and many are interactive. There are short videos, flip charts with questions and answers, an area with a how-to on tying nautical knots, and touch screens with additional information.

The first floor has gorgeous artifacts from the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes, from baskets to clothing to dolls. I loved the fact that they incorporated portraits of current-day ancestors. They also display armor from the European explorers and the clothing of the settlers. Just imagine having to wear that armor. I figure it was mostly protection from mosquitoes.

You can also walk through a replica of a pioneer cabin with a child’s crib and a massive armoire. It gives a good indication of how spare and undoubtedly difficult life must have been.

Tampa’s rich Cuban influence is also well documented, from the cigar industry to the games that were brought over and flourished in historic Ybor. They also have a makeshift boat migrants used when they risked everything to get here.

Of course, what is Tampa without a map of the organized crime organizations that ostensibly ran the city. Want to take bets whether or not they still are?

And what would a history of Tampa Bay be without its pirates and sunken treasures? The 3rd floor is packed with everything to do with pirates and privateers. There are treasures recovered from sunken ships – pottery, a lantern, an iron pin, and a colorful porthole (bottom center). There are paintings of pirates, an astrolabe, and the huge, reconstructed prow of a pirate ship.

Before you head to Columbia Cafe for lunch, be sure to go out on the 3rd floor outdoor balcony for spectacular views of the bay.

Columbia Cafe

Columbia Cafe is located in the Tampa Bay History Center building. The bar, with its massive woodwork, is located right outside the gallery doors, but the restaurant is actually one floor down. If you don’t want to walk, there’s an elevator nearby that opens onto the open-air restaurant.

I love this place. It’s a smaller version of the original restaurant, located in historic Ybor City. The menu is, I believe, the same. What I love about it is that each dish is described not only with its ingredients, but with the derivation of the dish – how those particular ingredients came to be included in that specific dish.

I took my waitress’s recommendations. Julia suggested the Spanish bean soup and salad, followed by the churros with their warm dipping sauces – mango, chocolate and caramel. Pretty delicious. I washed it all down with a very strong Cuban coffee. Now, mind you, I ordered a cappuccino. What they brought was a tiny little cup with black, black, black coffee I could smell heading my way from across the room and a little carafe of milk. Not exactly a cappuccino but nonetheless satisfying.

These two things – the Tamba Bay History Center, followed by the Columbia Cafe for lunch, made for an entertaining day. You would still have time to add on something fun after lunch or head home to sleep off the food (which may or may not be possible depending on whether or not you have a “cappuccino”).