Tampa City Guide: Hidden Gems, Dark History & Local Secrets

Deep Dives

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Longform stories and essays exploring Tampa's history and culture

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Sunshine and Hustle

Strip malls, strip clubs, and 300 million hand-rolled cigars that built a city in Miami's shadow

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The Men Who Read to the Cigar Rollers

For decades, Ybor City factories employed professional readers who recited novels, newspapers, and revolutionary manifestos to workers. It made Tampa's cigar rollers the most literate laborers in America — and helped launch the Cuban Revolution.

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The Neighborhood Under the Highway

One of the city's oldest Black communities — families, churches, a school, a way of life. Then the Selmon Expressway cut through the middle of it. Now there's nothing left but an off-ramp.

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The Pirate Who Never Was

How Tampa invented a fake buccaneer, sold him to America, and turned the lie into the third-largest parade in the country

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Sunshine and Hustle

Strip malls, strip clubs, and 300 million hand-rolled cigars that built a city in Miami's shadow

Read

The Men Who Read to the Cigar Rollers

Read

The Neighborhood Under the Highway

One of the city's oldest Black communities — families, churches, a school, a way of life. Then the Selmon Expressway cut through the middle of it. Now there's nothing left but an off-ramp.

Read

The Pirate Who Never Was

How Tampa invented a fake buccaneer, sold him to America, and turned the lie into the third-largest parade in the country

Read

Sunshine and Hustle

Strip malls, strip clubs, and 300 million hand-rolled cigars that built a city in Miami's shadow

Read

The Men Who Read to the Cigar Rollers

Read

The Neighborhood Under the Highway

One of the city's oldest Black communities — families, churches, a school, a way of life. Then the Selmon Expressway cut through the middle of it. Now there's nothing left but an off-ramp.

Read

The Pirate Who Never Was

How Tampa invented a fake buccaneer, sold him to America, and turned the lie into the third-largest parade in the country

Read

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Curated collections of curiosities, dark history, hidden gems, and more

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Tampa's Dark History

Mob bosses, serial killers, and the violence beneath the palm trees

Curious Tampa

Articles

Sunshine and Hustle

The Men Who Read to the Cigar Rollers

The Neighborhood Under the Highway

The Pirate Who Never Was

Sunshine and Hustle

The Men Who Read to the Cigar Rollers

The Neighborhood Under the Highway

The Pirate Who Never Was

Sunshine and Hustle

The Men Who Read to the Cigar Rollers

The Neighborhood Under the Highway

The Pirate Who Never Was

Discover

Tampa's Dark History

Curiosities

Hidden Tampa

Abandoned & Lost Places

Tampa's Dark History

Curiosities

Hidden Tampa

Abandoned & Lost Places

Tampa's Dark History

Curiosities

Hidden Tampa

Abandoned & Lost Places

The Guide

Best Bars

Best Restaurants

Best Coffee Shops

Things to Do

Best Bars

Best Restaurants

Best Coffee Shops

Things to Do

Best Bars

Best Restaurants

Best Coffee Shops

Things to Do

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Minneapolis

Raleigh

Chicago

Salt Lake City

Colorado Springs

Dallas

Anchorage

Fargo

Denver

Phoenix

Portland

Seattle

Minneapolis

Raleigh

Chicago

Salt Lake City

Colorado Springs

Dallas

Anchorage

Fargo

Denver

Phoenix

Portland

Seattle

Curious Tampa

Articles

Sunshine and Hustle