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Historical Markers Sought For I-275 Exits

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By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 7, 2008

WEST TAMPA - After being rejected by the Florida Department of Transportation, state Rep. Michael Scionti and the West Tampa Chamber of Commerce are campaigning to bring historical markers to Interstate 275 exits at Howard and Armenia avenues.

Scionti wrote to Don Skelton, FDOT's secretary for District VII in Tampa, outlining West Tampa's history and its potential.

A chamber official said the organization also plans to submit a letter and hopes to persuade business and civic leaders to contact FDOT.

"Right now it's just a plain green sign," said Leo Alvarez, the chamber's business and economic development director. "You get a historical marker and people are more apt to get off the interstate and check the area out."

The historical markers typically are brown; Ybor City's large, ground-mounted sign sits along the shoulder of Interstate 4.

An FDOT spokeswoman said West Tampa doesn't qualify for the markers, in part, because it doesn't have a specific attraction or destination.

"There is nothing for them to go to once they get off the interstate," Kris Carson said.

Proponents say West Tampa merits markers because of its listing on the National Register of Historic Places and its history since being founded in 1895. Like Ybor City, it was developed as a hub for immigrants working in cigar factories.

Today, it is populated by Spanish speakers, blacks and whites. In the past five years, the working-class neighborhood has enjoyed a resurgence of interest, with investors rehabbing cigar factories, building homes and developing plans for the 10-acre Fort Homer Hesterly Armory site.
FDOT is spending $107 million to replace the three-lane stretch of northbound I-275 from Himes Avenue to the Hillsborough River with a four-lane highway. The overpasses in the stretch will have decorative designs, including at Armenia and Howard, where there will be red brick and artwork representative of the area.

Alvarez said he inquired in late 2007 about getting historical markers and was told it wasn't part of the project.

John Rodriguez, legislative aide to Scionti, learned about the issue at a chamber meeting and spoke with FDOT officials. Scionti, D-Tampa, met with Skelton in Tallahassee in early April.

"We have something the entire Bay area can be proud of," Rodriguez said. "We need to make people aware of it. There is no reason markers shouldn't be put up, as far as we are concerned."

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 835-2110 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.

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