Tampa Bay History Center, History museum in Tampa, United States

The Tampa Bay History Center is a 60,000-square-foot building on the waterfront at 801 Water Street in Tampa's Channelside District. It holds three floors of permanent and temporary galleries with 25,000 square feet of exhibit space, covering 12,000 years of Florida history with a focus on Tampa Bay and the Gulf Coast. Exhibits range from the area's first native inhabitants and Spanish conquistadores to a reproduction of a 1920s cigar store.

The institution started in 1989 as the History Museum of Tampa-Hillsborough County before taking its current name in 1993. It relocated to the waterfront in 2009 and has since become a major resource for understanding how the region evolved.

The center's Columbia Cafe is a branch of Ybor City's Columbia Restaurant, founded in 1905 by Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hernandez. The Witt Research Center, a branch of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System, lets visitors consult local history and genealogy records. The Touchton Map Library holds thousands of maps and charts covering more than 500 years of cartography.

The building sits right on the waterfront with easy access and parking available nearby. Plan to spend a few hours exploring the different floors, especially if you want to browse specific collections or special exhibits.

The museum houses a branch of the Columbia Restaurant where visitors can taste traditional Spanish and Cuban dishes while gazing out at the waterfront. This combination lets you experience the flavors of the region as you learn about its past.