Henry B. Plant Museum

Overview

The Henry B. Plant Museum is housed in the former Tampa Bay Hotel, an opulent winter resort that operated from 1891 to 1932. Since 1933, the building has been home to the museum and to the University of Tampa. Now called Plant Hall, it is a National Historic Landmark. The museum occupies the south wing of the original hotel and features its original furnishings and artifacts, collected by Mr. and Mrs. Plant on several buying trips to Europe and the Orient.

Through its exhibits and events, the museum transports visitors to the late Victorian period, the beginnings of Florida's tourist industry, and the early years of the city of Tampa.

The Tampa Bay Hotel

Constructed between 1888 and 1891, the Tampa Bay Hotel served as the capital of Henry Bradley Plant's empire of railroads, steamships and hotels. Designed by architect J. A. Wood, the Moorish Revival structure covered six acres and was a quarter of a mile long, and its 511 rooms were among the first in Florida to be completely electric. Plant opened the hotel as a winter resort on February 5, 1891. Open from December to April, it offered a fashionable retreat to Gilded Age elites during the winter social season.

The grounds spanned 150 acres, with twenty-one buildings in all, including an Exposition Hall that advertised Florida products and, from 1896, the Tampa Bay Casino between the hotel and the Hillsborough River.

A Place in History

In May 1898, the Tampa Bay Hotel became the headquarters and temporary home for military personnel, war correspondents and dignitaries associated with the staging of troops for the Spanish-American War; Theodore Roosevelt was among the notable guests. In 1904, the first Gasparilla invasion began in Plant Park, and the Coronation Ball was held in the hotel's dining room.

In 1905, the City of Tampa bought the hotel and 150 acres of land for $125,000, and the building became the center of Tampa's social life. In 1933, the city leased the hotel to the University of Tampa, and the Tampa Municipal Museum was founded. It was renamed the Henry B. Plant Museum in 1974, and in 2000 it was granted accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums.

Visiting the Museum

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. It is closed on Mondays and on Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day of the Gasparilla Invasion and Parade of Pirates. Visitors enter the University of Tampa campus from the North Boulevard and A Street intersection; the visitor parking area is on the left, between the Campus Safety Office and the garage. Designated spaces for visitors with disabilities are next to the ramps at the north end of Plant Hall and at the back of the building. Accessible restrooms are off the main lobby on the first floor of Plant Hall, next to the museum. Service animals are welcome; emotional support animals are not permitted. Food and drinks are not allowed inside the museum.