Old ones and newer ones. Interesting headstones in the Centro Espanol Cemetary near downtown Tampa. The small cemetary backs up to the Italian cemetery that I visited in early September so of course I walked through this one as well. It almost looks the same but many of the headstones and graves have not been kept up. Some of the tombstones were so old, you couldn’t read the names or dates.

It was a little creepy walking around with so many broken covers on the graves. Did storms do this damage? Vandalism? I was walking around on a Saturday morning and it’s on a busy street and there were a few other people walking around so I wasn’t alone but it still felt a little creepy. I wonder if they get a big crowd on Halloween night?

Many of the headstones were tile like the ones in the Italian cemetary next door. Maybe it was the sign of the times.

I left Centro Cemetary and stopped by Woodlawn Cemetary which is close by. This is a big cemetary with some notable Tampa people buried here. I thought the above was interesting. It was on a big plot and it looked like some of their children are buried in it and the couple are facing their children. They are under a huge oak tree so they’ll always be in the shade.

I thought this was another interesting tombstone.

I thought this was Sparkman’s grave, who Sparkman’s Wharf  (a beer garden, food area and live music in downtown) is named after but after doing some research I found out it’s his cousin. This is the grave of George Bascom Sparkman and his wife, who was the mayor of Tampa from 1881 to 1883 and then again from 1887 to 1888. His cousin Stephen was a politician and was noted for created Port Tampa Bay.

Hoping you have a fun and spooky weekend!