Tag Archives: riverwalk

Working up an appetite

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My sister and I needed to work up an appetite for dinner so we went for a late afternoon walk at Riverwalk in downtown Tampa. The round building along the river looks so tall up close.

Our walk started out sunny but the clouds started rolling in half way through.

Walking under the overpass bridge, the lights turn colors.

We got to the other end and thought we were going to get some drizzle on the way back but it held off until we got in our car and was heading home.

Watching the activity on the water. There were a few people out on peddle boats.

Back at the parking lot, I snapped a last shot of the old 1927 Cass Street bridge.

Do you believe in fairy tales?

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Why are these fairytale characters sitting on the grounds of a cool contemporary restaurant in Tampa? I had to find out. I vaguely remember hearing stories about going to Fairyland when we were visiting the grandparents in the Tampa bay area back in the 60’s. My dad had taken a few pictures of us when we were there. I was a toddler so I don’t remember being there. The original Fairyland Park was at Lowry Park which sat next to the zoo. It closed in the early 90’s and was torn down but some of the characters were stored in a warehouse in Tampa and forgotten. The owner of the restaurant (who also owns the famous Columbia Restaurant) grew up going to the park and when he found out there were characters that had been saved and stored, he was able to buy them and have them restored. It’s a little piece of Tampa history that was saved from oblivion.  Story of the characters being restored here.

A picture above of the original park taken from the Tampapix website. 

Above are some of the statues from the restaurant. The bust is of Princess Ulele, who the restaurant is named after. She lived in the Tampa Bay area in the 1500’s.

We wanted to get out on Thanksgiving morning for a walk before stuffing ourselves so we headed to downtown Tampa to walk along the water.

Across the Hillsborough river

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Shots taken while on my walk along the river front in downtown Tampa in July. The above shows the University of Tampa. The main building was originally the Tampa Bay Hotel that opened in 1891 by Henry B Plant (the railroad magnate).

Looking over to Bayshore Boulevard and out towards the bay.

Lots of rowing going on this morning.  Kayakers, paddleboarders and members of the Dragon Boat Rowing club were all out on the water.

A different view at the convention center.

Being a tourist in my hometown.

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In July, I decided to take a break from walking around in the parks and headed to downtown Tampa to take a walk along the riverfront. I headed out early since it was going to be a hot day. Not many people out that early.  Just me and a few joggers when I first got there. The downside is that the sun was behind the buildings so it made sunny shots a challenge. The upside was that I was walking in the shade for the first part.

Along the Tampa convention center.

Lots of activities on the water. You can rent boats of all sizes or take a water taxi around the area.

The old Cass street bridge that was built in 1926.  Everyone is wondering when they are going to tear it down. It adds a bit of history to the area even if it’s an eyesore.

When I got back to Riverwalk Park, they had turned on the water fountain. I really wanted to walk through there.

More from downtown Tampa

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One last post from my walk along Riverwalk in downtown Tampa on Thanksgiving weekend.  The white tent with the Bucs sign is the ice skating ring, set up for the holidays. The orange and yellow trimmed building is the Children’s Museum.

Across the river is the University of Tampa. The main building was the former Tampa Bay Hotel built by Henry B Plant and was finished in 1891.