Made in West Tampa
$250.00
West Tampa was founded in 1892 by Scottish immigrant and local attorney Hugh Macfarlane, who bought 200 acres of forested land with the intention of starting a new development by luring some of the cigar factories and cigar workers from Ybor City. Macfarlane built a bridge and then a streetcar line, and his development experienced a period of tremendous growth. The area became home for Tampa’s mix of Spanish, Cuban, and Italian cultures.
With the neighboring communities, West Tampa combined to produce more hand-rolled cigars than any other locale in the world during the early 20th century, earning Tampa the nickname “Cigar City.”
The first public library in Hillsborough County, the West Tampa Free Public Library was funded by Andrew Carnegie and is still in use today.
El Centro Español was the first of several ethnic social club and mutual aid society organizations in Tampa. They offered not only social, cultural, and recreational opportunities, but educational programs and “cradle to grave” health care. The organization established a second clubhouse, El Centro Español de West Tampa in 1912, to serve the growing Spanish population of West Tampa. It is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Hillsborough Education Foundation has used the facility since 2010.
The historic Santaella cigar factory now houses the Santaella Studios for the Arts. The cigar shown features a depiction of the factory's namesake, Antonio Santaella, on the band of his most well known brand of cigars - the Optimo - which was enjoyed by Winston Churchill and Babe Ruth among many other famous men of the period. The Babe visited the factory many times.
The 36"x24" (includes 2" border) archival giclée is printed by a local atelier on acid-free watercolor paper and features rich, saturated colors, deep dark tones, and finely nuanced details. Each museum quality print is inspected and approved by Tim Boatright before being signed and sealed with his embossed artist’s “chop.”
Please note: each piece is printed to order and may take up to three weeks to ship. The print is ready for framing.
