Ybor City's Cuban Club, seated in a historic building over a century old, served as a cultural, health, and social hub for the Cuban community in the 1900s
At one time, the Cuban Club building contained a library, health clinic, pharmacy, cantina, ballroom, boxing arena, gymnasium, pool, and bowling lanes. Within only a few years of the building being completed, it served as a hospital for ailing Tampans during the "Spanish flu."
Though some structural changes were made in the last 100 years, the Cuban Club has preserved many of its original architectural features and continues to serve as a unifying organization for the Cuban community.
El Círculo Cubano de Tampa
El Círculo Cubano de Tampa, or Cuban Circle of Tampa, had its first meeting house built in 1907 in Ybor City. After a fire destroyed the original building, a new structure was built in 1917 by M. Leo Elliott, a prominent Hillsborough County architect at the time, in partnership with Bayar C. Bonfoey.
The Cuban Club was a popular social club consisting of mostly working-class cigar makers, many of whom were immigrants. The club served as a mutual aid society with membership dues providing health care, recreational activities, library services, and death benefits to its members.
In the early years, the club had surgeons, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists on staff. When the Great Influenza epidemic, or "Spanish Flu," of 1918-1920 hit Tampa, the Cuban Club was converted to a temporary hospital for ailing locals, including non-members.
With time, the club's membership dues, which were predominantly from cigar workers, declined as a result of the 1962 Cuban Trade Embargo. The Cuban Club Foundation was formed in the early 1990s to maintain the building and oversee its day-to-day operations. Today, El Círculo de Cubano remains active and operates out of the building.
Inside the Cuban Club
The Cuban Club was a vital meeting place for the Cuban community, and was central to serving its members' medical and recreational needs. The design of the large, four-story building made this possible.
In addition to using the club's health clinic and pharmacy, members could also participate in a variety of physical and social pastimes. In the early 1900s, the basement had a basketball court, gym, locker room, and white Cuban marble plunge pool.
A two-story theater, which is still in use today and seats about 500 people, provided a performing arts venue. In the 1920s, the club's boxing arena was a centerpiece for Ybor City's boxing fans. Up to 2,000 people could be seated in the club's multilevel wooden bleachers.
The Cuban Club was designed in the Neoclassical or Classical Revival style, which was popular across the country in the early 20th century. The yellow brick building features two-story high columns flanking the east entrance, metal "Juliet" balconies, and a terrace on the third floor. Inside, French doors, an elaborate stained-glass window, and a pair of grand staircases with decorative wrought iron railings can be found. The majority of the building's floor is tiled in a unique, three-dimensional cube pattern.
On Nov. 15, 1972, the Cuban Club was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The building is at 2010 N. Avenida Republica de Cuba, Tampa, FL 33605.
Historical marker inscription
Late 19th and early 20th century Cuban immigration to the United States was impressive for the craft talents brought to the country. Along with their Spanish counterparts, skilled Cuban cigarmakers made Tampa's hand-rolled cigars world-famous. As early as 1899 Cuban immigrants formed recreational societies with varying degrees of success, and in 1902 Cuban workers founded El Círculo Cubano as a mutual aid society to "bind all Cuban residents of Tampa into a fraternal group, to offer assistance and help to the sick."
When fire destroyed the first clubhouse in 1916, members initiated plans for its replacement. The present four-story, yellow brick building with Neoclassical design elements sits on the original site. Constructed in 1917, the building contained a theater, pharmacy, library, ballroom, and cantina. Imported tile, stained glass windows and elaborately carved sgraffito spandrels decorated the structure, and the ballroom ceiling displayed elaborate murals. The clubhouse provided a gathering place for members and served as a unifying force in the Cuban community. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Marker location
The El Círculo Cubano historical marker is at the intersection of East Palm Avenue and North Avineda Republica de Cuba, on the left when traveling west on East Palm Avenue.
The marker was erected in 1998 by the City of Tampa, Ybor City Development Corporation, and Florida Department of State.