What’s happening at the museum right now.
Blog
The 1921 Tampa Bay hurricane: then and now
For Tampa residents, a hurricane begins affecting daily life before its wind reaches the bay. In 1921, warnings arrived through telegraph lines and the morning newspaper. Today, forecasts appear on …
About the Tampa Bay History Center
Our mission
The Tampa Bay History Center’s mission is to discover, preserve and learn from our region’s past to inform our common future. Located on Tampa’s Riverwalk, the museum is nationally accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. It also has earned national recognition through USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards and Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice.
More than a museum
The History Center is a hub for community life. Visitors can dine at the Columbia Cafe, attend talks, special events, book clubs and programs in TECO Hall or host private events in one of the museum’s rental spaces. Together, those experiences make the History Center not only a museum, but also a gathering place for conversation, celebration and connection within civic life.
Dig through
our archives.
Touchton Map Library
Navigate more than 8,000 maps, charts and logs from the early exploration of Europe and North America.
Witt Research Center
View nearly 10,000 books, manuals, maps, documents, microfilm, and family/subject papers spanning prehistoric to present-day Florida.
Cafe
Modern flavor.
Historic taste.
Resting on the Tampa Riverwalk inside the Tampa Bay History Center, this charming cafe captures the flavor of the original Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. We offer a sampling of the Spanish- and Cuban-inspired dishes that made the 118-year-old restaurant famous.
