The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-28

Busy and Thriving and Lots Of Folks
60 There to Escape the Northern VIM
ter-It Has Had lts Troubles. though
Partly Because So Many OF Its PEG
pie Can't Talk without Making Their
Hands Go-Doesn't That Seem Queer!
TAMPA, Fla, Dec 33.-Here. on what
only seventeen years ago was desolate
sand waste, over which were strewn a
few seedy shacks, In a beautiful and rapidly
growing city Of upward OF 10000 inhabi-
tants
1t has eighty miles of streets, twenty
FIVE miles Of electric railway. half dozen
wholesale business houses. three solid
banks, private residences as fine as may
b found In almost any city of under $4,000
inhabitants in the country. a 81 ZOO 900
hotel, court house that cost $50 900,
steamship lines to the West Indies and
American Gulf ports, the terminal OF two
great trunk line railroad systems. a fine
water supply, sewerage system and
nearly $50 factories. employing close to
10000 hands
TAMPA's COLUMBUS.
All this transformation occurred be-
cause Edward Manrara. a Cuban gentle
man. was one of the worst sailors that
ever undertook to make voyages In modern
steam craft Tampa was discovered by
Edward Manrara In the year 1885, while
he was seeking a northeast passage from
Cuba to New York that would involve
the very minimum of travel by sea.
He is still living, this Columbus Of Tampa.
He is president Of the Exchange National
Bank here and one Of the important factors
in all that is making for the city's progress.
Before he landed on the Tampa sand
waste the place consisted of a name that
you might find with magnifying glass
on the map and about 800 inhabitants
with the few whites among them sorry
that they were there.
The chain OF circumstances which brought
Mr.. Manrara to Tampa began in Cuba as
far back as 1869. In that year, owing to
q particularly acute stage Of the perennial
row going on between the Spaniards and
the Cubans on the island, Mr. " Martinez
Ybor moved from Havana to Key West
and there established cigar factory The
Ybor establishment was followed by others.
and among those who came to Key West
was Mr.. Manrara, who became a partner
in the Ybor concern.
His business compelled him to make
frequent trips to New York and the sea
voyage always was a misery to him He
shortened it as much as possible by going
by water to Cedar Keys and thence north
ward by rail
In 1894 great event happened to the sand
reach on which now stands Tampa. The
railroad was extended to it from Sanford.
thus connecting Tampa Bay on the gulf
with Jacksonville and the North. Mr..
Manrara was quick to take advantage OF
this new route The distance from Key
West to Tampa was considerably less than
from Key West to Cedar Keys. BY going
In that way there was just so much OF the
sea voyage saved.
SAW HIS CHANCE AND TOOK IT.
He stayed a day on his first arrival in
Tampa and he Jaw something there which
nobody before had seen. All that others
had been able to make out OF the place
was sand and squalid settlement. to which
now and then schooners crawled lazily
through q shallow and tortuous passage
10 load cattle for Cuba. Mr.. Manrara
=
cf great cigar manufacturing industry
rh,n was Key West itself.
He carried this vision with him to Kew
West and succeeded in making his partner
ace it in the same roseate hues in which he
saw II himself II was determined to
establish q branch OF the firm of Ybor
Manrara at Tampa.
That was the beginning from which has
grown the fourishing city that is the Tampa
Of to-day. 1t is city that is unique in
several respects-unique in that it In the
only city built up In the country which
had It's start from foreign enterprise and
energy and unique in the charact eristics
Of a considerable portion Of it's population.
II is called 'the Havana Of America"
and there Ia that in one section Of the city
a. least which justifes the term. 'Ybor-
vile, as the Fourth ward OF Tampa IL
called Ia like a Cuban city with all the Latin
characteristics of such a community lifted
mp bodily and dropped down on American
soil
CUBAN CITY.
You may live in this part OF Tampa for
months and hear no language but Spanish
The restaurants are Spanish, the cooking
Is Spanish-Cuban. the theatres are Spanish.
there are Spanish clubs and casinos and
the laughing, chattering. gesticulatine
throngs on the streets are Latin to their
finger tips.
As preliminary step to establishing
the first OF what now has grown 70 a colony
OF nearly $50 cigar factories in Tampa
Mr.. Manrara purchased tract Of IoS acres
OF land northeast Of the old village. A
clearing was made, small wooden factory
was erected and few hands put to work
II seemed TO be written that Tampa WAS
to be a great cigar manufacturing centre.
The elements tool, hand In the matter,
Mr.. Manrara had barely got his factory
completed and his men at work when
in 1870, Key West was swept by FIRE which
nearly wiped the place out of existence.
The ibor Manrara factory there was
destroyed. The firm already thought 40
we'll OF Tampa that they determined to
turn their backs on Key West, move cvery-
thing to Tampa and start their business
anew.
The little wooden factory already built
when the hey West Are occurred was found
to be altogether too small for the concern 3
plans 1t had bsen the theory heretofore
that almost any kind Of an old shack would