The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-08-01
High|ights Of An
Auto Tour
BY THE EDITOR
EIGHTH INSTALLMENT
A Touch Of Havana.

In this series depicting our auto
ramblings, | have said that Tampa is
noted for its fine Havana cigars. Most
users of the weed who read this have
at one time or another smoked Tampa
cigars. The cigar industry is one of
Tampas largest enterprises, as Tampa
leads the world in the manufacture of
those excellent smokes.
This industry is centered in a unique
section of Tampa, in what is known as
Ybor City. This is Latin quarter,
where Spanish and Cuban cigar makers
live and carry on their thriving BUSH
ness. And they have brought with them
a touch Of the foreign. Here "one steps
from the modern America to where
Castilian stateliness combines with the
life and color Of Havana. The murmur
of an alien tongue, the tinkle of a
guitar, beautiful face glimpsed at a
latticed Window-these things expert
enced at evening and under a tropic
moon-Waft the beholder out of every
day humdrum life into romance and
old-world charm" That is a quotation
from an enthusiastic publicity writer
and it is we'll worded We enjoyed a
drive through this interesting district
one evening, and noticed outdoor cafes
with the tables set upon the sidewalks,
under roomy porticoes, practice
brought to American shores from for
eign lands.
The Pride of the South
One evening we went to the Tampa
theatre and there saw Frederic March
in Les Miserables' And while the
play was excellent, yet the thing that
held our interest was the theatre itself.
Tampa theatre is said to be the pride
of the South The architecture is de-
cidedly Moorish, with the interior richly
and extravagently carved and colored.
This would in itself attract the visitors
attention, but the one thing of unusual
interest was the ceiling of this beauti-
full building. The ceiling is built to
represent the starlit heavens and it is
a marvellous reproduction of the heav-
ems at night. A crescent moon floats
above one; stars in myriad numbers
twinkle and shine, in a sky touched by
the blue blackness of night. If one had
not been told Of this feature of the
theatre, one could very easily believe
there was no roof to the building.
One night it was noticed that a
patron of the theatre was sitting with
his hat on. An usher politely asked
him to remove it, whereupon the man
Indignantly refused, remarking, do
you think am going to sit here in the
open without my hat on and catch
cold?" The theatre is indeed an ex-
ample of beautiful and unique archi-
lecture.
Another bit of interesting history is
found in what is now Tampa univer-
sity The university occupies what was
originally built for hotel, one of the
outstanding and one of the largest
hotels of the South, Plant hotel For
some probably financial-the
hotel was ultimately closed and the
building converted into a university
1t is surrounded by beautiful grounds
one of the noticeable features Of which
is mammoth old oak tree, and a bronze
PLAGUE on it says that under this oak
De Sofa at one time negotiated with the
Indians While the building was still
a hotel, Constance Bennett of movie
fame married young Phillip Plant, .
son of the builder of the hotel, and
lived there a short time.