You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

Decade of Change: Florida in the 1920s

Nov. 4, 2023 – July 14, 2024

Bootleggers flooded cities with prohibited booze, flappers danced to jazz, and workers erected bungalows and Mediterranean Revival-style suburban homes in Florida in the 1920s. Read more

Scheduled to open its doors on November 4, 2023, Decade of Change offers a fascinating exploration of Florida's first modern decade. From the lively jazz tunes of the Roaring Twenties to the architectural evolution witnessed in the construction of bungalows and Mediterranean Revival-style homes, the exhibition provides a snapshot of the diverse facets that defined Florida in the 1920s.
Scheduled to open its doors on November 4, 2023, Decade of Change offers a fascinating exploration of Florida's first modern decade. From the lively jazz tunes of the Roaring Twenties to the architectural evolution witnessed in the construction of bungalows and Mediterranean Revival-style homes, the exhibition provides a snapshot of the diverse facets that defined Florida in the 1920s.

Current exhibits

Decade of Change: Florida in the 1920s

NOV. 4, 2023 – JULY 14, 2024

Bootleggers flooded cities with prohibited booze, flappers danced to jazz, and workers erected bungalows and Mediterranean Revival-style suburban homes in Florida in the 1920s. But the experiences of riotous intemperate outlaws, dance champions, and sprawling suburbs was not the end-all and be-all of Florida’s first modern decade. Florida’s Jim Crow system was violently enforced, and a fundamentalist Christian religious revival movement swept the state during the decade. In short, Florida had a lot going on in the 1920s.

Decade of Change: Florida in the 1920s offers a glimpse of the fashion, music, architecture, social movements, and politics that defined Florida during the decade. By the time you get to the end of this exhibition, you will definitely “Know Your Onions” – at least when it comes to Florida in the 1920s. So stop stalling! “Get a Wiggle On” and check out the show!

On exhibit Nov. 4 – July 14

Read More

Sharps & Marks in Paradise: Selling Florida in the 1920s

NOV. 4, 2023 – JULY 14, 2024

The 1920s Florida Land Boom transformed almost every aspect of life in Florida. Between 1920 and 1930, the state’s population soared from 968,470 to 1,468,211. More roads, more cars, and even more land were added to the Sunshine State. Maps from this era dramatically demonstrate the changing landscape brought about by dredges, drag lines, and determination.

On exhibit Nov. 4 – July 14

Read More

View of Davis Islands from top of the Tampa Terrace Hotel; City Hall clock is visible on right forefront, Tampa, Fla. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.
Al Burgert and first car on Davis Islands, Tampa, Fla. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.

Permanent exhibits

Touchton Map Library

The Touchton Map Library and Florida Center for Cartographic Education is home to thousands of maps, charts, and other documents dating back from the early European exploration of North America more than 500 years ago up through the early 21st century.

Read More

Treasure Seekers

Conquistadors, Pirates, and Shipwrecks: Featuring a 60-foot, 18th-century pirate ship as its centerpiece, this permanent gallery introduces you to the explorers who landed in “La Florida” more than 500 years ago as well as little-known pirates like “Calico” Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny, who prowled Florida’s coasts in the 1700s.

Read More

War Stories focuses on participants or those serving on the home front in the wars that have touched our state and region since the 1830s.
Plan of the Village of Tampa
Cuban Pathways The Exhibition member reception

Past exhibits and virtual gallery tours

Founded in 1989 by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, the History Center opened its new 60,000-square-foot facility on Water Street in 2009. Since then, we've presented more than 50 exhibitions in the Wayne Thomas Gallery and Saunders Foundation Gallery. Explore the archive and discover past lectures, blog posts, and classroom resources.