Explore West Tampa with Fred Hearns, one of Tampa Bay’s foremost historians and the Tampa Bay History Center’s first curator of Black history. A longtime journalist, community leader and former City of Tampa human rights director, Hearns has spent decades researching and preserving the stories of Tampa’s Black residents, neighborhoods and institutions.

During this 90-minute tour, Hearns guides guests through significant sites connected to West Tampa’s Black history. The route includes the former site of J. W. Roberts City, West Tampa’s first brick cigar factory; the University of Tampa’s I. W. Phillips Field football stadium; Clara Frye Memorial Hospital, which provided medical care to Black patients during segregation; Tampa’s first public housing development; and the childhood homes of prominent figures in Hillsborough County’s Black community.

Local guests will gain a deeper understanding of a neighborhood whose history is often overlooked. Visitors from outside Tampa will discover how West Tampa’s cigar industry, community institutions and Black residents contributed to the development of the wider Tampa Bay region.

The tour meets inside Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park. Look for the Bob Buckhorn River Center, 402 N. Laurel St., Tampa, FL 33607, and meet your guide at the flagpole. Participants will walk approximately eight blocks along public sidewalks. Comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are recommended. Guests may also want to bring bottled water.