Cigar City: Bringing Industry to Tampa
Join docent Amy Tyrrell for a 20-minute guided walkthrough of Cigar City and discover how Tampa became one of the world’s leading cigar manufacturing centers. Amy connects Henry B. Plant’s transportation network with Vicente Martinez Ybor’s cigar factories, revealing how industry and immigration transformed a small Florida community into the city of Tampa.
Explore maps, photographs and historical artifacts while learning about Ybor City’s immigrant communities, mutual aid societies and connections to the Cuban War of Independence. Discover why Tampa’s historic cigars were called clear Havana cigars, how lectors shaped daily life inside the factories and how the cigar industry influenced Tampa’s development and identity.
Amy has served as a docent at the Ybor City Museum State Park for five years and works part-time at the Henry B. Plant Museum. Her experience with both institutions provides visitors with a distinct perspective on the relationship among Plant’s transportation system, Ybor’s cigar industry and Tampa’s growth.
About gallery tours
Docent-led gallery tours invite guests to examine artifacts, maps, photographs and other historical materials from the History Center’s collections while hearing accurate, well-researched accounts of the people, events and industries that shaped Tampa Bay.
During each 20-minute tour, an experienced docent interprets selected artifacts and displays, explains what they reveal about the past and answers visitor questions. For first-time visitors, a gallery tour provides a focused introduction to the History Center’s collections and a strong starting point for exploring the galleries. Tours are included with admission.
