Tampa Bay History Center

Tampa Bay History Center

Discover 12,000 years of Florida history through immersive exhibits, engaging programs, and collections that inspire lifelong learning.

OUR EXPERIENCES

The History Center is one of Tampa Bay's premier cultural venues and an anchor of the Tampa Riverwalk on Water Street. Explore a world where stories unfold around every corner. Three levels of exhibit galleries invite you on a journey through time. Engage with history talks that transform learning into a quest for knowledge, or join us for public events that go beyond entertainment, fostering a connection to our collective history and future. Here, each visit is a voyage of discovery for curious minds of all ages.

ABOUT US

The Tampa Bay History Center's mission is to discover, preserve, and learn from our region's past to inform our common future.

IMPACT

The Tampa Bay History Center, established in 1989, has been housed since 2009 in a modern, 60,000-square-foot facility along Tampa's Riverwalk. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, the center features exhibitions that explore 12,000 years of Florida's history, from its earliest inhabitants to its contemporary role as a major port and tourism hub.

Permanent and temporary galleries showcase pivotal periods in Florida's history, such as the region's Indigenous peoples, European exploration beginning in the 16th century, and Tampa Bay's rise as an industrial and cultural center.

The History Center is also home to the Touchton Map Library/Florida Center for Cartographic Education. This unique resource offers one of the largest collections of Florida maps in the world, covering more than 500 years of cartographic history. The library presents rotating map exhibitions and is accessible to researchers and students by appointment.

On-site amenities include the Columbia Cafe, operated by Tampa's renowned Columbia Restaurant, serving Spanish-Cuban dishes rooted in Ybor City's historic immigrant community. The History Center also features a museum store, educational classrooms, additional temporary exhibition spaces, and venues available for event rentals.

DETAILS

To learn more, contact: info@tampabayhistorycenter.org

What are your minimum and maximum group sizes?
10–150

Do you require visitors to pre-book?
Yes

Do you have group rates?
Yes

Do you pay commissions to travel advisors?
No

What languages do you offer your services in?
English

When are you open?
Daily, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

What accommodations do you make for people living with disabilities?
Designed with accessibility in mind, the museum offers a limited number of complimentary wheelchairs on a first-come, first-served basis, as well as a helpful visitor guide created by CARD-USF for guests with autism spectrum disorder and their families and caregivers.