Then
Tampa’s riverfront, from the 1880s through the 1940s, was devoted almost entirely to the shipping industry. Covered by wharves, railroad tracks and warehouses, it was economically important but pressure was growing to move this type of industry further south within the Port of Tampa. Tampa mayor Curtis Hixon, in 1955, proposed the construction of a large meeting hall and concert venue on the river somewhere between Lafayette (now Kennedy) and Cass. Hixon died the following year, but that idea endured and the Curtis Hixon Convention Hall was dedicated on January 24, 1965. It was Tampa’s largest venue and it allowed the city to host larger conventions and concerts, including Benny Goodman, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin, to name a few.
Now
Curtis Hixon Hall, as it was commonly known, closed in 1990 when the Tampa Convention Center opened its doors just a little further south along the river. Mayor Sandy Freedman converted the Curtis Hixon property to a park, which was later redesigned under Mayor Pam Iorio’s tenure. Today, Curtis Hixon Park is an anchor along Tampa’s Riverwalk and is home to the Tampa Museum of Art, the Glazer Children’s Museum and countless festivals and concerts.
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