The bronze busts of six Tampa pioneers, mounted on granite bases, began going up recently along the ever-evolving, downtown Riverwalk. Ranging from Florida’s first people, the “Mound Builders,” to the iconic Henry Plant, the likenesses are, however, much more than another welcome, waterfront touch for a city such as ours.
Many of us are not from here. I’m among them. A lot of relocatees, in fact, still have allegiances elsewhere. For a heightened sense of community–and connectivity–we need to know more of the history of this place we all call home. Thanks to sculptor Steve Dickey, the nonprofit Friends of the Riverwalk and the Hillsborough County Historic Preservation Challenge Grant program, we now know more about those who preceded us and how Tampa became, well, Tampa.