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Centro Asturiano de Tampa located at 1913 N. Nebraska Ave.(corner Palm and Nebraska) is a yellow brick and stone building described as being in the
Renaissance Mediterranean style. The edifice sits on a tall base on which rest Doric columns with two wide sweeping stairs
leading to the main floor. The building was designed by the prominent architectural firm of Bonfoey and (M.Leo)Elliot.
Newspaper accounts of the time described the building as "the handsomest club building in the state of Florida". Originally the first floor, which can be considered a basement since it sits three feet below ground level, was largely the recreation floor. It boasted a gymnasium, a cantina for cards, chess, and dominoes, a billiard room with five billiard tables, and a three lane bowling alley. A marble onyx bar in the Cantina is reportedly the world's longest. The second floor had offices for officers of the society, a library and reading rooms, educational rooms, smoking rooms, ladies' parlor and dressing room, auditorium and stage. The third floor has a Grand Ballroom and the balcony of the theatre. The fourteen ballroom mirrors are originals. The elevator was added by Las Damas del Centro Asturiano de Tampa in 1994 at a cost of $148,000.00. The building originally cost $110,000.00 and its furnishings $30,000.00 in 1914. In 1974 the building was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated heritage structure in the Ybor City Historic District. As true today as it was in 1914: "It is a monument to the memory of those who have devoted their best endeavors to the welfare of the institution and a palace to those who stand faithful to its noble ideals." (Tampa Daily Times, Saturday, May 16, 1914) Call 813 229-2214 to arrange for tours. |
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