For the second year, six bronze busts of people who made a difference in Tampa's history have been added to the Tampa Riverwalk by Mayor Bob Buckhorn and members of the nonprofit Friends of the Riverwalk.
The latest honorees are Newspaper Publisher C. Blythe Andrews, Attorney Cody Fowler, Civic Leader Kate Jackson, Attorney Peter O. Knight, Cuban Civil Rights Leader Paulina Pedroso and Businessman G. D. Rogers. Their likenesses will be added to the six already installed last year on the city's Historical Monument Trail at the Riverwalk. Eventually city officials anticipate more than 30 people will be recognized for their historical contributions.
"The whole concept is to make a trail to honor as many of the people as possible who made Tampa what it is today," says Attorney Steven Anderson, president of the
Friends of the Riverwalk. "It's just a great program. People love the monuments."
A 9-member committee makes selections each year looking back over 150 years of Tampa's history. It costs about $120,000 annually to finish and install the busts, Anderson says.
Most of the funds are privately donated. Hillsborough County provided a matching grant based on the project's historical preservation mission.
Last year's honorees were the Mound Builder Indians, who were the first settlers 10,000 years ago; cigar magnate Vicente Martinez-Ybor; shipping tycoon James McKay; nurse Clara Frye; railroad trailblazer Henry B. Plant; and suffragist Eleanor McWilliams Chamberlain. Anderson said the committee has begun selecting next year's six honorees.
Writer: Kathy Steele
Source: Steven Anderson, Friends of the Riverwalk
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.