Scenes from the Kennedy Blvd. Bridge - Page 1
Originally built as the Lafayette Street Bridge in 1888-1889, this is the view looking east toward downtown from the west end.
See old photo from 1890
More old photos
"The arrival of Henry B. Plant's railroad in January 1884, Tampa's first steam-engine link to the rest of the country, brought the movement to stir up business development and "put Tampa on the map." It took awhile for the leaders in the then-tiny community - not yet incorporated as a city - to officially organize the Tampa Board of Trade, as such groups were then called."
"The board's first priority became building a bridge across the Hillsborough River. The bridge was important: Plant had dangled the prospect of a giant resort hotel on the western bank of the river, but only if a bridge connected it to downtown ..Thus, the board pushed ahead on what was known as the Lafayette Street Bridge. Its successor span is today's Kennedy Boulevard Bridge." -
Leland
Hawes, Tampa Tribune writer
See another old photo showing the old Tampa Bay Hotel and the bridge
Bridge page 1 Bridge page 2
