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The downtown Tampa skyline as seen from the University of Tampa. In the foreground is the Henry B. Plant Memorial Fountain titled "Transportation." |
| At the entrance
to Plant Park is the Henry Bradley Plant Memorial Fountain, commissioned
by Margaret Plant in 1899 after her husband's death. The fountain was
carved from solid stone by George G. Barnard, and is the oldest public art
in the city of Tampa. It was completely conserved in 1995. The statue is titled "Transportation" and is situated above a circular fountain. It features a ship and a train, symbols of the Plant's transportation network that drove and shaped Florida’s growth and development during the last part of the 19th century. The bow of a ship is at the center with a giant eagle perched over it holding a treasure chest in his talons. On either side are sea creatures, a male and a female. The male holds a locomotive on his shoulder, representing the Plant system of railways, and the female holds a steam ship representing the Plant Steamship Company. Fish are on the sides below spouting water into the fountain. Mrs. Plant had the sculpture installed in front of the hotel. The fountain itself is thought to have been designed and constructed by hotel staff at her direction. The statue is reportedly the oldest piece of public art in Tampa. Located within a traffic circle between Plant Park and the building’s entrance, it provides a focal point and popular backdrop for photographs by tourists and students of the university and their friends and family. |
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A tribute to President John F. Kennedy is placed facing Kennedy Blvd near the entrance to the university, Plant Park. Tampa was his last stop before his fateful trip to Dallas |
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