Centro Asturiano de Tampa
Encyclopedia
The Centro Asturiano is a historic site in Ybor City, Tampa
, Florida
. It is located at 1913 Nebraska Avenue
. On July 24, 1974, it was added to the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places
. It was designed by Tampa architect M. Leo Elliott.
, Spain. Historically, a hospital, cemetery and health insurance all came with membership, and the purpose of the club was to take care of members from before birth until after they died. Membership declined following the close of the hospital in 1990. The hospital was renovated in 2005 to provide affordable housing for seniors. All that remains of the old Centro is the social aspect and the cemetery.
The Centro is one of many Centros Asturianos that span Spain, the US, and the world.
In the late 1880s most of the traffic from Spain to the Americas consisted of bachelors going to Havana
, Cuba
looking for work. Those men who were married often immigrated alone, only to send for their families once well established in their new homeland. In Havana, there were many organizations, representing various regions of Spain, whose sole mission was to provide health assistance and “a little taste of home” for their members. The Centro Asturiano de La Habana
was founded on May 2, 1886 to provide medical assistance, social activities, education, and recreational opportunities.
The cigar industry soon established many factories in Tampa that brought a wave of new immigrants from Spain, but especially from Cuba. At the time, US immigration law restricted immigration from Europe, but not from Cuba. Antonio Gonzales Prado, the first president of the Havana club, traveled to Tampa at the end of the century and was appointed chair of a committee whose purpose was to rectify the problem of no health care for the cigar workers. A social club already established in Tampa, El Centro Español de Tampa, made a brief but ultimately unsuccessful attempt at creating a health care system. Approval from the parent club in Havana for the new branch was crucial. Cigar manufacturers, local doctors and pharmacists had formed the Latin Medical Association to prevent the new club’s creation. The name of the club was official changed to The Centro Asturiano de Tampa, Inc. in 1968.
membership of the club, both buildings were named after the Virgin of Covadonga
, when Our Lady Mary appeared in the 8th century, at the beginning of an extensive reconquest to free the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish rule.
In 1956, the Centro Asturiano Hospital, Inc was chartered and all facilities transferred to the new corporation. This was done so the hospital could qualify for federal funds and grants from private corporations.
neighborhood at the corner of North Ola and West Indiana Avenues, next to the city's Woodlawn Cemetery. Among the 601 interred at the Old Centro Asturiano Cemetery is club founder Antonio Gonzales Prado, who was buried there in 1904.
In 1942 the much larger Centro Asturiano Memorial Park was established. It is located along Tampa's eastern border, just outside city limits and immediately north of the Grant Park
neighborhood at 5400 East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Here, over 2,300 deceased are buried or laid to rest in the mausoleum, which was added in 1970 and subsequently enlarged in 1998. Among them is U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez
, who gave his own life to save fellow soldiers during the Korean War
, a sacrifice for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Lopez's valor is remembered with several monuments, including a state nursing home, a military resupply ship, and a nearby Seffner
school which are named in his honor, as well as an engraved memorial erected by the Centro Asturiano near the entrance to the Memorial Park Cemetery.
The current building, which has been in use since 1914, originally boasted a recreational floor, a floor largely devoted to study, and a party floor. The first floor hosted a gymnasium, a cantina for card, chess, and domino games (the space is now rented by an outside restaurant), a billiard room with five tables, and a three lane bowling alley that has been converted into a kitchen for the restaurant. The second floor holds offices for the club administrators, an extensive library, several reading and educational rooms, a smoking room, ladies parlor and dressing lounge and the auditorium and stage. The third floor houses the balcony of the theatre and a large ballroom. The ballroom was and still is, to a lesser extent, used for public dances that were a main social interaction between young club members or their children. Many of the current club members met their spouses at a dance at the Centro. The ballroom also houses private parties such as birthdays, wedding receptions, anniversaries, and many other celebrations. When the building was opened in 1914, the Tampa Daily Times ran an article on the architecture and features of the new club headquarters: “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” (May 16, 1914).
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. It is located at 1913 Nebraska Avenue
State Road 45 (Florida)
A major north–south highway extending almost the entire length of the Florida peninsula, State Road 45 is the unsigned Florida Department of Transportation designation of most of the current U.S. Route 41 in Florida. The southern terminus of SR 45 is an intersection with SR 951 just east of...
. On July 24, 1974, it was added to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It was designed by Tampa architect M. Leo Elliott.
History and Culture
The Centro Asturiano de Tampa (Centro) is a social club for immigrants and the descendants of immigrants from AsturiasAsturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, Spain. Historically, a hospital, cemetery and health insurance all came with membership, and the purpose of the club was to take care of members from before birth until after they died. Membership declined following the close of the hospital in 1990. The hospital was renovated in 2005 to provide affordable housing for seniors. All that remains of the old Centro is the social aspect and the cemetery.
The Centro is one of many Centros Asturianos that span Spain, the US, and the world.
In the late 1880s most of the traffic from Spain to the Americas consisted of bachelors going to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
looking for work. Those men who were married often immigrated alone, only to send for their families once well established in their new homeland. In Havana, there were many organizations, representing various regions of Spain, whose sole mission was to provide health assistance and “a little taste of home” for their members. The Centro Asturiano de La Habana
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana
The National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana in Havana, Cuba is a museum of Fine Arts that exhibits Cuban art collections from the colonial times up to contemporary generations. It was founded on February 23, 1913 due to the efforts of its first director, Emilio Heredia, a well-known architect...
was founded on May 2, 1886 to provide medical assistance, social activities, education, and recreational opportunities.
The cigar industry soon established many factories in Tampa that brought a wave of new immigrants from Spain, but especially from Cuba. At the time, US immigration law restricted immigration from Europe, but not from Cuba. Antonio Gonzales Prado, the first president of the Havana club, traveled to Tampa at the end of the century and was appointed chair of a committee whose purpose was to rectify the problem of no health care for the cigar workers. A social club already established in Tampa, El Centro Español de Tampa, made a brief but ultimately unsuccessful attempt at creating a health care system. Approval from the parent club in Havana for the new branch was crucial. Cigar manufacturers, local doctors and pharmacists had formed the Latin Medical Association to prevent the new club’s creation. The name of the club was official changed to The Centro Asturiano de Tampa, Inc. in 1968.
The Hospital
At a meeting on March 24, 1902, Dr. G.H. Altree volunteered to be medical director for the new club. He offered the use of his clinic and sanitarium to Centro members in need of medical attention. By 1903, the society had grown so large that hotel space was leased to keep up with the growing medical needs until the first Covandong Sanitarium was opened in 1905; it boasted 54 beds. In 1927, a Second Covadonga Hospital was opened. Keeping with the strongly CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
membership of the club, both buildings were named after the Virgin of Covadonga
Covadonga
Covadonga is a village and one of 11 parishes in Cangas de Onís, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northwestern Spain...
, when Our Lady Mary appeared in the 8th century, at the beginning of an extensive reconquest to free the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish rule.
In 1956, the Centro Asturiano Hospital, Inc was chartered and all facilities transferred to the new corporation. This was done so the hospital could qualify for federal funds and grants from private corporations.
Cemeteries
Two cemeteries were established for members of the Centro Asturiano and their families. The "Old" Centro Asturiano Cemetery was established in 1904 after the cemetery land was donated for the club's use by the city of Tampa. The club had inquired about the possibility of buying the land but it remains owned and maintained by the city. It is located in the Tampa HeightsTampa Heights (Tampa), Florida
Tampa Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits of Tampa that's situated in the central part of the city. As of the 2000 census, the neighborhood had a population of 16,393.-Description:...
neighborhood at the corner of North Ola and West Indiana Avenues, next to the city's Woodlawn Cemetery. Among the 601 interred at the Old Centro Asturiano Cemetery is club founder Antonio Gonzales Prado, who was buried there in 1904.
In 1942 the much larger Centro Asturiano Memorial Park was established. It is located along Tampa's eastern border, just outside city limits and immediately north of the Grant Park
Grant Park, Tampa, Florida
Grant Park is a neighborhood within the East Tampa district of Tampa. As of the 2000 census the neighborhood had a population of 1,313. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 33610 and 33619.-Geography:...
neighborhood at 5400 East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Here, over 2,300 deceased are buried or laid to rest in the mausoleum, which was added in 1970 and subsequently enlarged in 1998. Among them is U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez
Baldomero Lopez
Baldomero Lopez was a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for smothering a hand grenade with his own body during the Inchon Landing on September 15, 1950.-Biography:Lopez was born on August 23, 1925, in Tampa,...
, who gave his own life to save fellow soldiers during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, a sacrifice for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Lopez's valor is remembered with several monuments, including a state nursing home, a military resupply ship, and a nearby Seffner
Seffner, Florida
Seffner is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,467 at the 2000 census, although its ZIP codes , which boundaries extend beyond the ones given by the census and include the places of Mango and a portion of Thonotosassa, have...
school which are named in his honor, as well as an engraved memorial erected by the Centro Asturiano near the entrance to the Memorial Park Cemetery.
Now
Membership declined following the close of the hospital in 1990. The main focus of the club has shifted from medical care, its original purpose, to preserving the history of the club and its members and to a more social function.The current building, which has been in use since 1914, originally boasted a recreational floor, a floor largely devoted to study, and a party floor. The first floor hosted a gymnasium, a cantina for card, chess, and domino games (the space is now rented by an outside restaurant), a billiard room with five tables, and a three lane bowling alley that has been converted into a kitchen for the restaurant. The second floor holds offices for the club administrators, an extensive library, several reading and educational rooms, a smoking room, ladies parlor and dressing lounge and the auditorium and stage. The third floor houses the balcony of the theatre and a large ballroom. The ballroom was and still is, to a lesser extent, used for public dances that were a main social interaction between young club members or their children. Many of the current club members met their spouses at a dance at the Centro. The ballroom also houses private parties such as birthdays, wedding receptions, anniversaries, and many other celebrations. When the building was opened in 1914, the Tampa Daily Times ran an article on the architecture and features of the new club headquarters: “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” (May 16, 1914).
See also
- The Mutual Aid Societies of Ybor City
- El Centro Español de TampaEl Centro Espanol de TampaEl Centro Español de Tampa is a historic building in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, in the U.S. state of Florida. Built as an ethnic and cultural clubhouse in 1912, the red brick structure situated at 1526–1536 East 7th Avenue is today part of a shopping and entertainment complex...
- Circulo Cubano de TampaCirculo Cubano de TampaEl Circulo Cubano de Tampa is a historic site in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida. It is located at Palm Avenue and 14th Street. On November 15, 1972, it was added to the U.S...
- Ybor City Historic DistrictYbor City Historic DistrictThe Ybor City Historic District pronounce] is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District located in Tampa, Florida...
- Spanish AmericanSpanish AmericanA Spanish American is a citizen or resident of the United States whose ancestors originate from the southwestern European nation of Spain. Spanish Americans are the earliest European American group, with a continuous presence since 1565.-Immigration waves:...
External links
- Hillsborough County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
- Centro Asturiano de Tampa
- Centro Asturiano de Tampa Membership Records Photograph Collection at the University of South Florida Tampa Library
- Centro Asturiano de Tampa in Wikimapia
- Old Centro Asturiano Cemetery in Wikimapia
- Centro Asturiano Memorial Park Cemetery in Wikimapia