Curtis Hixon Hall
Encyclopedia
Curtis Hixon Hall, located at 600 Ashley Drive, was an indoor sports arena
, convention center
, concert venue, and special events center built downtown
beside the Hillsborough River
in Tampa, Florida
. It was built in 1964 and torn down in 1993.
, who pushed for the construction of many public works projects around town. It was named for Curtis Hixon, the mayor of Tampa from 1943 until he died while still in office in 1956. Architect Norman Six designed the uniquely-shaped building in a modified Googie architecture
style.
events. It also hosted many different special events, including political speeches - Presidential candidate Richard Nixon
campaigned there in September 1968.
's basketball
teams and the ABA's Floridians.
Many boxing
and wrestling
cards were held there. One of the most important boxing matches was on April 24, 1971 when Bob Foster defended his Light Heavyweight Championship with a fifteen round unanimous decision over challenger Ray Anderson. Other notable fighters whom appeared at Curtis Hixon Hall were Tony Licata, Jimmy Dupree, Earnie Shavers
, Mark Frazie, Gene Wells, Walter White, Milton Owens, Woody Clark, Mike McKinney
, Mike Knight
, and many others.
(both solo and as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue
), David Bowie
, The Who
, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin
, KISS
, U2
, Derek and the Dominos
, Grateful Dead
, The Wailers, Ozzy Osbourne
, Rush
and Cat Stevens
, among many others.
Jimi Hendrix
played Curtis Hixon Hall twice in 1968, on August 16 and November 23. In between those dates, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
released their #1 charting album Electric Ladyland
.
Janis Joplin
was arrested by the Tampa Police for "obscenity" while playing a show with B.B. King and others in the hall on November 16, 1969.
Elvis Presley
played Curtis Hixon Hall in 1977, just months before his death.
In 1982, the J. Geils Band
was headlining a show at the hall; the opening act was a then-little known band from Ireland: U2
.
When the new and much bigger Tampa Convention Center
was built and with plans in the works for a new downtown sports arena (the eventual St. Pete Times Forum
), it became obvious that Curtis Hixon Hall had outlived its usefulness. Mayor Sandy Freedman and the city decided to tear down the building and replace it with Curtis Hixon Park. Demolition of the site began in 1993, and the park was dedicated in 1995. Aquamarine-colored tiles from the hall were set into each bench at the park.
The site was again redeveloped in the late 2000s, as a new Tampa Museum of Art
and the Glazer Childrens Museum both opened in 2010 on the site of the old Curtis Hixon Hall. The adjacent area immediately to the south became a redesigned Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
, convention center
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
, concert venue, and special events center built downtown
Downtown Tampa
Image:Tampa_Skyline.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Downtown Tampa looking from the Hillsborough Riverpoly 2403 537 2441 500 2488 483 2516 455 2566 439 2597 410 2649 390 2682 358 2803 315 2949 342 2956 362 3068 383 3074 406 3202 431 3204 447 3332 473 3350 484 3485 1616 2446 1587 Wachovia Centerpoly 1745 1216...
beside the Hillsborough River
Hillsborough River (Florida)
The Hillsborough River is a river located in the state of Florida in the USA. It arises in the Green Swamp near the juncture of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties, and flows through Pasco and Hillsborough Counties to an outlet in the city of Tampa on Tampa Bay. The name Hillsborough River first...
in Tampa, Florida
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....
. It was built in 1964 and torn down in 1993.
Construction
Curtis Hixon Hall was built in 1965 during the administration of Tampa mayor Nick NuccioNick Nuccio
Mayor of Tampa 1956-1959, 1963-1967Nick Chillura Nuccio was a two-time mayor of Tampa, Florida in the 1950s and 60s...
, who pushed for the construction of many public works projects around town. It was named for Curtis Hixon, the mayor of Tampa from 1943 until he died while still in office in 1956. Architect Norman Six designed the uniquely-shaped building in a modified Googie architecture
Googie architecture
Googie architecture is a form of modern architecture, a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture and the Space and Atomic Ages....
style.
Events
Curtis Hixon Hall held a maximum of about 6000-7000 people, though it could be modified to many different seating configurations as needed. The hall hosted conventions and trade shows, parties and New Year's Eve dances, and annual Gasparilla-relatedGasparilla Pirate Festival
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is an annual celebration held in the city of Tampa, Florida. Held each year in late January and hosted by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and the City of Tampa, it celebrates the apocryphal legend of José Gaspar , supposedly a Spanish pirate captain who operated in...
events. It also hosted many different special events, including political speeches - Presidential candidate Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
campaigned there in September 1968.
Sports
Curtis Hixon Hall could also be set up to host various sporting events. It was the 1st home of the University of South FloridaUniversity of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams and the ABA's Floridians.
Many boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
cards were held there. One of the most important boxing matches was on April 24, 1971 when Bob Foster defended his Light Heavyweight Championship with a fifteen round unanimous decision over challenger Ray Anderson. Other notable fighters whom appeared at Curtis Hixon Hall were Tony Licata, Jimmy Dupree, Earnie Shavers
Earnie Shavers
Earnie Dee Shaver , better known as Earnie Shavers, is an American former professional boxer and is widely considered along with George Foreman as the hardest punchers of all time...
, Mark Frazie, Gene Wells, Walter White, Milton Owens, Woody Clark, Mike McKinney
Mike McKinney
Mike McKinney was a professional USA light heavyweight boxer from Tampa, Florida. McKinney was a club fighter who was employed as a construction worker....
, Mike Knight
Mike Knight
Mike Knight was a professional USA light-heavyweight boxer from Tampa, Florida. Knight boxed amateur from 1971–1981 and won several amateur titles, including 1973 Florida State Junior Olympic Champion - 156 lbs., 1978 USAFE Champion - 178 lbs., 1978 South Texas AAU Champion -...
, and many others.
Music
Curtis Hixon Hall served as the site for many concerts, as it was the primary Tampa venue for major touring performers of the late 1960s and 1970s. Many of the top bands and musical performers played the hall during that era: Bob DylanBob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
(both solo and as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue
Rolling Thunder Revue
The Rolling Thunder Revue was a famed U.S. concert tour consisting of a traveling caravan of musicians, headed by Bob Dylan, that took place in late 1975 and early 1976; the prevailing theory was that the tour was named after the Native American shaman Rolling Thunder. Others maintained that tour...
), David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos were a blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends...
, Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, The Wailers, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
and Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
, among many others.
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
played Curtis Hixon Hall twice in 1968, on August 16 and November 23. In between those dates, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
released their #1 charting album Electric Ladyland
Electric Ladyland
Electric Ladyland is the third and final album of new material by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in October 1968 on Reprise Records, catalogue 2RS 6307. It is the only Hendrix studio album professionally produced under his supervision. It topped the Billboard 200 album chart for two weeks in...
.
Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
was arrested by the Tampa Police for "obscenity" while playing a show with B.B. King and others in the hall on November 16, 1969.
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
played Curtis Hixon Hall in 1977, just months before his death.
In 1982, the J. Geils Band
J. Geils Band
The J. Geils Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Worcester, Massachusetts, best known for its 1981 single, "Centerfold" which charted #1 in the U.S. in early 1982. The band played R&B-influenced blues-rock in the 1970s before moving towards a more pop-influenced sound in the 1980s...
was headlining a show at the hall; the opening act was a then-little known band from Ireland: U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
.
Decline and demolition
Curtis Hixon Hall was outdated by the mid-1980s, and was regulated to hosting smaller events such as high school graduations while most concerts shifted to places like the newly-built USF Sun Dome, the classic Tampa Theater, and other venues in the area.When the new and much bigger Tampa Convention Center
Tampa Convention Center
The Tampa Convention Center is a mid-sized convention center located in Downtown Tampa, Florida. Its location has both waterfront views and views of the skyline. In 2006, a 20-story Embassy Suites hotel opened next door, with a skybridge connecting it to the convention center. Harbour Island is...
was built and with plans in the works for a new downtown sports arena (the eventual St. Pete Times Forum
St. Pete Times Forum
The St. Pete Times Forum is an arena in Tampa, Florida, that has been used for ice hockey, basketball, and arena football games, as well as concerts....
), it became obvious that Curtis Hixon Hall had outlived its usefulness. Mayor Sandy Freedman and the city decided to tear down the building and replace it with Curtis Hixon Park. Demolition of the site began in 1993, and the park was dedicated in 1995. Aquamarine-colored tiles from the hall were set into each bench at the park.
The site was again redeveloped in the late 2000s, as a new Tampa Museum of Art
Tampa Museum of Art
The Tampa Museum of Art is located in Downtown Tampa, Florida. The museum exhibits 20th-century fine art, as well as Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. It opened in 1979 on the banks of Hillsborough River.- Museum History :...
and the Glazer Childrens Museum both opened in 2010 on the site of the old Curtis Hixon Hall. The adjacent area immediately to the south became a redesigned Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.