From Saloons to Steak Houses: A History of Tampa

by Andrew T Huse

Since its early days as a boomtown on the Florida frontier, Tampa has had a lively history rich with commerce, cuisine, and working-class communities. In From Saloons to Steak Houses, Andrew Huse takes readers on a journey into historic bars, theaters, gambling halls, soup kitchens, clubs, and restaurants, telling the story of Tampa's past through these fascinating social spaces--many of which can't be found in official histories. Beginning with the founding of modern Tampa in 1887 and spanning a century, Huse delves into the culture of the city and traces the struggles that have played out in public spaces. He describes temperance advocates who crusaded against saloons and breweries, cigar workers on strike who depended on soup houses for survival, and civil rights activists who staged sit-ins at lunch counters. These stories are set amid themes such as the emergence of Tampa's criminal underworld, the rise of anti-German fear during World War I, and the heady power of prosperity and tourism in the 1950s. Huse draws from local newspaper stories and firsthand accounts to show what authorities and city residents saw and believed about these establishments and the people who frequented them. This unique take on Tampa history reveals a spirited city at work and play, an important cultural hub that continues to both celebrate and come to terms with its many legacies.

336 pages, Hardcover

Published April 28, 2020

Reviews

[Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for work and I am shocked that it was able to surprise and educate me a proud and informed Tampa native (I had no idea of the history of sit ins in Tampa or what happened to the German American club). I highly recommend this book for a the history of such a unique city!

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Tampa resident I enjoyed the book. There is an honest telling of the "Wild West" experience of the beginning of the city. The author depicts this corrupt history and includes hopeful and constructive characters with embedded quotes/personal stories.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Saloons to Steakhouses:  A History of Tampa.  Andrew T. Huse.  University Press of Florida, 2024.  338 pages.



This is, hands down, the best history of Tampa and one of the best histories of Florida that I've read so far.  What's not to like when an author combines food and history?  Modern Tampa was founded in 1887, a rough and wild frontier town.  Yes, people often forget, or were never aware, that the bulk of non-indigenous settlement of Florida took place late in the19th century, and "pioneers" were moving into the state and carving out homesteads well into the first quarter of the 20th century.  Tampa was a frontier town, drawing homesteaders and cowboys, before it was discovered by developers, and then really started booming when it became of the headquarters of US military forces during the Spanish-American War and cigar factories started attracting Cuban, Spanish, and Italian workers.  It was a wild and crazy place that was, if not totally lawless, at least law-challenged.  Saloons, bars, gambling halls, and theatres sprung up for entertainment.  There was lots of money to be made, especially for the proprietors of these establishments and for the politicians and lawmen that they paid to look out for their interests.  Huse uses newspaper stories and firsthand accounts to tell the city's story over the century, describing "temperance advocates who crusaded against saloons and breweries, cigar workers on strike who depended on soup houses for survival, and civil rights activists who staged sit-ins at lunch counters. These stories are set amid themes such as the emergence of Tampa’s criminal underworld, the rise of anti-German fear during World War I, and the heady power of prosperity and tourism in the 1950s." (from Amazon blurb)  It is thoroughly entertaining and enlightening.

[Greg Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. Living in Tampa for college, I never knew the wild history of this amazing city. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good bit of entertaining history. I actually find history quite boring, but this book was written in a very compelling and interesting way so I really never got tired of it.

[Charles Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: Author Andy Huse is a well known acquaintance, so I was disposed to like his excellent social history of Tampa. (Update: Sadly Andy died suddenly, very recently.) Even with that disclaimer, this is an excellent book that I thoroughly enjoyed. My graduate advisor, Dr. Roy Rosenzweig (George Mason University), a noted social historian himself, would have praised this work as exceptional

I doubt that general readers will pick up the book, but if you have any interest in how a good social history inquiry can deepen your understanding of history, this will do quite nicely. I'm a student of Tampa Bay history, and I was amazed at how much I gained in understanding Tampa's history through this work.

I was struck, in particular, on how the traditional fault lines of race, class, ethnicity, religion, etc. are still with us in this difficult time. The players may be slightly different, but the divisions are still apparent, and seemingly as ascendant today as they were in much of Tampa's history. Of course, if you look for progress in these areas over the years, you'll surely find it in Tampa and in any place in America. But too many things still divide us, seemingly deeply. It doesn't help how one feels about the fault lines of today, but at least some solace can be gained that today's divisiveness isn't new. (Yet, again, maybe no solace can be taken.)

I'm going to recommend this book to my history friends who haven't yet read it. It's an amazing study that's well worth a read. I got this from the library, but I need my own copy as there is much that a historian will want to return to.