Vignettes of Tampa – Zack Street

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Vignettes of Tampa

Description: Vignettes of Tampa - Historically relevant found objects, pressed in sand and cast in glass panels, framed in steel garden trellis, and installed as a pedestrian streetscape enhancement on the Zack Street-Promenade of the Arts, Tampa. Designed in collaboration with landscape architects. Commissioned by the City of Tampa.

Location: The Zack Street Promenade of the Arts  Tampa, Florida

Size: 9' x 30' x 3"

Date: 2012

VIGNETTES of TAMPA provides respite for pedestrians with landscaping, seating & shade with my cast glass as the focal point. With my knowledge of the region, I gathered stories & artifacts from the community, museums & historical centers to tell a story of Tampa. In collaboration with area professionals Phil Graham Booth Landscape Architects, Social Section Solutions & Trimar Construction, our collective teamwork resulted in a unique and vibrant streetscape environment in the 100 block of Zack St; downtown Tampa.

This architectural landscape panel system utilizes my signature cast-glass design with historical imagery of Tampa depicting actual artifacts and the stories behind them. A theme which weaves throughout all three panels is the impact of the Hillsborough River and Tampa Bay waterways which the community together.

One panel includes imagery from Ybor City's flourishing cigar industry, historical icons of Tampa Theatre, University of Tampa minarets, and Gasparilla celebrations with coins, beads and key to the City. Another panel recognizes the steady presence of recreational sports, the legend of Jose Gaspar and the Platt Street Bridge.

A third panel features tiles honoring the city’s Spanish influence, early Native American roots, the Port of Tampa and the Jackson Rooming House at 851 Zack Street, renowned for being the city's only room and board hotel available to notable African American performers, such as Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles, who visited Tampa during the 1940s and 1950s.