From Saloons to Steak Houses, livre ebook

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.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Boom Town on the Florida Frontier

Chapter 1. The Sunday Wars: Saloons and Recreation

Chapter 2. “Some of the Soldiers Did all Their Fighting in Tampa”: The Spanish-American War

Chapter 3. Theater of Shadows: Vice, Corruption, and Indecency

Chapter 4. Collective Action: Soup Houses, Boycotts, and Cooperatives

Chapter 5. War, Fear, and Bread during World War I

Chapter 6. The Noble Disaster: Prohibition and Speakeasies

Chapter 7. Jook Joints, World War II, and “Venereal Disease”

Chapter 8. A Steak House in the Sky: Bartke’s and the 1950s

Chapter 9. A Seat at the Nation’s Table: Lunch Counter Integration

Chapter 10. Mourning Las Novedades: Tales of Urban Renewal

Conclusion

Bibliography

Notes

Index