Centro Asturiano de Tampa

Centro Asturiano de Tampa is a historic social club and event venue in Tampa, Florida. It was founded in 1902 by a group of 546 immigrants from the province of Asturias, Spain, as one of the city's first mutual aid societies and a branch of the original club established in Havana, Cuba. Historically, membership included hospital benefits, cemetery benefits and health insurance, with the purpose of taking care of members from cradle to grave. Its Renaissance Mediterranean-style building now hosts weddings, parties, celebrations, corporate functions, and galas, and the organization offers history tours and memberships.

In the late 1880s, immigrants who came to the Americas from Spain were largely bachelors or, if married, came unaccompanied and sent for their families after earning sufficient funds for their passage. Consequently, there were a large number of Spaniards who had no one to care for them if they became ill or unable to work. Cuba was a Spanish possession until 1898 and Havana was the destination for many immigrants from Asturias, a province in northern Spain on the Bay of Biscay. In Havana, there existed organizations representing other regions in Spain such as Galicia, Cataluña and Castilla. On May 2, 1886, Centro Asturiano de La Habana was formed to provide medical assistance for the collective benefit of its members. Immigration from Cuba was not as restricted as it was from Europe. When the cigar industry came to Ybor City, there was a wave of immigration from Havana, where many had been employed in cigar manufacturing. In 1902, a group of 546 immigrants from the province of Asturias founded the Centro Asturiano de Tampa, one of the city's first mutual aid societies and a branch of the original club established in Havana, Cuba. Centro Asturiano began in a two-room, wood-frame building on Seventh Avenue. Membership rapidly grew and the club moved to an impressive new building at the corner of Palm and Nebraska. When a fire destroyed the club, a beautiful three-story yellow brick and stone building in the Renaissance Mediterranean style was built in its place for $110,000. It still stands today as an iconic piece of Tampa's history. The entrance featured a sweeping stone staircase and the sides of the building were adorned with traditional Doric columns, round-arch windows and stone balustrades surrounding the roof.

Historic venue and social club rooted in Asturian immigrant heritage in Tampa.

• Tampañito Onesie

• Tampañito Shirt

• Centro Ornament

• Centro Asturiano Long Sleeve

• Centro Asturiano Cards

• Centro Asturiano Tile

• Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld

• 1902 Hat

• Tampeño T-Shirt

• Tampeña T-Shirt

• Centro Asturiano Logo T-Shirt - Unisex

1. 1Event Venue | Centro Asturiano de Tampa | Tampa, Flcentroasturianotampa.org
2. 2History Tours | Centro Asturiano de Tampacentroasturianotampa.org
3. 3History | Centro Asturiano de Tampacentroasturianotampa.org
4. 4All Products | Centro Asturiano de Tampacentroasturianotampa.org