Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Cigar Workers Park by JC Newman

 

What:                    Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Cigar Workers Park

When:                   Tuesday, January 23 at 2:00 p.m.

Where:                  J.C. Newman Cigar Co., 2701 N. 16th Street, Tampa, FL 33605

Who:                     Mayor Jane Castor, Congresswoman Kathy Castor, and the Newman Family

Please join Mayor Castor, Congresswoman Castor, and the Newman Family as they cut the ribbon and open Cigar Workers Park, a new green space in Ybor City. This park is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of people who have worked in Tampa’s cigar industry since 1886.

 Cigars are a handcrafted, labor-intensive product and are very difficult to roll well. It is because of the hard work, dedication, and craftsmanship of Tampa’s cigar workers that Tampa’s cigar industry became so successful. Yet, Tampa’s cigar workers have toiled in anonymity. The Newman family built this new park to honor and thank the generations of cigar workers who made Tampa famous.  

 The design of Cigar Workers Park honors Tampa’s cigar tradition. The fountain in the center was formed with wood from a pre-Civil War tobacco barn in Quincy, Florida. That wood also adorns the park’s pavilion. The park features tradition Ybor City hexagonal pavers as well as authentic reclaimed Tampa bricks from the 1880s. The park is also home to J.C. Newman’s bat houses, which are home to the bat colony relocated from the Sanchez y Haya building across the street.