Davis Islands, Tampa, Florida

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Palace of Florence Apartments on Davis Islands

Davis Islands is a Tampa neighborhood and archipelago made of two islands in Hillsborough County, Florida. Its close proximity to Downtown Tampa and its views of the port of Tampa make it a popular area to live. The population was 5,436 at the 2000 census. [1]

[edit] History

Davis Island was built upon two man made islands atop two small natural islands formerly known as "Little Grassy Key" and "Big Grassy Key" at the mouth of the Hillsborough River. The islands were built up from mud dredged from the bottom of Tampa Bay in the 1920's and expanded. This dredge and fill operation was undertaken at the height of the Florida Land Boom by developer and Tampa native D. P. Davis.

Many of the original Mediterranean structures are still standing, and have received national Historic Designation, as well as local protections. Buildings of note include the Palace of Florence and Mirasol. Today Davis Island is a mix of residential and retail areas.

[edit] About Davis Island

Davis Island is also home to Peter O. Knight Airport, Davis Island Yacht Club, and Tampa General Hospital. Also on the Islands are the Marjorie Park Municipal Yacht Basin & Marjorie Park at 115 Columbia Drive and the Seaplane Basin just South of the Airport. Marjorie Park was donated to the City of Tampa and named by Davis after his wife Marjorie Merritt Davis.

With a canal fully separating a portion of the island from the rest of it, Davis Islands is technically an archipelago, hence the plural form "Islands" it its name. Originally, Davis Islands consisted of three islands. With the construction of the airport, however, the end of one canal was filled in to make enough land area for a runway, connecting the two largest islands at their southern ends and reducing the archipelago's island count to two.

Nearly all streets on the island are named after bodies of water or islands. They are loosely arranged in alphabetical order starting with Adalia Ave. (the first street crossed after arriving on the island from the only bridge that connects it to the mainland) and ending with Severn Ave., the street farthest away from the bridge that leads to the main island's southernmost point, on which the Davis Island Yacht Club is situated.