Curtis Hixon Hall
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Curtis Hixon Hall, located at 600 Ashley Drive, was an indoor sports arena, convention center, concert venue, and special events center built downtown beside the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. It was built in 1964 and torn down in 1993
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[edit] Construction
Curtis Hixon Hall was built in 1965 during the administration of Tampa mayor Nick Nuccio, who pushed for the construction of many public works projects around town.[1] It was named for Curtis Hixon, the mayor of Tampa from 1943 until he died while still in office in 1956.[2] Architect Norman Six designed the uniquely-shaped building in a modified Googie architecture style.
[edit] Events
Curtis Hixon Hall held a maximum of about 6000-7000 people, though it could be modified to many different seating configurations as needed. The hall hosted conventions and trade shows, parties and New Year's Eve dances, and many Gasparilla-related events. It could be set up to host various sporting events and was the 1st home of home of the University of South Florida's basketball teams and the ABA's Floridians.
The hall hosted many different special events, from boxing and wrestling cards to political speeches - Presidential candidate Richard Nixon campaigned there in September of 1968. [3]
[edit] Music
Curtis Hixon Hall served as the site for many concerts, as it was the primary Tampa venue for major touring performers of the late 1960s and 1970s. The list of bands and performers who played the hall reads like a musical honor roll of that era - David Bowie, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Derek and the Dominos, The Grateful Dead, and Cat Stevens are among the many acts who played there in their prime.
Jimi Hendrix played Curtis Hixon Hall twice in 1968, on August 16 and November 23 [4]. In between those dates, the Jimi Hendrix Experience released their #1 charting album Electric Ladyland. Janis Joplin was arrested by the Tampa Police for "obscenity" while playing a show with B.B. King and others in the hall on November 16, 1969.[5] And Elvis Presley played Curtis Hixon Hall in 1977, just months before his death.[6]
[edit] Decline and demolition
Curtis Hixon Hall was outdated by the mid-1980s, and was regulated to hosting smaller events such as high school graduations while most concerts shifted to places like the newly-built USF Sun Dome, the classic Tampa Theater, and other venues in the area.
When the new and much bigger Tampa Convention Center was built and with plans in the works for a new downtown sports arena (the eventual St. Pete Times Forum), it became obvious that Curtis Hixon Hall had outlived its usefulness. Mayor Sandy Freedman and the city decided to tear down the building and replace it with Curtis Hixon Park. Demolition of the site began in 1993, and the park was dedicated in 1995. Aquamarine-colored tiles from the hall were set into each bench at the park.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Tampa set to tackle fate of Curtis Hixon St. Petersburg Times
