Ybor City is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, Florida. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba, Spain, and Italy.
The Ybor City smuggling tunnels are perhaps one of the greatest urban legends in Tampa, miles of tunnels underneath the city are rumored to have been used during the prohibition era to move liquor between speakeasies as well as to smuggle Chinese women to be sold into prostitution.
There’s no doubt that tunnels do exist under Ybor City but their purpose is highly debated. The most common belief is that bootleggers or the Tampa mafia dug the tunnels under many of the establishments along the Ybor City’s main drag, connecting them to the port allowing easy smuggling of shipments of liquor in and out of the city.
KD: Certain objects/things are rather predictable. Not at all surprised to see these tunnels. What I am surprised with, is how few places have researchable "true" history in Florida when compared to other states. On the surface (only on the surface), only three cities attract attention: Pensacola (former capitol of the West Florida), Saint Augustine (former capitol of the East Florida) and Jacksonville. All these cities are located up North. The southern half of Florida looks pretty dull. It appears that Florida was borderline annihilated during whatever happened in the first half of the 19th century (well may be between 1775 and 1850).
The Ybor City smuggling tunnels are perhaps one of the greatest urban legends in Tampa, miles of tunnels underneath the city are rumored to have been used during the prohibition era to move liquor between speakeasies as well as to smuggle Chinese women to be sold into prostitution.
There’s no doubt that tunnels do exist under Ybor City but their purpose is highly debated. The most common belief is that bootleggers or the Tampa mafia dug the tunnels under many of the establishments along the Ybor City’s main drag, connecting them to the port allowing easy smuggling of shipments of liquor in and out of the city.
KD: Certain objects/things are rather predictable. Not at all surprised to see these tunnels. What I am surprised with, is how few places have researchable "true" history in Florida when compared to other states. On the surface (only on the surface), only three cities attract attention: Pensacola (former capitol of the West Florida), Saint Augustine (former capitol of the East Florida) and Jacksonville. All these cities are located up North. The southern half of Florida looks pretty dull. It appears that Florida was borderline annihilated during whatever happened in the first half of the 19th century (well may be between 1775 and 1850).
- In my neck of the woods (Sarasota County) it's pretty boring from the stolen history perspective.