EL CENTRO ASTURIANO DE TAMPA

Spanish immigrants from the province of Asturias formed the Centro Asturiano de Tampa in 1902 as a mutual aid society dedicated to meeting the recreational, social and medical needs of its members. In an effort to broaden the concept of cooperative medicine, the club operated a hospital, El Sanatorio del Centro Asturiano, until its closing in 1988. The society built the present three-story yellow brick and stone building on the corner of Palm and Nebraska Avenues in 1914 after a fire destroyed the original club house building. Designed in the Neo-Classical style, the building features stylized classical columns and a sweeping stone staircase leading to the main entrance. Major interior spaces include a grand theater, ballroom, and cantina with a 50-foot onyx bar. With a membership open to all Latins, El Centro Asturiano quickly became the center of Spanish theater and opera hosting some of the finest opera performers in the nation. The National Register of Historic Places listed the Centro Asturiano building in 1974.