Latest news with #HowardFrankland
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A new Howard Frankland Bridge opens soon. People once protested the original span.
When the idea for a third bridge across Tampa Bay first bubbled up before the start of World War II, many objected. The Courtney Campbell Causeway, originally called the Ben T. Davis Causeway, already linked Tampa and Clearwater. The Gandy crossed from Tampa to St. Petersburg. The toll operators that dominated both existing bridges didn't like the idea of a third thoroughfare pulling away competition. Locals in the late 1930s also lamented the cost, saying another way across the water would be a waste of taxpayer money. Some called it 'a blow to private investment' and 'a hindrance to navigation.' Others, according to Times archives, even worried about 'a tidal obstruction that could convert large areas into mud flats.' By 1939, the idea was dead. Then a tire salesman named W. Howard Frankland came around and changed some minds. The bridge that bears his name finally opened on Jan. 15, 1960. While we wait for the newest span of the bridge Tampa Bay knows so well, here's a look back at the history. Frankland was born in Tennessee as the son of a horse buggy salesman. He moved to Tampa in 1925, where he founded Pioneer Tire and Rubber Products Inc. He spent some time as a banker and also was named Gasparilla king in 1950. Frankland was a member of the State Road Board when he proposed a new bridge to cross Tampa Bay in 1953, reviving the idea that had failed more than a decade before. The bridge would be a path for beachgoers to reach the white sands of Pinellas County, and then carry families back over to shop in Tampa. When the Howard Frankland Bridge finally opened in 1960, locals hoped it would fix a problem the area is dealing with currently: a 'population explosion.' 'Our growth has been breathtaking,' wrote a then-St. Petersburg Times columnist in January 1960. 'New housing has gone up at a rate even the most optimistic persons would've regarded as fantastic 10 years ago; this has been accompanied by extensive commercial development — palmetto scrub fields have been turned into shopping centers, multi-million dollar manufacturing plants have been erected, hotels and motels have been constructed and improved." Even though the Gandy Bridge had already gotten a second span at that point, raising the number of lanes to four, it wasn't enough to carry all of the people that flowed back and forth between Hillsborough and Pinellas. As people stewed in traffic on the Gandy, one St. Petersburg Times columnist wrote in 1960 that the sight of another bridge being constructed across the water 'offered promise of true relief.' Frankland's name was bestowed upon the structure as a thank you for his advocacy. The opening day celebrations weren't as flashy as those for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1954, which included a nationwide naming contest and 'bridge beauty' models to represent various nearby counties. But there was still fanfare. Then-Governor LeRoy Collins delivered an address before leading a line of more than 1,000 motorists over the bridge from Tampa to St. Petersburg and back. Frankland's wife delivered a dedication to the structure and his young grandchildren cut the ribbon. Frankland's four brothers traveled from across the country for a special family reunion. Newspaper columns following the event mostly praised the bridge, which not only provided a new way to get around but would also link Tampa to the national interstate system. But one headline in the Tampa Tribune provided foreshadowing that won't surprise any locals reading this today: 'Traffic jams new bridge.' Information from the Tampa Bay Times archive was used in this story.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What's in a Name: Howard Frankland Bridge and Lowry Park
The Brief Howard Frankland was a prominent businessman who proposed building the bridge to connect Tampa to Pinellas County. Frankland paved the way as construction began in June 1957 and the bridge was completed in April 1960, becoming the fourth and final span across Tampa Bay. TAMPA, Fla. - When it comes to having a road named after you, sometimes it helps if you just own the right plot of land – such was the case with Howard Frankland in the 1950s. "When I-4, which is now the path of I-275, was cutting across west Tampa and was going to go across Tampa Bay, they needed to acquire land, and then they needed to build a bridge," says Tampa Bay History Center historian Rodney Kite-Powell. The backstory Howard Frankland owned the property on the Tampa side of the proposed bridge. He was also a prominent businessman in town, and owned Pioneer Tires. "It just made a lot of logic, given his stature in the community and his ownership of the property adjacent to the bridge, that it would be called the Howard Frankland Bridge," says Kite-Powell. Construction began in June 1957 and the bridge was completed in April 1960, becoming the fourth and final span across Tampa Bay. In some cases, when it comes to naming landmarks, it helps to be the "man with the plan", like Dr. Sumter de Leon Lowry. His main job was owner of an insurance company. But he was also a Tampa City commissioner for three consecutive terms in the 1920s. READ: What's in a name: Gandy Bridge Lowry saw a big opportunity on a large parcel of land west of the Hillsborough River, just opposite of Sulphur Springs. Originally slated to be a cemetery, the land sat vacant for years. "The city wanted to have a larger park and a zoo. And since it was Lowry who initiated the idea of having the park space, they went ahead and named it for him," says Kite-Powell. In the late 1920s, Lowry Park got its first zoo and, during the Great Depression, it was home to a work camp. The attraction "Fairyland" opened in the park in 1957. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Corey Beckman. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
