Beach Park is a waterfront neighborhood in South Tampa, on the west side of the Interbay Peninsula along Old Tampa Bay, about 6 miles by road west of downtown Tampa. It runs south from Kennedy Boulevard between the bay and Lois Avenue, with West Shore Boulevard through its middle, and it takes in the canal-front streets of Beach Park Isles. What sets it apart is its large lots and winding, oak-shaded streets, where 1920s Mediterranean Revival homes stand beside newer custom houses, with the Westshore business district just across Kennedy Boulevard.
Living in Beach Park
Beach Park was platted in 1924 as "Beach Park on the Bay," one of the subdivisions of the Florida land boom. The land had once belonged to Col. Harry C. Culbreath, who bought acreage on the bay after the Civil War. The developers, led by T. Roy Young, laid out man-made canals and bayous alongside curving roads instead of a straight grid. That plan still shapes the neighborhood on streets such as Bayside Drive, Shore Crest Circle, Royal Poinciana Drive, Sandpiper Road and West Beach Park Drive. Development followed three road projects of the era: Memorial Highway to the north, the Gandy Bridge to the south, and West Shore Boulevard connecting them.
Parks, water and things to do in Beach Park
The neighborhood's western edge is Old Tampa Bay. Cypress Point Park, about a mile north across Kennedy Boulevard at 5620 W. Cypress Street, is the nearest public beach. The city park has a white-sand beach on Tampa Bay, paved and unpaved shaded trails, a disc golf course, a sand volleyball court, a playground and picnic shelters you can reserve. A self-service station rents stand-up paddleboards by the hour. The beach sits under the approach to Tampa International Airport, so planes pass low overhead as they land.
Shopping, dining and getting around
Beach Park borders Westshore, Tampa's main business district, which has more than 11 million square feet of office space, 32 hotels and over 200 restaurants and entertainment venues. WestShore Plaza is under a mile north, and International Plaza and Bay Street is about 2 miles north. Kennedy Boulevard, on the neighborhood's northern edge, is a direct route east to downtown Tampa, about 6 miles by road. Tampa International Airport is about 4 miles away by road. Heading south, West Shore Boulevard reaches Gandy Boulevard and the Gandy Bridge to St. Petersburg in about 3 miles.
Homes in Beach Park
The original homes followed styles popular in Florida and California in the 1920s: Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Revival and Italianate. After World War II, ranch homes with attached garages filled many of the remaining lots, and in recent decades new custom homes have joined both. Lots are very large by South Tampa standards. Waterfront homes include bayfront properties on Old Tampa Bay and canal-front homes in Beach Park Isles, while the interior streets are shaded by mature oaks.
