South Tampa is the southern part of the city of Tampa in Hillsborough County, covering the Interbay Peninsula south of Kennedy Boulevard between Hillsborough Bay and Old Tampa Bay, down to MacDill Air Force Base. Its northern neighborhoods sit about 1.5 miles from downtown Tampa across the Hillsborough River, and Dale Mabry Highway, Bayshore Boulevard, Gandy Boulevard and the Selmon Expressway are its main routes. It is defined by water on both sides, early 20th-century neighborhoods of brick streets and oaks, and the 4.5-mile sidewalk along Bayshore Boulevard.
Neighborhoods in South Tampa
South Tampa is not a separate city but a group of neighborhoods inside Tampa city limits, Davis Islands included. Hyde Park and SoHo sit closest to downtown. Palma Ceia, Golfview, Parkland Estates and Virginia Park fill the middle of the peninsula, Bayshore Beautiful and Ballast Point line southern Bayshore Boulevard, and Beach Park, Culbreath and Sunset Park face Old Tampa Bay near Westshore. Below Gandy Boulevard are Interbay, Port Tampa City and the Westshore Marina District.
Parks, water and recreation in South Tampa
Bayshore Boulevard's 10-foot-wide sidewalk follows the seawall about 4.5 miles from Columbus Statue Park at Platt Street to Gandy Boulevard. It has bronze trail markers at each mile, plus an on-road bike lane on the northbound side from Rome Avenue to Gandy. Its white balustrade dates to Works Progress Administration work in the 1930s. At the southwest tip of the peninsula, Picnic Island Park in Port Tampa City has a sand beach, a gated dog beach, a fishing pier, disc golf, a kayak launch and a boat ramp open 24 hours. Ballast Point Park on Hillsborough Bay has another 24-hour boat ramp, a splash pad and picnic shelters, though its pier is closed for repairs. Davis Islands adds a public beach with an off-leash dog area and the private Davis Island Yacht Club.
Shopping, dining and getting around South Tampa
Hyde Park Village is an open-air district of boutiques, restaurants and fitness studios centered on Swann and Rome avenues. It holds a Fresh Market of more than 80 vendors on the first Sunday of each month. A few blocks west, SoHo lines South Howard Avenue with restaurants and bars, and the Palma Ceia Design District at MacDill Avenue and Bay to Bay Boulevard has boutiques and cafes. Davis Islands has a walkable village along East Davis Boulevard. Dale Mabry Highway and West Shore Boulevard lead north to Westshore and Tampa International Airport, about 5 miles from Hyde Park. Gandy Boulevard crosses the Gandy Bridge to St. Petersburg, and the Selmon Expressway begins at Gandy and runs through Hyde Park toward downtown.
Homes in South Tampa
The housing stock spans more than a century. Hyde Park's historic district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, holds Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman homes. Beach Park and Bayshore Beautiful have original Mediterranean-style homes on generous lots. Ranch homes are common in Virginia Park, Culbreath and below Gandy Boulevard, and new custom construction, townhomes and condominium towers mix in throughout. Waterfront homes sit on both bays: bayfront lots in Beach Park and Sunset Park, canal-front lots with docks in Culbreath Isles (a gated, deed-restricted neighborhood), and seawalled lots on Davis Islands. Homes on Bayshore Boulevard face Hillsborough Bay across the road and its public sidewalk.
