Which historical buildings do Pam Iorio, Rick Baker wish they had back?
May 7, 2009 at 12:04 pm by Wayne Garcia
They are an unlikely pair: She’s a lifelong Democrat, and he’s a conservative Republican. Their cities are known for decades of feuding and rivalries, a history that seems remote in these days of regionalism. But Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker both share a passion for history; Iorio was a 
history major at USF and earned her master’s in the subject, while Baker has written his own history of St. Petersburg.
In “A Tale of Two Cities,” a forum held last night at the historic Centro Asturiano building between downtown Tampa and Ybor City, Baker and Iorio showed off their historian chops in front of a crowd of a few hundred people. USF historians Gary Mormino and Ray Arsenault moderated.
I was asked to join La Gaceta publisher Patrick Manteiga and St. Petersburg Times columnist Ernest Hooper in questioning the two mayors on historical matters, and I asked both: What one historical building that no longer exists in your city would you like to have back, and why?
Their answers, and pictures of those two buildings, after the jump:
Pam Iorio chose the moorish former Hillsborough County Courthouse. Designed by J.A. Wood, the same architect who did the brilliant onion-skin domes on the Tampa Bay Hotel (today’s Plant Hall at the University of Tampa), it stood from 1892 until 1949, when it was stupidly knocked down and a new nondescript courthouse built.
For Baker, whose town has done a much better job of preserving its architectural treasures (see: Vinoy), it was the Florida Theatre, the city’s first air-conditioned cinema and the location for a 1956 Elvis Presley concert.
If you are a history buff or just want to join in on the discussion, the sponsoring Florida Humanities Council has a blog on the subject. It also plans to stream some or all of Wednesday night’s program. When I get details on that I will update.
