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Fourteen years ago this week, the splash zone, tot lot, and other upgrades at Ballast Point Park officially opened (check out the city’s 2012 opening day YouTube video). This park’s structures have actually gone through a lot of changes that started over 130 years ago, in 1892, with the construction of the Ballast Point Pavilion and dock, which had a Japanese-inspired architecture (pictured below in 1911).

In those early years, the park was privately owned and named “Jules Verne Park” after the owner’s favorite author, whose novel, “From the Earth to the Moon”, chose “Tampa Town, Florida” as the launch site for an imaginary rocket. The park was renamed to a less literary, yet more literal meaning, “Ballast Point Park” in 1903. It had many good years until an unnamed major hurricane in 1921 destroyed the docks and part of the pavilion, as seen below:

Only the building was repaired, not the docks. But just two years later, a fire destroyed part of it. This triggered the Japanese pavilion to be demolished and rebuilt in 1925 as a much smaller, sturdier-looking Mediterranean Revival structure with its now-famous long pier with two pavilions on it.

Strangely, the online history of Ballast Point’s structures has an 87-year gap after 1925. But that Mediterranean building definitely isn’t the one that Leons Lobstah Shack is in today. How many other buildings have been been in this spot in the last 100 years?

➡️ Let us know if you know of other buildings here between the Mediterranean Revival and present, and we’ll cover it in a future Ballast Point history section.

P.S. Can you believe YouTube is old enough to be cited in a history section?! It actually turned 21 this year.

“Afternoon tea” is the British tradition of eating a tiered tray of scones with jams, finger sandwiches, petit fours, and mini desserts with a pot of tea. But William Dean Chocolates in Midtown goes one step further by adding their handmade chocolate bon bons! They only offer afternoon tea by prior arrangement on Saturdays and Sundays, so it’s a bit of a secret option. For maximum fun, dress up in English garden party attire with hats and fascinators.

Speaking of tea, if you haven’t tried Jasmine Dragon Pearls green tea, I highly recommend it. If you think you don’t like green tea, this is the one that might convince you otherwise! The typical green bitter notes are very light and balanced by the lightly floral scent and flavor of jasmine flowers. It also has a smooth or rounded mouthfeel that is very pleasant and reminds me of the smoothness of a really good, full-bodied red wine. It’s not always easy to find this flavor in stores, so I’ve had Tealyra’s Imperial Jasmine Dragon Pearls* on a recurring Amazon subscription for years!

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Over 43,000 migrating birds crossed through Hillsborough County just last night (Sept. 10–11) according to CornellLab’s BirdCast estimate. And more are due soon! BirdCast is an awesomely nerdy bird stat site that updates every night, showing you what times, speeds, altitudes, and species are flying through our area.

The peak of flight activity here is currently 8:50 – 9:40 PM, as soon as it gets completely dark. So try to get away from street lights and look to the sky over the water at that time to see if you can spot huge flocks of birds passing overhead.

Since most of the migration happens after dark, turning off your unnecessary exterior lights can reduce bird disorientation and window collisions.

➡ Have you seen an unusual animal this week? Please reply to let us know when and where! Include a photo for a chance to see it featured next week.

New Hurricane Record Set Today: We just passed the latest date in the year without an Atlantic hurricane being named! And there are none in the 7-day forecast either. Rest easy for now.

Just a day trip away is a natural lazy river and swimming hole, where you can bring your floatation devices to float down a spring fed, crystal clear, blue-green river surrounded by a lush, natural forest. This magical place is called Kelly Park/ Rock Springs, which is an Orange County-owned park on the north side of Orlando.

September is a great time to go because it’s still hot enough to enjoy the year-round cool spring water, yet the peak of summer traffic has passed. In the summer it can can get so full that they won’t let more people in, which makes an early morning drive from Tampa a risky gamble. But now, you can feel pretty sure about getting admitted.

Roundtrip time away from South Tampa: 1 day

Maybe someone who sees this week’s public poll will get inspired to deliver what the people want:

We asked “Where do you recommend your out-of-town visitors eat in the Tampa Bay area?”, and the results were:

Ballast Point: Where $800K buys you a property with an eau de sewage treatment plant.

➡ A.I. came up with the joke, and a human refined the wording. Do you think A.I. nailed this one or not?

Create a More Enjoyable Community: Our mission is to help you live your best life in South Tampa by creating a more fun and connected community. If you like this idea, there are several free and paid ways you can support it:

Independent & Transparent: The Scroll is independently owned and written by a South Tampa resident. Positive mentions can’t be bought. We only include things we have personally tried or trust the person who did doesn’t benefit from mentioning it. We do not include links to businesses unless they are not-for-profit or paid sponsors we have vetted and noted as such. Clicking on asterisked items (*) may provide us with affiliate compensation, which helps fund us to keep creating for you!

Your Local Writer & Founder: Danielle is a lover of food, craft cocktails, wine, travel, nature, and history. After living in Ohio, Dallas, New Zealand, and 37 countries as a digital nomad, Danielle decided South Tampa was the best place to settle in 2022. She blends a world’s worth of experiences with local expertise as a Meetup event organizer and marketing director to ensure The Scroll is always worth your read!