Henry B. Plant

Abstract

Transplanted from the north in 1853, Henry B. Plant became so enamored of Florida's Gulf Coast that he decided to develop it for other travelers. Thus was born the Plant System (rail and steamship line), which developed the Port of Tampa and several sun-coast hotels, including the remarkable 500-room, Moorish-style Tampa Bay Hotel, which opened in 1891. Plant is remembered today by the namesake Plant City, Florida, and by the University of Tampa, which uses part of the former Tampa Bay Hotel and maintains a Henry Plant Museum.