Curtis Hixon Hall

Coordinates: 27°56′57″N 82°27′43″W / 27.94917°N 82.46194°W / 27.94917; -82.46194

Brand-new Curtis Hixon Hall, 1965

Curtis Hixon Hall, located at 600 Ashley Drive, was an indoor sports arena, convention center, concert venue, and special events center built downtown beside the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. It was built in 1964 and torn down in 1993.

Construction

Curtis Hixon Hall was built in 1965 during the administration of Tampa mayor Nick Nuccio, who pushed for the construction of many public works projects around town.^[1] It was named for Curtis Hixon, the mayor of Tampa from 1943 until he died while still in office in 1956.^[2] Architect Norman Six designed the uniquely-shaped building in a modified Googie architecture style^[3].

Events

Curtis Hixon Hall held a maximum of about 6000-7000 people, though it could be modified to many different seating configurations as needed. The hall hosted conventions and trade shows, parties and New Year's Eve dances, and annual Gasparilla-related events. It also hosted many different special events, including political speeches - Presidential candidate Richard Nixon campaigned there in September 1968.^[4]

Sports

Curtis Hixon Hall could also be set up to host various sporting events. It was the 1st home of the University of South Florida's basketball teams and the ABA's Floridians.

Many boxing and wrestling cards were held there. One of the most important boxing matches was on April 24, 1971 when Bob Foster defended his Light Heavyweight Championship with a fifteen round unanimous decision over challenger Ray Anderson. Other notable fighters whom appeared at Curtis Hixon Hall were Tony Licata, Jimmy Dupree, Earnie Shavers, Mark Frazie, Gene Wells, Walter White, Milton Owens, Woody Clark, Mike McKinney, Mike Knight, and many others.

Music

Curtis Hixon Hall served as the site for many concerts, as it was the primary Tampa venue for major touring performers of the late 1960s and 1970s. Many of the top bands and musical performers played the hall during that era: Bob Dylan (both solo and as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue^[5]), David Bowie, The Who, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, KISS, U2, Derek and the Dominos, Grateful Dead, The Wailers, Ozzy Osbourne, Rush and Cat Stevens, among many others.

Jimi Hendrix played Curtis Hixon Hall twice in 1968, on August 16 and November 23^[6]. In between those dates, The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their #1 charting album Electric Ladyland.

Janis Joplin was arrested by the Tampa Police for "obscenity" while playing a show with B.B. King and others in the hall on November 16, 1969.^[7]

Elvis Presley played Curtis Hixon Hall in 1977, just months before his death.^[8] In 1982, the J. Geils Band was headlining a show at the hall; the opening act was a then-little known band from Ireland: U2.

Decline and demolition

Curtis Hixon Hall was outdated by the mid-1980s, and was regulated to hosting smaller events such as high school graduations while most concerts shifted to places like the newly-built USF Sun Dome, the classic Tampa Theater, and other venues in the area.

When the new and much bigger Tampa Convention Center was built and with plans in the works for a new downtown sports arena (the eventual St. Pete Times Forum), it became obvious that Curtis Hixon Hall had outlived its usefulness. Mayor Sandy Freedman and the city decided to tear down the building and replace it with Curtis Hixon Park. Demolition of the site began in 1993, and the park was dedicated in 1995. Aquamarine-colored tiles from the hall were set into each bench at the park.

The site was again redeveloped in the late 2000s, as a new Tampa Museum of Art and the Glazer Childrens Museum both opened in 2010 on the site of the old Curtis Hixon Hall. The adjacent area immediately to the south became a redesigned Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

References

1. ^ Nick C. Nuccio – 47th and 49th Mayor of Tampa
2. ^ Curtis Hixon – 45th Mayor of Tampa
3. ^ Norman Six obit
4. ^ Tampa set to tackle fate of Curtis Hixon
5. ^ http://www.bjorner.com/DSN03275%201976%20Rolling%20Thunder%20Revue%20II.htm
6. ^ the jimi hendrix encyclopedia (November 23, 1968) - jimihendrix.com
7. ^ The Outlaws Miscellaneous History
8. ^ When Elvis Came to Town

External links