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Tampa Bay's
Waterfront

Its History & Development

Arthur R. Savage and Rodney Kite-Powell have come together to assemble the first comprehensive book to tell the fascinating story of the History and Development of Tampa Bay’s Waterfront.

Get Your Copy Today!
Compass

Learn how Tampa Bay's Waterways have changed from the Ice Age to current day including potential future uses.

Beautifully designed with rare maps, photos and other images from private and public collections to present a never before seen history of the Bay, the surrounding counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee as well as their tributaries.

Chapter 1
Ice Age Florida to the Armed Occupation Act

Chapter 2
Florida Becomes a State to the Disston Purchase

Chapter 3
Henry B. Plant to the Spanish-American War

Chapter 4
First Dredged Channel to World War I

Chapter 5
Hurricane of 1921 to the Southeastern Air Base

Chapter 6
MacDill Army Air Field Opens to the End of the Bee Line Ferry

Chapter 7
Postwar Industrial and Residential Growth to the Skyway Bridge Disaster

Chapter 8
New Skyway Bridge Opens to Transformation of Port Authority Land to Public Use

Chapter 9
The Potential Future of Tampa Bay’s Waterfront

Compass

Arthur R. Savage and Rodney Kite-Powell have come together to assemble the first comprehensive book to tell the fascinating story of the History and Development of Tampa Bay’s Waterfront. The book is done in a high quality 12” x 12” design that encompasses rare maps, photos and other images from private and public collections to present a never before seen history of the Bay, the surrounding counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee as well as their tributaries. From prehistoric times to current day the book shows you how the area was found and developed into the wonderful area it has become to so many in such a short span of time.

Arthur R. Savage

Arthur R. Savage is the President of A. R. Savage & Son, Inc., a Tampa, Florida based firm specializing in providing ship agency, ocean freight forwarding and marine consulting services.

Born in Tampa Arthur is a fifth generation native who’s maternal great grandfather pioneered shipping in Tampa and who’s paternal grandfather operated the areas first deep water port for the railroad before starting their family company in 1945. Growing up in the business and on Tampa Bay, Arthur started working at a young age on their boats and later professionally aboard harbor and oceangoing vessels, rising to the rank of Master, before entering the office in 1984.

For further information please see www.arsavage.com.

Rodney Kite-Powell

Rodney Kite-Powell is Director of the Touchton Map Library and the Saunders Foundation Curator of History at the Tampa Bay History Center, where he joined the staff in 1994.  He received a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Florida and a Master of Arts in History from the University of South Florida.

Born and raised in Tampa, he has written extensively on the history of Tampa and Hillsborough County and is the editor of Tampa Bay History, a regional history journal published through a partnership between the History Center and the University of South Florida Libraries’ Florida Studies Center.

Kite-Powell’s first book, History of Davis Islands: D. P. Davis and the Story of a Landmark Neighborhood, was published in 2013 by the History Press.  He lives in Tampa with his wife, daughter, and stepson.  He wishes to express his appreciation to his co-author, Arthur Savage, for the great opportunity to work with him on this project.

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Get your own limited edition copy of our beautifully designed and printed book.

  • 155 pages
  • ISBN #978-0-692-81218-1
  • Casebound & smyth sewn
  • Hard cover with silver foil stamp on cover and spine
  • Full color throughout with a satin coating on all pages
  • 3 Chapters with clear overlay maps showing the change in the shoreline of Tampa Bay from 1842 – 2016
  • $125.00 + shipping & handling