TAMPA, Fla. — As 2024 comes to an end, a historical milestone was reached this year in Tampa Bay: the Gandy Bridge turned 100 years old!
It opened in November 1924, making it the first bridge to cross Tampa Bay.
“To my mind, this was the beginning of the birth of Tampa Bay as a market. As a unit,” said Andy Huse, curator of Florida Studies at the USF Library.
The library has a collection on the history of the Gandy Bridge, with documents, photos, an opening day program and even sheet music written for the opening of the bridge.
“If you wanted to celebrate back then, you did it with sheet music,” Huse explained. “A foxtrot was written about Gandy Bridge.”
Huse said that before the Gandy was opened, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties were very fragmented.
“It might take the better part of a day to get from Tampa to St. Petersburg, over the bay. Typically, it could take nine or ten hours, depending on what the roads were like,” Huse said.
Developer George Gandy saw the value in connecting the communities.
“He was able to read the tea leaves in 1922 to see that there’s something changing in Florida. There’s a lot of money coming down. There’s going to be a lot of people driving the roads,” Huse said.
When it was built, the 2.5 mile bridge was considered the longest toll bridge in the world.
The original bridge was eventually taken over by the United States government and was later dismantled in 1975.
But its beginnings led to the Tampa Bay that we know today.
“These milestones can get away from you. But history marches on,” Huse said.
The Gandy Bridge collection can be viewed by the public at the USF Special Collections Library. Photos can also be viewed online as well.