My Downtown Tampa

As you enter the University Club atop the Tampa City Center, a large oak paneled foyer, serviced by brass trimmed elevators, connotes the ambiance of a traditional English club. A spacious reception area features comfortable furniture for relaxation and conversation. A number of accessories and a console date from the original Club. Photographs of past presidents, old English prints and paintings and the Club’s gold crest adorn the walls.

Large pewter chandeliers provide lighting for the Hillsborough Room which accommodates 180 seated patrons. The Harbour Room, seating 100, is adjacent to the bar and cocktail lounge. These rooms overlook Tampa’s Hillsborough River and Hillsborough Bay. The view from large picture windows extends to the Tampa Convention Center, the new Florida Aquarium and the Ice Palace. On clear days the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is visible. Three private dining rooms, the River Room, Gasparilla Room and Ybor Room complete the 16,000 square footage.

But how did this exclusive membership-only restaurant come to be?

Excerpted from the History page of the University Club website:

In the spring of 1946 (or the latter part of 1945) a group of prominent Tampa businessmen held an informal gathering to discuss the formation of a downtown luncheon club, which would provide a pleasant friendly atmosphere to enjoy good company in comfortable surroundings. The population of the City of Tampa then was 125,000. At the time most of Tampa’s business and commerce and professional offices were located in downtown Tampa. Consequently most restaurants and hotel dining rooms were filled to capacity for noon meals. The formation of a private luncheon club to be called the University Club of Tampa began.

A membership committee chaired by George B. Howell, President of First Savings and Trust Company selected those who would be invited to join. Also on the committee were Carl D. Brorein, Frank Traynor, Eliot Fletcher, David Falk, Ed K. Nelson and Jay L. Hearin. Rules required that members be college graduates with a quota of alumni from each university. A special category, non-college graduates, and non-resident classifications were also included. The founding members numbered approximately 100. Officers of the newly formed Club were President, Truman Green, Tampa Tribune Company; Vice President, Frank Traynor, Florida Portland Cement; Secretary, James Warren, Tampa Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Inc.; and Treasurer, H.L. “Dusty” Crowder, Crowder Insurance Inc. A House Rules Committee chaired by Fred J. Woods included Paul LeBlanc, Howard Franklin, Eliot Fletcher and Jay Hearin.

The University Club opened on September 11, 1946 in the mezzanine of the Tampa Terrace Hotel, with the hotel providing food and beverage service.  The Club expanded and began food service in 1958.  By 1961, the University Club reached its limit of 250 dictated by the by-laws leaving a waiting list.  State Senator Sam Gibbons helped with a request for a Club liquor license, which was granted by the state legislature.  The lease with TTH expired in 1962.

The official opening of the new quarters in the Marine Bank Building was the annual meeting on January 17, 1962 presided over by George S. Jenkins.  An open house was held on January 20, 1962. The new place held a dining area, private rooms, card rooms and lounge area.  By April, membership reached 364 of the 400 limit for active members.  A dues increase became effective December 1, 1963 with dues for Active and Special categories rising to $180 annually.

The consideration of reciprocity privileges with other private clubs resulted in a number of agreements, the first being with the Commerce Club of Atlanta. As clubs were investigated, conflicts of club rules and proximity of a hundred mile radius of Tampa were reasons for rejection. Today, reciprocity is shared with seventy-one clubs throughout the United States.

Two years after the move to the Marine Bank Building, the use and popularity of the Club created the need for additional space. Limits were placed on guests and parties were sold out with waiting lists. Applications for membership grew steadily.  At a special meeting held on April 26, 1965 the recommendation of the Board to move to the Exchange Bank building was explained to the membership. The vote tallied 299 in favor and 105 against the move.

After less than four years in the Marine Bank building, the University Club relocated to the top (22nd) floor of the Exchange Bank. By March 1968, after a by-law change, the number of Active members rose to 700; Non-Residents stood at 125. Initiation fees increased to $400 for Actives and $75 for Non-Residents. Annual dues were $216 for Actives and $108 for Non-Residents, effective October 1, 1968.

As the community grew, so did the University Club until its membership reached its limits; waiting list grew longer. An Intermediate member classification, added in 1975, encouraged younger men to join. A Senior member classification was added in 1980.  That year, the Site Committee and the Board voted to relocate to Tampa City Center.

Under the guidance of President James Urbanski, with H.L. “Punky” Crowder as chairman of the Building Committee, the relocation to Tampa City Center was completed the last weekend in February, 1982.

The excitement of Super Bowl activities in 1984 permeated the halls of the Club during the week with gourmet dinners, a private luncheon hosted by CBS television network with Pat Summerall and John Madden as hosts, and cocktails and hors d’oeuvres served before the game followed by a buffet dinner.

Administrative costs and expenditures, including Club refurbishing, were rising necessitating a raise in dues and initiation fees in December 1984. Initiation fees for Actives rose from $1750 to $2500; Intermediates from $250 to $500; Non Residents from $525 to $750. Monthly dues were raised to $50 for Actives; Intermediates and Non-Residents to $25.

Beginning in the late eighties Father/Son/Daughter Banquets, July 4^th family picnics and children’s Christmas parties were added as the Club became more family oriented. Guy King III, as Entertainment Chairman produced the first Spring Gathering, a lavish display of food and wines, on April 13, 1991.

By July 1996, three new classifications of membership had been added: Corporate, Honorary Associate and Special Associate, bringing the total to seven. Residents (whose nomenclature changed with the merger of Active and Special) total 504; Intermediate 40; Senior 147; Non-Resident 74; Corporate 11; Honorary Associate 2; Special Associates 3. As of 1996, the total membership consisted of 781 members.

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