{"id":230887,"date":"2026-04-14T07:12:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/230887\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T07:12:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:12:39","slug":"ybor-city-celebrates-140-years-with-massive-140-foot-cigar-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/230887\/","title":{"rendered":"Ybor City celebrates 140 years with massive 140-foot cigar tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"140th 140th anniversary of first cigar rolled<\/a> <\/p>\n

Ybor City is marking a major milestone, celebrating 140 years since its founding with a tribute to the industry that built it from the ground up. FOX 13’s Aaron Mesmer reports.<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla – Ybor City<\/a> is marking a major milestone, celebrating 140 years since its founding with a tribute to the industry that built it from the ground up.<\/p>\n

A 140-foot cigar was rolled outside Hotel Haya, just steps away from the historic site where the first cigar was made in Ybor City on April 13, 1886, at the old Haya Cigar Factory.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

City leaders, historians and members of the cigar industry gathered alongside the community to honor the neighborhood\u2019s legacy as “Cigar City.”<\/p>\n

Big picture view:<\/p>\n

The celebration highlighted Ybor City\u2019s deep cultural roots, while also bringing attention to its ongoing transformation.<\/p>\n

The event comes as major development projects reshape parts of the historic district, including continued work on the Gasworx project, a massive mixed-use development, and plans from developer Darryl Shaw to redevelop 30 acres in East Ybor City.<\/p>\n

That proposal includes residential, office, retail and hotel space, aiming to create a more walkable and family-friendly environment.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Max Herman, owner of Tampa <\/a>Bay Tours, says the changes could help elevate Ybor\u2019s status as a destination.<\/p>\n

“Most people, when they come to Florida, they think St. Augustine, Miami, Disney World, but now he wants to put that on the same level as all those other ones,” Herman said.<\/p>\n

Herman says adding housing <\/a>and retail could bring more families and long-term residents to the area.<\/p>\n

“If you want a place to grow, you have to have residents coming to it,” Herman said.<\/p>\n

Why you should care:<\/p>\n

Ybor City\u2019s cigar industry played a central role in shaping Tampa\u2019s history<\/a>, and events like this help preserve that identity as the area evolves.<\/p>\n

During the celebration, visitors were able to roll their own cigars with professional rollers from J.C. Newman<\/a>, connecting a new generation to the craft.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The 140-foot cigar itself was created by La Farona Cigar Lounge. Just last month, the company\u2019s master roller set a world record by rolling a 465-foot cigar in Ybor City.<\/p>\n

As redevelopment plans move forward, community members say it is important to balance growth with preserving the neighborhood\u2019s unique culture and history.<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

The city is currently reviewing rezoning applications tied to the proposed East Ybor redevelopment before any construction can begin.<\/p>\n

The Source: Information in this story comes from interviews with community members, city leaders and event organizers during the “Cigar City” celebration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ybor City<\/a>Tampa Bay History<\/a>Tampa<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"140th anniversary of first cigar rolled Ybor City is marking a major milestone, celebrating 140 years since its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47,629,115,135,3224,137,136,628,10364],"class_list":{"0":"post-230887","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-fl","9":"tag-hillsborough","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-tampa","12":"tag-tampa-bay-history","13":"tag-tampa-headlines","14":"tag-tampa-news","15":"tag-us","16":"tag-ybor-city"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}