Upstairs/Downstairs: The Tampa Bay Hotel

Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Location: Firehouse Cultural Center

Event type: Center Stage

Colonel Theodore Roosevelt (ret.).
The Colonel returns to the Tampa Bay Hotel to relive his experiences leading up to the U.S. invasion of Cuba. As Lt. Col. of the Rough Riders (as fine a collection of cowboys and blue bloods as one could ask), Roosevelt casts his critical eye on the military preparations for the war with Spain. Theodore talks of the army camps, the condition on the troopships and his time spent with his wife, Edith, at the Tampa Bay Hotel. His recollections are made through the lenses of a commissioned officer, family man and indomitable spirit..

Otis Freedman “The Bishop”, Head Waiter, 1905
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The Tampa Bay Hotel, Henry Plant’s grandest luxury railroad resort hotel, opened in 1891 at the height of America’s Gilded Age. More than 300 employees were needed for the opulent hotel to run smoothly.

The Henry B. Plant Museum presents Upstairs/Downstairs, a museum theater series featuring single character performances that bring turn-of-the-century Tampa Bay Hotel staff members and guests to life.

Wednesday Matinee, August 4, 2021 at 2:00pm • FREE EVENT

In partnership with the H. B. Plant Museum. Made possible by a Grant from the Arts Council of Hillsborough County & the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

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