The District Magazine Vol. 2 Issue 3, Fall 2017 | Page 20

Historical
MOVERS &
SHAKERS
Submitted by the Tampa Bay History Center, 8/28/2017
George Mercer Brooke Clara Frye
In 1980, construction workers in downtown Tampa
made an unexpected discovery: As they dug
the foundation of a new parking garage, they
uncovered the remains of more than 100 U.S.
soldiers and 42 Seminole Indians, dating from the
1830s and 1840s. They all once lived on or near
Fort Brooke, arguably the genesis of modern-day
Tampa. Arriving in Tampa in
1901, Clara C. Frye
committed her life to
providing medical care
to Tampa’s black citizens.
She began caring for the
sick and injured black
population in her Tampa
home. In 1923, she moved to a small 17-bed
hospital on Lamar Avenue, relying on donations
to alleviate financial struggles. In 1928, the City of
Tampa purchased the hospital, then known as the
Tampa Negro Hospital, renaming it the Clara Frye
Memorial Hospital after her passing 1936.
That fort got its name from the man chosen to lead
it – Lt. Col. George Mercer Brooke who, at the
ripe old age of 37, headed up the Hillsborough
River on behalf of U.S. Army to establish a fort “at
Tampa Bay.”
Though not here long, Brooke deserves credit for
building and leading the encampment that would
eventually become downtown Tampa.
Political and economic struggles, overcrowding and
insufficient staffing led to the closing and demolition
of the hospital in 1973. In her honor, Tampa General
Hospital named a pavilion after her. In 2011,
Ms. Frye was honored as one of the ten charter
inductees into the Hillsborough County Women’s
Hall of Fame. She is remembered as a great selfless
servant, leader and visionary humanitarian.
Cesar and Adela Gonzmart
Though it began in 1903 as a saloon at the dusty east
end of Ybor City’s 7th Ave., the Columbia Restaurant
has grown into one of Florida’s most iconic eateries,
with six locations throughout the state.
When family patriarch Casimiro Hernandez Jr.’s
health began to falter, he turned to his daughter,
Adela, and her husband, Cesar Gonzmart, to carry
on the family business. Both classically trained
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