Brass Bowl

Some of you may have been wondering what is going here at the Brass Bowl, what with a flurry of posting, then silence, another flurry, silence, rinse, repeat.

Life is happening.  I’ve never liked giving out excuses, but to the few people that still check in here my sense of duty (belatedly, I agree), requires I give some explanation on just what is going on.

The demands of daily life (family, work, and all the zillion of little things that accompany those aspects) are a priority for me, as they are for you.  The Brass Bowl was never meant to be a singular focus in my life.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a blast to post flotsam,  but it’s an even bigger blast to share an evening with my wife,  spend a day with my daughter, or an afternoon with my Dad.    It’s  not so much of a blast to go to the doctor, have a vehicle repaired, go grocery shopping,  maintain an older home or go to work.

No, this is not my good bye speech, nor am I taking the Brass Bowl down.  The posting may be hit or miss, but the site will stay up, as there are lots of pictures that capture some of the best parts of Tampa and elsewhere.  The posting is just not going to be happening with any regularity.

So check back from time to time.  I just might have something to post.    Thanks.

These are on the western side of the park.

Sometimes we move a little slow after a weekend.  Sometimes we don’t do our due diligence before we leave the house.

Sometimes I think our wives let us leave the house with our shirts inside out just to give them something to chat about on Monday.

On the west side of the old Courthouse, on a low north wall by the entrance, there is a weather-beaten plaque.

You can barely read it with your eyes,  the point-n-shoot wasn’t up to the challenging light conditions (yes, I will always blame the equipment ).

The message here is in the text, so I pushed the image for detail. (text follows image)

ON THIS SITE
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY
ADDRESSED THE CITIZENS OF THE
TAMPA BAY AREA
AND RECEIVED THE OVATION OF SOME
10,000 PERSONS ON THE DECLARATION
OF HIS LATIN AMERICAN POLICY
OCT. 18, 1960.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION
1961

These two muzzle loading cannon from the 1800′s are emplaced on the grounds of Plant Park/University of Tampa.

Text follows picture.

The Spanish Fort

 In 1891 upon the completion of the Tampa Bay Hotel, Henry B. Plant recovered two Civil war cannon from across the Hillsborough River at the site of Old Fort Brooke.  With his landscape architect Anton Fiehe, Mr. Plant placed the cannon over a limestone wall near here as a garden folly called The Spanish Fort.

 These 24 pound shot size cannon were part of a battery of three placed in Fort Brooke during the War Between the States.  They and two 6 pound shot size rifled cannon successfully defended Tampa until May 5, 1864.  On that date, federal troops, composed of elements of the 2^nd U.S. Colored Regiment, the 2^nd Florida Calvary and the U.S. Navy, captured the town and fort by surprise.  The 24 pounders were disabled by breaking off a trunnion and destroying their barbette carriages.  The indentation on the barrel of one of the 24 pounders indicates that a 6 pounder was fired point blank at its barrel.  The 6 pounders were then taken to Key West.

 The cannon’s naval mounts were designed and funded by the Fort Brooke Commission.  This historical recreation of the garden folly was a project of the Friends of Plant Park in 2008.  This sign was placed on pieces of limestone salvaged from the original wall.

 Friends of Plant Part

City of Tampa

Hillsborough County Commission

Fort Brooke Commission

The University of Tampa

On Franklin next to Gaslight Park.

I’ve walked past this tree at least a thousand times, and I just noticed this last week.