Ybor ’s first public school, long gone, still has a story to tell about district’s history
TAMPA — It’s been more than a century since Ybor City’s first public school was demolished on the plot of land now identified as 1311 E. Eighth Ave.
For the past 22 years, the popular concert venue New World Brewery took up the space and one next door. Now, New World is being demolished to make way for a residential-retail development.
Through it all, the school still has a story to tell.
So archeologists and anthropologists crawled all over the property to explore beneath the surface. Their haul includes things like children’s clay marbles, pieces of slate boards for writing lessons, mother of pearl buttons and a souvenir spoon with an engraving of the nation’s capital.