Obituary

Architect who molded Tampa Bay area dies

Carlos Alfonso Sr. came to the United States from Cuba with his family - and not much else. He leaves a vibrant architectural legacy.

By JAY CRIDLIN
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 3, 2002

Carlos Alfonso Sr., designer of some of Tampa Bay's most recognizable structures, including Tampa International Airport and the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus, died Nov. 29. He was 78.

Mr. Alfonso was the senior architect at one of the area's most successful architectural firms, Alfonso Architects Inc., which he founded with his sons Albert and Carlos Jr.

"He did a tremendous amount of work," said Hillsborough Tax Collector Doug Belden, who worked with Mr. Alfonso. "He was an absolute gentleman and an excellent architect."

Born in Cuba, Mr. Alfonso came to the United States with his wife, Rose, and three young boys, "along with three bags and $10 in my pocket," he wrote. He had family in Tampa and had visited them numerous times, so he settled here.

"To start over again at that age showed his mettle and his character," said real estate developer Dick Beard, who also worked with Mr. Alfonso.

He had been a successful architect in Cuba, teaching courses in architecture at the University of Havana, and quickly found work at several firms in Tampa. In 1963, Mr. Alfonso's firm was handed the plum job of redesigning Tampa International Airport. From then until 1965, Mr. Alfonso was the project architect leading the renovation's design phase.

When it opened in 1971, the new terminal's spoked-wheel design and parking garages separate from the terminal were considered architectural breakthroughs.

Later, Mr. Alfonso was a lead architect on a renovation of St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, a project he worked on throughout the 1990s.

Mr. Alfonso started his own firm, Alfonso, Greene & Oliva, in Hyde Park in 1966. Among the projects he worked on and the buildings he helped design, said partner Angel Oliva Jr., were the old Crestwood Elementary School, Hillsborough Community College's original modular Dale Mabry campus and the West Tampa Neighborhood Service Center.

Education was a consistent theme in Mr. Alfonso's career. He designed several buildings for USF, including its Bayboro campus in downtown St. Petersburg. In 1983, that project earned him the Governor's Design Award, which recognized top designers for their work on public buildings.

"He was a Cuban that came here right after the 1960s and had no money and lost everything in Cuba, but was an architect and was able to slowly but surely build one of the best firms in the city," said Beard, chairman of USF's board of trustees.

Mr. Alfonso founded Alfonso Architects Inc. in 1988 with two of his sons. A third son, Tony, is an airline pilot.

"He instilled the love of design and architecture in us because he always had us on his lap when we were little, drawing," said Carlos Jr. "He was a great dad. He was as good as you could get."

The success that Carlos Jr. and Albert found with their father's leadership is one of his greatest tributes, says Jim Burt, a developer with the Capstone Group in Tampa.

"He came over in 1960 without a nickel in his pocket and put three boys through school," Burt said. "I'd say his greatest legacy is he left three great kids."

His career left a lasting impression on Tampa.

"He was a very talented architect and well-respected in the community," said architect Sol Fleischman Jr.

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