Field trip

Ybor City State Museum

Theresa Willingham The Ybor City Museum showcases the neighborhood’s ambiance during it’s cigar-making heyday.

Coordinates: 2009 N. 18th St., Tampa; 813 247-6323. Hours: 9-5 p.m., seven days a week, Cost: $3 for ages 6 and older. More info: www.ybormuseum.org .

The scoop: Housed in the former Ferlita Bakery in the heart of Ybor City, the museum is one of six in a state park system better known for forests and rivers than art and culture. This museum, however, provides both in a comprehensive and rather elegant look at one of Tampa's most legendary communities. To get to the museum, take Interstate-4 to Exit 1: Ybor City. Turn south on 21st Street, west on Palm Avenue and south on 19th Street. The museum is the yellow brick building on the northwest corner of Ninth Avenue & 19th Street.

Why go? Few places bring together the richness of cultural enterprise better than Ybor City, and the museum does an outstanding job of showcasing the culinary, social and historically popular arts and interests of the community. In addition to the renovated bakery, the museum includes several restored casitas, one of which functions as a museum store, and a garden pavilion. Visitors are encouraged to visit nearby shops and galleries emerging along the 19th Street Casita Project.

Field report: There was a lot to see in this bright and well-designed museum. Glass cases highlight displays of cigar box label art, Spanish-influenced period clothing and food, and the history of the ubiquitous cigar in Tampa. A life-size dioramic display provides a sense of what life at the cigar factory was like. Audio presentations via discreet speakers enhanced the experience. A large outdoor courtyard invited relaxation around a central fountain and a row of restored casitas -- the small cottages rented by cigar workers at the cost of a couple of dollars a week -- completed the ambience.

Upon further review: I enjoyed the museum more than the kids. It's not a hands-on facility, by any means. But the kids enjoyed examining the enormous brick ovens of the former bakery, exploring the courtyard area and seeing the casitas. And they came away with some sense of the economic and artistic history of the area. All parking is metered, so don't forget to bring change.

Do it again? Once is probably enough, but we'd bring guests to visit, and the museum store has some unique, very Tampa-specific items I'm keeping in mind for special gifts.