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Trail to connect parks in motion

Park officials hope accessibility to the now secluded Sulphur Springs Water Tower will spark a new interest in the popular 1950s structure.

By JONNELLE MARTE
Published June 16, 2006

SULPHUR SPRINGS - Most people only know the Sulphur Springs Water Tower as a Tampa landmark viewable from Interstate 275 along the Hillsborough River.

But that could change soon.

The city's parks department last month started construction of a trail connecting the Sulphur Springs Park and Pool to River Tower Park.

The trail, a combination of boardwalks and concrete, will go under I-275 and should be finished in about three months.

Regular visitors said they look forward to walking from the park to the tower, now blocked off by the interstate.

"It's a natural connection that people recognize ... but now the city is going to formalize this," said Alan Wright, who lives in Seminole Heights but visits the Sulphur Springs pool about four times a week.

The trail is part of the Hillsborough River Greenway, which eventually will link several parks, said Tom Johnston, urban planner for Tampa's Parks and Recreation Department, in an e-mail.

Longtime residents remember when they could drive to the tower and watch a movie at the Tower Drive-in Theater, which closed in 1985.

Some locals expect the trail to bring more activity to the park, a main attraction in the 1950s because of its natural springs.

"It's going to hook us up to more people coming in and out," said Lee Ann Huntley, an aquatics leader at the Sulphur Springs pool, who also worked at the springs before pollution caused the city to close it to swimmers in the 1980s.

Scattered around the park are hints of its previous life.

An old lifeguard chair sits abandoned by the main spring. An elegant but weathered two-story gazebo awaits restoration behind a black iron gate. From there, the historic white water tower can be seen in the distance.

"This was some place," said Charles Brantley, 63, remembering the times he went swimming in the springs as a teen.

As part of the project to make over the park, the city used a $97,000 state historic preservation grant. Another $113,000 in city parks funds went toward restoration plans for the gazebo and water tower, both built in the 1920s by Josiah Richardson, a Sulphur Springs pioneer.

The city is assessing the gazebo and water tower for damage and plans to reapply for more grants to help cover the repairs, Johnston said.

This isn't the first time the city has worked on the tower, which the City Council designated a historic landmark in 1989.

A crew of specialists cleaned it in 2003, removing pigeon and cockroach droppings. About a year ago, the city began lighting it from dusk until dawn.

Original plans for the tower called for an elevator in the center shaft, but it was never installed.

For now, the tower is blocked off by trees, fences and highway. When the city gets funding, the area surrounding it will be turned into a passive park, with grass, picnic tables and jogging trails, Johnston said.

Jonnelle Marte can be reached at jmarte@sptimes.com or 226-3404.

[Last modified June 15, 2006, 21:23:55]