This Tampa Electric coal-fired plant operated on the banks of the Hillsborough River, using its water for cooling. Before becoming the city’s primary electricity supplier, Tampa Electric was in the business of operating streetcars in the 1920s. As it grew to be the primary electrical utility for Tampa, public outcry about exorbitant power prices and political corruption charges were leveled in the 1930s and 1940s. The site became known as the Peter O. Knight Station. The Tampa Tribune moved to the property on the west side of Hillsborough River after constructing its new building in 1974. In March of 2000, the new $40 million WFLA Channel 8 building opened adjacent to the Tribune building as the two entities- both owned by Media General- joined forces to create the first-of-its-kind news service.

In 2016, the Tampa Bay Times purchased the Tampa Tribune following years of declining subscriptions and the advent of the digital revolution. It was the end of a 121-year-old daily newspaper that started as the Tampa Morning Tribune in 1893. The Tribune building once stood where the eight-story Manor Riverwalk apartment complex (white building with orange design in the background) now stands. Pictured here is the 145,000 sq. ft. building that houses WFLA News Channel 8. Special thanks to the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel for granting access for this photograph.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved