Henry B. Plant Museum

The Henry B. Plant Museum is a museum in Tampa, Florida, located in the former Tampa Bay Hotel built by Henry B. Plant and completed in 1891. It interprets Gilded Age life and the history of the hotel complex.

Museum displays include restored period rooms, decorative arts, original furnishings and interpretive exhibits that illustrate late 19th-century resort life; standout features of the building include ornate tiled ceilings, stained glass and distinctive minarets. The museum occupies several of the hotel’s public rooms and offers guided tours of select interiors.

The hotel was commissioned by Henry B. Plant as part of his railroad and steamship network and opened at the end of the 19th century; after the hotel era the complex was repurposed for educational use while interior spaces were preserved for museum interpretation. The museum preserves the building’s architectural finishes and a collection of artifacts related to the Plant era.

The museum sits on the University of Tampa campus in downtown Tampa near the Hillsborough River and the downtown waterfront.

• Building: Housed in the former Tampa Bay Hotel, an ornate Moorish Revival building completed in 1891 by railroad entrepreneur Henry B. Plant.

The museum is on the University of Tampa campus at 401 W Kennedy Blvd, a short walk from downtown Tampa and the Tampa Riverwalk. From Tampa Union Station it’s a roughly 15-20 minute walk or a 5-10 minute taxi/ride-hail. Street parking and campus parking lots are available but limited during events.

• Enter through Plant Hall on the University of Tampa campus and allow time to look up-stained glass and Moorish domes are as interesting as the exhibits.
• Guided tours may be available; check the museum's schedule at the front desk for curator talks.
• Combine a visit with a walk along the Hillsborough River or a stop at nearby Curtis Hixon Park.