Tarpon Springs Cultural Center

The Tarpon Springs Cultural Center is a performance, event, and exhibit venue housed in the former city hall building, which was erected in 1915. The Center opened in the late 1980s after the city moved its offices to a new location. The building is one of four structures in the city (the other three are houses) designed in the Neoclassical style. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 for its Neoclassical architecture and association with the city government.

The building was erected to meet the demands of the city, which had grown since its founding in 1887. Two industries spurred this development: tourism and sponge fishing. Local businessmen promoted Tarpon Springs and as a tourist destination, which attracted many visitors, particularly northerners, to the town (they arrived by taking the Orange Belt Railroad, which reached the city in 1887). Sponge fishing began on 1873 when turtle fishermen discovered sponge beds near the mouth of the Aclote River. The industry took off after the Anclote and Rock Island Sponge Company was established (when exactly is unclear). Sponge fishing and tourism helped increase the town's population from 300 at the outset to around 600 by 1900 (five years later, 500 Greek immigrants settled in Tarpon Springs thanks to job opportunities in the sponge industry). Within a few years, the city became the leading sponge port in the country, which sparked further development in Tarpon Springs.

In light of this growth, city officials recognized that the city needed a new, larger city hall. Residents voted in favor of a $12,000 bond issue in February 1914 and construction began a year later. In addition to city government offices, the building also housed the fire and police departments and the city library. The building was enlarged in 1947 with the addition of a wing. After it was vacated in 1987, the city restored and converted it into the cultural center.

Parks, John T. & Mattick, Barbara E. "Old Tarpon Springs Hotel." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. August 10, 1990. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/90001117.