The story
The Tampa branch of Centro Asturiano was discussed at a March 24, 1902 meeting, and a Tampa delegation of the Havana parent club received its charter in 1907. The parent club was founded in Havana in 1886. It served immigrants from Asturias, Spain and their descendants, and membership once included a hospital, a cemetery and health insurance.
M. Leo Elliott designed the Beaux-Arts and Classical Revival building, in use since 1914. The second floor has an auditorium and stage and the third floor holds the theater balcony. The first Covadonga Sanitarium opened in 1905 with 54 beds, and a second Covadonga Hospital followed in 1927. The hospital was incorporated in 1956 and closed in 1990, and in 2005 it was renovated as affordable housing for seniors.
The building joined the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1974. The third-floor ballroom still hosts dances and private events, and USF Libraries holds the club's archive, including over 5,000 digitized membership portraits.
What's There Now
The club building is still used for social functions and its ballroom hosts dances and events; the former hospital is senior housing.
Everything that was here
- 1914–present · still open
Centro Asturiano de TampaOther
An Asturian social club that ran its own hospital, cemetery and health plan for immigrants, and still holds dances on the third floor.
See the map in 1915 → - 1927–1990
Covadonga HospitalOther
The club's second Covadonga hospital opened in 1927, closed in 1990 and became senior housing in 2005.
See the map in 1928 →
Did you know?
Nearby history
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Circulo Cubano de Tampa (Cuban Club)
Hotel Haya
The Ritz Ybor
Carne Chophouse
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