Gavino Gutierrez

Gavino Gutierrez (26 October 1849 – 8 March 1919), a Spanish immigrant to the United States, was an importer, architect, civil engineer, and surveyor. He was responsible for bringing Vincente M. Ybor to Tampa, Florida, and for designing Ybor City.

Birth and background Gutierrez was born on October 26, 1849, in San Vicente de la Barquera, located in the northern Spanish province of Santander. He left Spain for Cuba as a young man, where he worked in a store. In 1868, at the age of 19, Gutierrez moved to New York City. Gargol told Gutierrez that there were many wild guava trees growing in the Tampa Bay area.

Convincing Ybor to come to Tampa

After Gutierrez and Gargol explored Tampa, they planned to return to New York by boat, with a stop in Key West. Gutierrez suggested to Ybor that he move to Tampa, arguing that Tampa's climate was similar to that of Havana and Key West, and that Tampa was connected by rail (since Henry Plant built the South Florida Railway and believed the area would be suitable for a cigar factory. In addition, they also met with Ignacio Haya (another cigar manufacturer), who thought Tampa might be a good location to build a factory for his own firm, Sanchez y Haya. This new town and Tampa were separated by palmetto scrub lands. This new town was intended to be similar to other industry towns being built across the country and was to be centrally planned. Construction began on October 8, 1885, when the first tree was cut down.

Spanish consul Gutierrez was made the first Spanish consul in Tampa by the Spanish government, the Baltimore Morning Herald, and the Easton Free Press.

Gutierrez Building The Gutierrez building, designed by him and located at 1603 East Seventh Avenue in Ybor City, was built in 1904. The three-story building has a decorative balcony across the front and partially wrapping around the side. Originally, the first floor was used for stores, offices, and the Pathe Theater. The second floor housed both a hotel called the Dixie House, and apartments. The third floor was built for a local chapter of the Woodmen of the World. They had seven daughters and three sons. Aurora died in October 1956. Adelaida married Francisco Colado, with whom she had three sons and two daughters. Maria Harriot married a Tampa physician named L.B. Mitchell. Gavino Junior married a native of Santander named Lolita Del Corro, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.

In 1919, Gutierrez was sailing around the world on the ship of a Scottish friend, when they docked in a Spanish port. While in Spain, Gutierrez fell ill and died on March 8, 1919. Due to Spanish law, Gutierrez's body was not returned to Tampa until 1924. Gutierrez is buried at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park.