Tampa celebrates its 137th birthday at Old City Hall with the iconic Hortense Clock

If you haven’t visited Tampa’s Old City Hall Building lately, July 15 offers a unique opportunity to do so. On Monday, Tampa celebrates its 137th birthday with programming and birthday cake at the local landmark, which features perhaps the only clock in the world named Hortense.

So just how did the time-ticker in the City Hall tower come to be known as the Hortense Clock? The popular story is that back in 1915 prominent young Tampa socialite Hortense Oppenheimer Ford was dismayed that the new City Hall would not remedy Tampa’s need for a prominent clock (presumably so she could keep to her busy social calendar). The lore says that Hortense and a group of young ladies got together and raised funds to add the four-sided timepiece to the tower above the new City Hall. 

The story of Tampa’s iconic clock known as Hortense

Alas, some mythbusters (I’ll call them spoilsports) have raised questions about—ironically—the timing of the story, arguing that the fundraising campaign started years before plans for a new City Hall were confirmed. But why let dates get in the way of a good local legend? Either way, it’ll always be known as the Hortense Clock. 

If you really want to get to the bottom of the mystery, or any number of other Tampa myths, the City has a unique tool, available to all residents, which the City highlights every year as part of its birthday celebrations. In 1987, the City of Tampa established the Archives and Records Division in order to document the City’s heritage. Every July, coinciding with Tampa’s birthday, the City celebrates Archives Awareness Week to highlight the importance of identifying, preserving and conserving crucial historical records. Residents can talk to staff and make an appointment to have them assist in searching the division’s records for historic photos, documents, and artifacts, or that needle in a haystack that might solve a nagging mystery. 

Start by heading over to Tampa’s 137th Birthday Celebration at 3pm on July 15 at Old City Hall at 315 E. Kennedy. The afternoon’s program will include Fred Hearns, Curator of Black History at the Tampa Bay History Center, talking about Tampa in 1924 when the City was ruled by Commission, as well as City Council member Charlie Miranda, who will share memories from his thirty years in office. Following the program, birthday cake will be served, and guests will receive a commemorative booklet, “100 Years Ago: Tampa in 1924.” The program at Old City Hall is one of more than a dozen events commemorating the city’s founding.  Here’s a full list of events celebrating Tampa’s 137th.