Temple Terrace has a long rich history from the Native Americans that lived in the area until the Spanish conquistadors followed the Hillsborough River and started homesteading the land. The city was named after the hybrid "Temple" oranges.
On the northeast side of the Tampa Bay area, Temple Terrace is centrally located because of its close proximity to Tampa Bay's three major highways. It is bordered by Interstate 275 on the west, Interstate 75 on the east, Interstate 4 on the south, and Fletcher Avenue and the University of South Florida on the north. The city borders rural Thonotosassa on the east and New Tampa on the north east. Temple Terrace is conveniently located to Tampa/St. Petersburg area, Orlando and the sparkling west Florida beaches. The City also has excellent access to entertainment attractions, medical facilities, cultural and sporting events, shopping excursions. It is also located close to Busch Gardens and Adventure Island. The city has 2 community-based recreation centers, 3 athletic facilities, 5 community parks, 5 neighborhood parks, 3 tennis facilities, 5 swimming pools and 3 nature preserves.
The city is an ideal location for college students and USF faculty. Temple Terrace offers new homes, established neighborhoods with upscale and moderate homes, apartments and condominiums plus home sites that surround the Temple Terrace golf course and border the Hillsborough River.
Here are a list of subdivisions and communities in Temple Terrace. This is not an all inclusive list, as there can be hundreds of subdivisions in a city. Click a link below to learn more about a specific subdivision/community.
Country Way | Hidden Oaks | Raintree | Temple Terrace Estates | The Preserve At Temple Terrace | Theresa ArborExploration of the Temple Terrace area dates back to 1757 when the Spanish Royal Fleet made its way up the Hillsborough River to what is now Riverhills Park. Confirmation of the fleet's travels is found in its map and log book. An historic marker and a replica of the cross erected to honor St. Theresa is found in the Park today. In the late 1800s/early 1900s, the many pine trees made the area popular for turpentine manufacturing.
In 1911, the land that is now Temple Terrace was acquired by the famous Potter Palmer family of Chicago as a portion of their 6,000-acre winter hunting preserve. After Mrs. Palmer’s death in 1918, the family sold its holdings to three developers who formed two development corporations—Temple Terrace Estates, Inc., who developed the golf course and residential areas; and Temple Terraces, Inc., who developed 5,000 acres of orange groves that originally surrounded the City, the largest orange grove in the world in 1922.
And it was for these oranges that the City was named. A new kind of orange, the “ Temple” was grown in the community’s extensive citrus groves. The new development was originally targeted to be a golf course community for the wealthy elite of the North. Each homeowner would have a winter villa and citrus grove tract to occupy their time and provide extra income. The architecture of the community was developed in the Mediterranean Revival theme, as the Florida sunshine and climate reminded many of exotic locales such as Spain and the Mediterranean area, and developers sought to capture this mystique in the architecture of the community. Red barrel tiles from Cuba and Spain certified to be over 100 years old were imported for the roofs of over 80 homes that were built in this style during the early 1920s. Many of these homes have been lovingly restored and can be seen along side the modern architecture of homes today.
The golf course, designed by famed Scottish designer Tom Bendelow, was particularly unique in that it meandered through the development so that no two holes would run side-by-side. Golf was an all-day affair, with families following matches on the roads that ran along side the fairways. Following a day on the links, residents congregated at the country club for their meals. In fact, meals at the country club were such an integral part of the Temple Terrace lifestyle that homes were built with very minimal kitchen facilities or even no kitchen at all!
The original town plan for Temple Terrace, created in 1922, was a model of town planning in its day. Between 1923 and 1925 during the land boom, streets were paved, storm sewers installed, and a well was drilled to tap spring water. On May 25, 1925, the City was incorporated, with D. Collins Gillette, one of the founding developers, serving as the first mayor, and Maude Fowler, one of the foremost women real estate operators in America, serving as vice mayor.
The stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression caused the City to fall upon hard times. The plan that developers originally had for Temple Terrace was never fully realized. When the Depression hit Temple Terrace, the town consisted of the golf course and the residential areas, with eighty-five Mediterranean Revival residences built. The population fell to about 200 people and municipal services debts were paid by residents bartering goods and services. Most of the orange groves had been wiped out in a hard freeze two years earlier in 1927 and 1928. The area remained stagnant for almost twenty years, until the housing boom after World War II.
In 1960, the population of the City climbed to 3,812, making Temple Terrace the second fastest growing city in the U.S. Today, with a population of over 23,000 the City continues to grow and flourish. Annexations of surrounding unincorporated properties have allowed the City’s boundaries to grow to an area of 6.5 square miles. The convenient location and natural beauty of the area makes Temple Terrace an attractive destination to residents and businesses alike. And with plans underway to complete the plan for a downtown area that founding fathers were unable to complete, our City promises to be “A City for Living” for many generations to come.
Source: City of Temple Terrace
