Seminole Heights United Methodist Church - Page 1


This church built in 1927 is located on the southeast corner of Hanna Avenue and Central Avenue.

Click below to read the plaque.

seminolehtschurch3.jpg (41095 bytes)

 

 

 

 

 

These doors were presented in 1999 as a tribute to the memory of Frank V. Giunta and made possible by the generosity of Grace G. Giunta.

 

 

The church was designed by architect Frank A. Winn who also designed the old brick schoolhouse in Lutz which was built in 1927 and is listed on the National Historic Register.   Winn was born in Leesburg in 1893 and moved to Tampa in 1902.  He also designed the Municipal Fishing Pier and Pavilion in Ballast Point Park and the Tampa Heights Methodist Church.

 

 

 

The north face along Hanna Ave.  The site was originally the Seminole Heights Elementary School which was moved to the north side of Hanna in order to build the church here.

 

 

 

Hanna Avenue was named for Josiah C. Hanna, Sr.  He was born in Tennessee around 1810 and had homesteaded land along the Hillsborough River by 1870 in the area where the river takes a sharp turn at a circular area formed by swirling currents. This part of the river became a popular swimming spot in the old days, known as "Hanna's Whirl" for Josiah, Sr.    In 1874, Josiah Sr. built the first bridge across the Hillsborough River near present-day Van Dyke Place, just east of present-day Nebraska Ave. This bridge was destroyed in a flood in 1880. His son, Joe Hanna, Jr. was one of the earliest settlers in the North Tampa area now known as "Lutz" but then known as "Stemper."   In 1905 while living in the northern U.S, he purchased land in the Stemper area, "sight unseen" and later became a major producer of oranges and tropical fruit.  A street which runs north/south in Lutz is named after him, as well as a lake. 

Church p.1        Church p.2

 

 


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