Historic Cuban Club Restoration Aims To Preserve Ybor Landmark For ‘Another 100 Years’

TAMPA, FL — Workers and volunteers have set their sights on bringing new life to an historic building that once provided health care, cultural connections and community to some of Tampa’s immigrant workers

Over the past six years, this team has focused on the detailed restoration of the Cuban Club, which was built in 1917.

The large-scale project has multiple moving parts, from carefully removing decades-old paint from the brick exterior to uncover and refurbish the aging masonry to preserving and reconstructing historic features with painstaking precision.

Now, they’re in the final stretch of rejuvenating one of Ybor City’s most significant historic buildings to its original appearance while preserving a landmark that has served generations of Tampa residents for more than a century.

The ongoing restoration at the Cuban Club, funded by a $2.5 million state appropriation, is expected to be completed by next July, Patrick Manteiga, the Cuban Club's vice president and director of grants and construction, told Patch. This current grant focuses on making the historic building watertight, restoring original architectural details and preventing further deterioration before crews begin more extensive interior renovations.

"You can't really fix the building until you stop it from leaking," Manteiga said. "We would like this to be here for another 100 years and that’s what we’re trying to do. We're trying to do repairs that are permanent, repairs that have life to them.”

The current project represents another chapter in what has become a decade-long effort to rehabilitate the landmark. Unlike some of Ybor City's other historic social clubs, Manteiga said the Cuban Club never underwent a comprehensive restoration after its last major renovation in the 1950s.

Instead, volunteers have worked methodically to stabilize the structure, replacing roofs, windows and doors before tackling smaller sources of water intrusion that threaten the building's masonry and interior.

Now, crews are removing deteriorated mortar between bricks, replacing damaged bricks with custom-made replicas that match the originals and stripping paint from the exterior brickwork so the masonry can "breathe" as it was originally designed to do, Manteiga said.

They're also recreating long-lost architectural features using historic photographs as their guide.

Decorative lamp posts that once lined the building will return to the property, while original balustrades are being reconstructed. Ornamental metalwork is also being restored, and wood cornices are being replaced.

The work is being completed through a mix of old-school craftsmanship and modern technology. As one example, replacement decorative finials atop the building's wrought-iron railings were created using 3D scanning and printing after preservationists determined they were visually identical to the originals.

"Sometimes technology helps," Manteiga said.

Historic preservation often requires more specialized work than standard construction, he added. Contractors must custom-fabricate replacement pieces, carefully match mortar colors and receive approval from preservation officials before certain work can proceed.

And this work can be costly — even seemingly minor details can cost tens of thousands of dollars. But it’s necessary work, according to Manteiga.

Preserving the Cuban Club goes beyond saving an old building, as the structure tells a uniquely American immigration story, he said.

Unlike many immigrant communities elsewhere in the country, Tampa's Cuban immigrants included not only factory workers but cigar manufacturers, business owners and bankers who helped shape the city's economy.

The Cuban Club served as far more than a gathering place for these immigrants. As a mutual aid society, members had access to healthcare, cultural programs, theater productions, sports leagues and social activities under one membership.

Manteiga believes organizations like the Cuban Club were among the country's earliest examples of prepaid healthcare systems.

The building also continues serving the community in a modern role. Today, the Cuban Club hosts weddings, concerts, festivals and community events, with rental revenue helping fund ongoing preservation work and future restoration projects.

Once the current exterior restoration is complete and water intrusion is eliminated, attention will shift to inside the building, where damaged plaster, paint and other finishes can finally be repaired without fear of new leaks undoing the work.

The restoration is about ensuring future generations can experience a building that helped define Ybor City's identity, Manteiga said.

"This building serves as kind of a standing museum," he said. "When you take people in it, it's easier to explain the permanence of these groups, what they wanted to achieve and why this history matters."