The historical district of Tampa, Florida known as Ybor City was established in the late 1890’s by Cuban National Vicente Martinez Ybor, as the location for his business endeavor of manufacturing high quality, hand rolled Cuban Cigars. Ybor’s cigar business model was so successful that Ybor City became widely known as Cigar City. With the expanding workforce came a need for more housing development for the workers. To remedy the housing need, Ybor commissioned architect Francis J. Kennard to design the building of The Ybor City Land and Improvement Company in 1895; at an estimated cost of $35,000.00. With humble intentions in mind, Vicente Ybor could have never guessed the gruesome events that would manifest inside the walls of The Ybor City Land and Improvement Company, making it one of the most haunted buildings in the state of Florida.
