TPA exhibition takes visitors on a first-class journey through Tampa Bay aviation history

Tampa International Airport is inviting history buffs, aviation fans, and curious travelers to board a journey through more than a century of flight in the Tampa Bay area.

“TPA Presents: The Story of Aviation in Tampa Bay” lands Friday, July 17, from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Main Terminal Event Space on Level 3, offering guests a rare look at the people, planes, and pivotal moments that helped turn Tampa Bay into one of the birthplaces of commercial aviation.

The free public event will showcase an expanded collection of archival treasures, including original artist concept drawings of Tampa International Airport’s iconic Main Terminal, vintage photographs, and archival film footage from the airport’s earliest days. This year’s exhibition also broadens its focus beyond TPA to spotlight the history of Peter O. Knight Airport, Tampa Executive Airport, and Plant City Airport, three facilities that played major roles in shaping regional aviation.

Visitors can expect a mix of nostalgia and discovery, with exhibits tracing everything from early airfields and pioneering pilots to the evolution of modern air travel in Tampa Bay.

One of the afternoon’s featured events will be a screening of the new documentary “America 250: A Portrait of Florida” beginning at 4:30 p.m. The film explores Florida’s contributions to American history, including Tampa Bay’s claim as the birthplace of commercial airline service thanks to the famous Tony Jannus flight across Tampa Bay in 1914.

Following the screening, attendees can hear from a panel of local aviation experts and historians discussing the lasting impact of that first commercial flight and the future of aviation in the region. Panelists include TPA Communications Manager and unofficial airport historian Beau Zimmer, Tony Jannus expert and retired St. Petersburg History Museum Executive Director Will Michaels, and Visit Tampa Bay President and CEO Santiago Corrada.

The event is also part of the City of Tampa’s annual Archives Awareness Week, a citywide celebration of local history timed to coincide with Tampa’s birthday on July 15. Tampa International Airport joined the initiative for the first time last year, and this year’s expanded aviation program is one of several history-focused events taking place across the region throughout the week.

Archives Awareness Week activities include cigar-making history presentations at J.C. Newman Cigar Company, preservation workshops at Tampa’s Black History Museum, research sessions at USF Libraries Special Collections, genealogy programs at the John F. Germany Library, and history talks at the Tampa Bay History Center. Click here to view the city's full schedule of events.

Last year’s inaugural archives event at TPA focused primarily on the airport’s own historical collection, but organizers say this year’s expanded exhibition paints a fuller picture of the entire Hillsborough County Aviation Authority system and the airports that helped connect Tampa Bay to the world long before modern jet travel.

The event is free and open to the public. Guests who park in the Economy Parking Garage can receive parking validation and ride the SkyConnect Train to the Main Terminal. From there, the exhibition space is located on Level 3 near the entrance to the Airside E shuttle lobby.

For aviation enthusiasts, local history lovers, or anyone who has ever looked out an airplane window and wondered how it all began, this event promises a fascinating trip through Tampa Bay’s skies with no boarding pass required.