Experience the Majic, History, Diversity & FUN of Ybor City / Tampa at The Rainbow Carriage House. Built by your hosts Mark & Carrie West, a gay couple together for 45+ years. Original built for Family and Friends. Today is being shared with you.
This 1,500+ sf ft second floor 2-bedroom apartment is new construction but you would never know. During covid Mark & Carrie carefully salvaged parts of their Tampa 1890 Cigar Forman home, before the new owner demolished it. Repurposing doors, molding/trim, tin ceiling, archways, wall paneling & more. Adding in all the modern conveniences like, cable TV, wifi, outside cameras, central heat & air, micro wave, toaster oven, DW, coffee bar, washer dryer etc etc. There is a node to Local Ybor Artis and Mark’s very own art works. Outside you will find a patio area with a fire pit &bamboo butterfly garden. 2 designated off street parking spaces. All this with a classy wink to the LGBTQ+ Rainbow.
Your Hosts Mark & Carrie live on property in the main home. LGBT advocates their entire life together. For 29 years they were owners and operated 9 Gay Pride stores in Tampa, St Petersburg, Gulfport and Orlando. In 2007 started the GaYbor District Collation in Historic Ybor City. Carrie is the founder and current President of Tampa Pride. People call Carrie the mayor of Ybor. Both are happy to answer all your questions while respecting your privacy.
Location, Location, Location. Located at 3510 E 8th Ave. One block north of Ybor City’s 7th Avenue which was “Designated One of Americas 10 Great Streets” in 2008 by the American Planning Association. You are 10 blocks from the World-Famous Columbia Restaurant. A $5 to $10 uber ride to Ybor City, Water Street, Cruise Ships & Downtown Tampa. There are so many new experiences here waiting for you.
We look forward to sharing our comunity and guest home with you.
Judge Leo Stalnaker, with his wife Judson Lorene Vest, & daughter Lula Belle. Note young girl on porch?The car is thought to be a 1937 Buick.
The Rainbow Carriage House at 3512 East 8th Ave.
Time Line
1890’s
There were 3 small cigar factory homes here. They were called La Casita. Built at 3510 E 8th Ave, on 4 lots.
1898
Trains coming from the east would make a sharp turn to the north. Then the tracks were turned and the trains would back into the Station at Tampa to the west. When leaving back to the east the train would drive straight out. At this turning point a Post Office was established. Named after the Post Master General, Gary, of the United States. “Gary Town”
Theordore Roosevelt “Teddy” and the Rough Riders were sailing to Cuba from Tampa preparing for the American-Spanish war. When the train turned to the north and stopped Teddy asked if they were in Tampa. The conductor said No they were turning the train around here in Gary and would back in the last mile to the station. Teddy said,” let’s get off here and have a parade into Tampa (Ybor City).” Teddy thanked the good people of Gary for feeding and watering their horses. Then he noted a very unusual tree. Described as a tree with its roots growing down from the sky. That tree is the Banyan Tree in our yard. One of the hand water pumps is still in the yard. Years later someone built bricks around the pump to save it for history.
1908
The Tierra Del Lago Cigar Factory is built at a cost of $3,000
Judge Leo Stalnaker was living 2 blocks at 3210 E 8th Ave in the oldest house in Tampa https://www.tampapix.com/stalnaker.htm . He purchased the 3 homes at 3510 E 8th Ave. The home to the west was the home of his wife’s parents, who lived there. Moving 2 of the houses together and took the 3rd one apart and used the wood in his new home. The distinctive colonial ante-bellum house stands today. Leo Stalnaker Sr. was living here with his wife Judson, adopted son Zeno, son Leo Jr. and daughter Lula Belle.
1921
The Tierra Del Lago Cigar Factory becomes “Gary Lodge, No. 240 F&AM and occupied the building until 1972. The United Steel Workers of America owned the building from 1972 to 1989, when the True Love Missionary Baptist Church obtained the property.
1923
Gary became incorporated into Tampa. A rural farm area filled with guava trees and celery fields.
1926
The Tampa Theatre, https://tampatheatre.org/ opens with great fanfare. Tampa’s Jewel! This was the very 1st building in Tampa to have air-conditioning. Judge Leo Stalnaker was on the building board committee. A young Italian plaster artist applied for the job of plastering the interior of the new Tampa Theatre. Judge Leo said come out and do a project to judge your work. The job included the judges house dining room and living room. The committee came to the home and he got the job. Mrs. Stalnaker is one of the very 1st to play the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ. She continues to play for may years. She was also a local piano teacher.
1927
Judge Leo Stalnaker takes on the Tampa organized crime families & mafias. Armed police stand guard on the home’s balconies for safety and protection.
1939
Mrs. Stalnaker continues to teach piano lessons to the community of Gary and Ybor City. Being the wife of a judge and a very hip person she has a new favorite song. She teaches all the children to play this new song. One person tells us that his grandmother took those lessons. She remembers the Judge coming into the room and said, “You did a very good job playing the piano.” The song was from the new movie, “The Wizard of Oz” and they were playing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and had to play the song in a recital to pass. After this, all the school kids in the area called the home, “The Rainbow Plantation.”
1953
The original Hillsborough County Court House is set to be torn down. Judge Leo Stalnaker goes and salvages 2 stain glass windows, 1 stair well, inside 4 court pillars with the Hillsborough County crest in gold at the top of each pillar. These are incorporated into his home and judges’ office. Two large stone pieces are used for benches outside under the Banyan tree.
1972
In a sudden death, Judson Lorene passes away. The judge’s wife’s sister, Kathleen Beazley, is a widow and travels from Alaska to attend the funeral. She likes Tampa and stays here. Later that year Kathleen Beazley and Judge Leo Stalnaker secretly took a train to West Virgina where the Stalnaker family is from, and were married. The family were very upset about this and did not approve.
June 22, 1986
Judge Leo Stalnaker passes away at home in the living room of cancer.
October 28, 1988 Kathleen Beazley Stalnaker sells property with everything in it to Daniel O. Sullivan. She did not allow the Stalnaker family inside to get anything. She then moved across the street into the green house. Where she later died.
November 1, 1995 Daniel Sullvan sells property to Arne Hanson and Martin F. Sicard.
April 1, 1999 Martin Sicard and Arne Hanson sell property to James & Patricia Singleton.
2014 James Singelton dies in family’s Living room. A tinkerer of old classic radios and round tube TVs from the 40’,50’s,60’s & 70’s. All in the old carriage house and horse barn.
April 23, 2015 Patricia Singleton sells the 4-lot house & property to Mark & Carrie.
There is now a whole book coming about Mark & Carrie restoring and renovating the Rainbow Planation.
May 20, 2020
Mark & Carrie sold their pervious “shotgun house” home in North Hyde Park, Tampa. It was built in the 1890’s as a cigar supervisor home. Superior for the day. When we accepted the offer Mark commented…. “You have not been inside the home. I am sure that you are planning to knock the buildings down for new construction. The buyer (Weekly Homes) said,” Oh Yes”. Then we asked if it was OK the we took some parts of the home. The buyer laughed out loud and said, “You can take the whole house, its coming down the day after closing. This was during the covid lock down. The next 2 months we salvaged everything we could. The doors, beadboard walls, archways, molding, tin ceiling, window iron work, bricks /pavers and even the very cool 1940’s ½” paneling. We also owned a triplex 2 doors down from here. There was a big double garage empty so everything went into it. Then Mark started to design the new Rainbow Carriage House and 5 car garage in our side yard. The plans were drawn up by an architectural Engineer.
The Rainbow Carraige House
12/28/2020 The building plans were approved by the city of Tampa. There was a huge fight with the city over setbacks and the banyan tree. The alley access had been abandoned by the city. The original rear setback was 10ft and they wanted the tree gone. City inspectors’ mis-identified the tree as not being a banyan tree, just a trash tree. “Banyan trees we were told do not grow in Tampa!” We called to have the state arborist look at the tree to judge if it was a banyan tree worth preserving and the trees health. The state arborist said, “Yes that is appr. 200-year-old Banyan tree.” It was later OKed by the city to proceed to have a 5ft rear set back and save the huge umbrella treasured tree. Yes, we are tree huggers!!!! Mark was the general contractor for this project. All the repurposed parts that were saved from our former home were used here in the new Carriage House addition. The archways, window valances, the tin ceiling tiles now around the skylight, accent walls made from beadboard, window guard over the laundry room window, doors were converted into barndoors, window valances, the old fashion 9” kitchen molding, and ½” corduroy wall paneling was all used.
After 54 approved city inspections, the certificate of occupancy was given. 3 years later on 11/2023.
1/2024 The newly built Rainbow Carriage House opens as a 2-bedroom spacious Airbnb.
Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. We feel this is just the beginning of a new story. Mark & Carrie West
Jann & Lula Belle The home across the street is still there today.
Looks like a 2-story was next to it, that is now a vacant lot.
Same Car as in front of home??? The door handles look different. This photo is also from the Stalnaker family photos. Caption under photo say… Merril, Mai, Mama, Nacay, Lulabelle, Judson. Might be visiting relatives.
