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Temple Terrace Florida

Temple Terrace is a small city compared to its sister cities, Tampa and Brandon. With a population of around 23,000 people, it is very easy to pass right through and not even realize you have been through Temple Terrace. There is one fire station, one library, one police station, and one post office. The main intersection 56th St. and Busch/Bullard Blvd. is an area being considered for a town hall.

Temple Terrace was incorporated on May 28, 1925, and was named after the hybrid "Temple" oranges and the "Terraced" terrain. Exploration of the area goes back to the 1750s when the Spanish Royal Fleet made its voyage up the Hillsborough River.

In 1922, the city was surrounded by orange groves, and boasted the largest grove in the world in 1922. Around this time, Temple Terrace was being redeveloped to include beautiful golf courses. However, when the Stock Market crashed in 1929 and then the Depression took hold of the area's economy, the city's population dwindled to around 200 residents.

In 1960, during the great post-war housing boom, the area became the second fastest growing city in the U.S. Since then, Temple Terrace has annexed several smaller areas to bring the city's size up to 6.5 square miles.

Temple Terrace doesn't have much to offer tourists and visitors, with one exception. Every Christmas season, one street comes alive with hundreds of thousands of sparkling lights, waving Santas, and grazing reindeer. If you happen to be in town in December, stop in at the Dairy Queen off 56th Street and get directions to Hialeah Street. When you start seeing cars turning off their lights, follow suit and drive slow. Roll down your windows and get ready to wave to several people in the holiday spirit. You really won't want to miss this!