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Gavino Gutérrez in Spain (seated 2nd on the left)
nce Gutiérrez settled in Tampa, he sent for his wife Nellie Daley, a young Irish girl from New York whom he married on October 31, 1877, when he was 28 years old. Together they had four children–Aurora (married D. B. McKay), Gavino Jr. (married Lolita del Corro), Maria Harriet (married Dr. L.B. Mitchell) and Adelaida (married Franciso Colado). Gutiérrez built his family home on a piece of property he called Spanish Park. His land extended from 7th Avenue in Ybor City all the way to McKay Bay. In the early 1950s, Gutiérrez’s daughter, Maria Harriet Mitchell, sold a large strip of land to the State of Florida for $1 for the construction of Adamo Drive. The family still owns a remaining strip of the original estate along the bay. Gutiérrez also owned another piece of property on the Palm River, nicknamed “The Creek.” He held outdoor fiestas and picnics for cigar makers and their families on Sundays. They rowed their their small boats across the bay from present day 22nd Street and were treated to a day filled with Cuban music and food. Gutiérrez hoped it helped them from becoming too homesick for their homeland. 40
CIGAR CITY MAGAZINE
The small zoo Gutiérrez had on his property intrigued visiting children and adults alike. One large cage held a bear, and Gutiérrez liked to brag that the door of the cage oncebelonged to the first jail in Tampa. It was given to him by his friend and sonin-law, Tampa Mayor D. B. McKay. The jail door remains in the Gutiérrez family today as a keepsake.
Spanish Park