Perry Harvey Sr. Park Gateway Sculptures

The story

Just north of downtown Tampa, where the skyline gives way to the ENCORE redevelopment, sits an 11-acre park built over what was once The Scrub—Tampa’s historic Black neighborhood and the core of its Central Avenue music district. Urban renewal projects cleared away the historic juke joints and storefronts decades ago, but Perry Harvey Sr. Park reclaimed the plot with an outdoor gateway that refuses to let that memory fade.

Pittsburgh artist James Simon sculpted a colossal, stylized brass-and-soul ensemble directly along Harrison Street. You're met by 16-foot concrete musicians—including a bassist slanting into his instrument and a towering saxophonist—alongside nine-foot dancers, giant concrete lampshades, and a monumental stained-glass jukebox. Instead of a standard bronze plaque, the district's mid-century musical heritage is cast in heavy, exaggerated concrete and mosaic tile.

Beyond the gateway figures, the park embeds historical timeline mosaic tiles along its central walkway detailing the neighborhood's history. But Simon’s towering statues remain the primary spectacle, standing like giant guardians between modern apartment blocks and the open grass.