Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a 335-acre (136 ha) African-centered animal theme park in Tampa, Florida, United States. Owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the park opened on June 1, 1959. The park has an annual attendance exceeding 4 million, often ranking second among SeaWorld parks behind SeaWorld Orlando. The park features many roller coasters and thrill rides, including a Dive Coaster named SheiKra, a launch coaster called Tigris, a wood-steel hybrid roller coaster called Iron Gwazi, Falcon’s Fury, the second tallest free-standing drop tower in North America, and Montu, the tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster in the world when it opened.
History
Anheuser-Busch proposed acquiring land in Florida to develop a brewery with Tampa and Jacksonville as potential sites in April 1957. By June, unconfirmed rumors were reported that a $25–30 million brewery would be built in Tampa, Florida, but were initially denied by Anheuser-Busch. Anheuser-Busch made public on July 25 that it had purchased a 160-acre (65 ha) plot of land in Tampa for $320,000 to construct a $20 million brewery. The construction of the Tampa brewery coincided with the construction of a competing brewery in the Tampa Industrial Park complex by Schlitz. For the planning of the brewery, August Busch Jr. remarked that Anheuser-Busch wanted to include gardens to attract the local community and contribute landscaped areas. Busch Jr. believed that functional parks could help widen Anheuser-Busch’s interest. A1 Bed Bug Exterminator Tampa
A $5 million expansion was announced in July 1959 by Anheuser-Busch to the existing facility because of the newfound success. In February 1960, construction started on a geodesic dome in the gardens that were 22.5 feet (6.9 m) high and 90 feet (27 m) in diameter, later opening on March 22, at the cost of $75,000. The dome, named the Adolphus Busch Space Frame, was constructed from anodized aluminum-colored gold and located north of the bird amphitheater. The crown featured landscaping, suspended bird nests, and ponds connected to a lagoon outside. Anheuser-Busch revealed its plan to construct the “Stairway to the Stars” attraction in October, which would be an 86-foot (26 m) Otis escalator to the brewery’s roof. The escalator opened on March 22, 1961, as part of a renovation to the Busch brewery and its public tours. The escalator featured a 5,000-square-foot (460-square-metre) pool beneath, a 1,000-square-foot (93-square-meter) observation deck atop the brewery, and a 150-foot (46 m) raised walkway to enter Busch Gardens. The pool originally hosted penguins.
Address: 10165 McKinley Dr, Tampa, FL
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