The Cuban Club in Ybor City: Tampa's Most Haunted Club?

Is the Cuban Club in Ybor City haunted? It's one of the most famous haunted buildings in Tampa, with staff, investigators and visitors reporting footsteps, music and figures in its theater, stairways and old pool area. It's also a genuinely important piece of Tampa history, and that's where the best stories start.

Built in 1917 as the home of El Círculo Cubano, the Cuban Club has hosted dances, boxing matches, concerts, flu patients, and more than a century of Ybor City life. Here's what's documented, what's legend, and how to see it for yourself.

The history of the Cuban Club

Ybor City grew up around the cigar industry in the late 1800s, and thousands of Cuban immigrants came to roll cigars in its factories. Like other immigrant communities in Ybor, they built their own mutual aid society. El Círculo Cubano was founded in 1902, growing out of earlier Cuban clubs formed around 1899.

Mutual aid societies were a lifeline. Members paid dues and in return got medical care, a social life and a place where their culture could thrive far from home.

The club's first clubhouse burned in 1916. Members raised money to replace it, and in 1917 they opened the four-story yellow brick building that still stands today. Tampa architect M. Leo Elliott designed it, and it was packed with amenities: a theater, a ballroom, a cantina, a library, a pharmacy, a gym and a swimming pool. Imported tile, stained glass, decorative sgraffito work and ceiling murals made it one of the grandest buildings in Ybor.

A hospital, a dance hall and a landmark

The Cuban Club wasn't just a social hall. During the Spanish flu epidemic, starting in 1918, it served as a temporary hospital for sick Tampa residents, members and non-members alike. It's hard not to think about that when you hear about the strange things people report inside.

In happier years, it was the center of Cuban life in Tampa, with dances, theater and big-name entertainment. Over time, though, the cigar industry faded. The 1962 Cuban trade embargo cut deeply into the dues that had kept the club running, and the building slowly fell into disrepair.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In the early 1990s, the nonprofit Cuban Club Foundation formed to save it, and restoration has continued in phases ever since. As recently as 2026, crews were working on masonry, balustrades and ironwork with help from state funding.

The Cuban Club ghost stories

Here's where things get eerie. The Cuban Club regularly turns up on lists of Tampa's most haunted places, and in 2009 the team from SyFy's Ghost Hunters investigated it for an episode called "Club Dead." These are the legends people tell most often. None are backed by historical records, so treat them as stories, not facts.

The actor in the theater

The best-known legend says a young actor took his own life on the club's stage after forgetting his lines. Ghost tour guides call the theater the building's most active space, with reports of footsteps, piano music and figures sitting in empty seats.

The boy by the pool

The club's old basement pool is the setting for a story about a young boy, often called Jimmy, who supposedly drowned while swimming alone. People claim to have heard a child playing or seen a small figure near where the pool once was. No records confirm a drowning ever happened there.

The woman in white

On the grand staircase, visitors describe a woman in a white gown and red shoes. In the legend, she was pushed from a balcony after refusing a dance.

The shooting

Some versions of the club's lore also mention a fatal shooting during a heated club meeting, with the victim's spirit said to still walk the halls.

Beyond the named ghosts, people report the everyday stuff of a haunted building: an elevator that moves floors on its own, doors that swing open, whispers in Spanish, and drumming or music with no source.

Why the Cuban Club feels haunted

Whether you believe or not, it's easy to see why the stories stick. This building has been a place of celebration, sickness, community and loss for over a century. It's huge, it's old, and many of its rooms sit dark and empty between events. Walk its staircases at night and your brain will fill in the rest.

Visiting the Cuban Club today

The Cuban Club is at 2010 N. Avenida República de Cuba in Ybor City, Tampa. It's not a museum with daily hours. Today it operates as an event venue, hosting weddings, concerts, festivals and community events, and rental income helps pay for its ongoing preservation.

The easiest way to see inside is to attend a public event there. Otherwise, the exterior is worth a stop on any walk through Ybor's historic district, especially in the evening when 7th Avenue comes alive.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Cuban Club in Tampa haunted?

It has one of the strongest haunted reputations in Tampa. Staff, visitors and paranormal investigators have reported unexplained music, footsteps and apparitions, though the specific ghost stories aren't supported by historical records.

When was the Cuban Club built?

The current building was completed in 1917 after the club's first home burned in 1916. The society itself, El Círculo Cubano, dates to 1902.

Can you tour the Cuban Club?

It's primarily a private event venue, so access depends on what's happening there. Check for public events, or admire the building from the street.

Was the Cuban Club on Ghost Hunters?

Yes. The TAPS team from Ghost Hunters investigated the Cuban Club in 2009 for the episode "Club Dead."

Ybor City has more ghost stories per block than almost anywhere in Tampa, and they're best heard after dark. Get the full experience on a Nightly Spirits haunted pub crawl in Tampa.