It's a street nearly everyone in Tampa Bay knows, but nearly everyone may be mispronouncing Adamo Drive. Plus, the sprawling suburb of Brandon may have been around a lot longer than you think.
Why do they call it Brandon? Brandon Boulevard is a symbol of sprawl, crammed with so many strip malls and stop lights. So, the town around it has to be brand new, right? "Brandon's another one of those places that probably is older than people think," said Rodney Kite-Powell, the curator of history at the Tampa Bay History Center.He says Brandon was named for the family of John Brandon and his wife, Victoria. They moved here around the Civil War, when the area was called "New Hope." John Brandon had seven kids. One of them built a beautiful two-story house along the main street. "That home still stands today, and it's the Stowers funeral home," Kite-Powell said. After John Brandon died, Victoria had their massive orange grove surveyed so it could be turned into a new city. "The survey was finally filed in 1890, and that's when the community became known as Brandon," Kite-Powell said."The streets were also named at that time, so Victoria Street was named for her -- Victoria Brandon -- and Sadie Street was named for Victoria and John Brandon's daughter, Sadie." A newspaper article about that new town suggested far-off Brandon would one day become a bedroom community for Tampa. Talk about a solid prediction. Why do they call it Adamo Drive?
It's tough to tell why it's called "ADAM-oh" Drive, because the road is named for Army Doctor Frank Adamo, who pronounced his name "a-DAHM-oh."Lieutenant Colonel Adamo ran a medical hospital in Bataan. That's where World War II saw some of its most bitter fighting. But that's where Adamo was brightest. A shortage of supplies at the hospital led Adamo to invent a new way to treat gangrene. Without his breakthrough treatment, the only way to keep a G.I. alive was amputating an infected arm or leg. Adamo's discovery saved hundreds of lives and thousands of limbs. But the invading Japanese took the Ybor City native prisoner. He lived, locked away, in vile conditions, for nearly three years. Finally, U.S. troops found and freed him. Dr. Frank Adamo, a true American hero, came home to find one of Tampa's main streets renamed in his honor. Why do they call it that? Now you know.
Thanks to Dan, a Tampa native, for suggesting Adamo Drive.There are a lot more places out there with names that could use explaining. If you want to ask "Why do they call it that?" send an e-mail with a name that has you curious to Grayson Kamm using this link. We'll be featuring new places and stories each Wednesday on The Morning Show from 5-7 a.m. on 10 Connects. Connect with 10 Connects multi-media journalist Grayson Kamm on Twitter as @graysonkamm, on his Facebook page, or by e-mail at this link.
