Temple Terrace, FL

Temple Terrace is a small city bordering Tampa on the northeast, planned in the 1920s as one of the first golf course communities in the country and named for the Temple orange once grown here. It is mostly residential, and its appeal is in tree-shaded streets, Mediterranean Revival architecture and the Hillsborough River curving through town.

Where is Temple Terrace?

Temple Terrace is in Hillsborough County in the Tampa Bay region, bordered by Tampa to the west and north. I-75 runs along its eastern edge, I-275 is a few miles west, and Fowler Avenue, Busch Boulevard and 56th Street are the main local roads. Tampa International (TPA) is about 25 minutes away. The University of South Florida campus sits just northwest of the city, and downtown Tampa is about 20 minutes southwest. The Gulf beaches in Pinellas County are about an hour away.

Things to do in Temple Terrace

The Hillsborough River is the main draw: Riverhills Park and Billy Graham Memorial Park sit on its banks, and paddlers explore the river’s oak-lined shoreline. About 15 of architect M. Leo Elliott’s original buildings and more than 35 houses by Dwight James Baum survive, so a drive or walk through the older neighborhoods is a lesson in 1920s Florida design. Lettuce Lake Park, a Hillsborough County park just upriver in Tampa, has a boardwalk through cypress swamp and an observation tower. Florida College has its campus in town. The city is a Tree City USA, and fall through spring is the best time to be outside.