El Centro Español de Tampa was a mutual aid society and cultural clubhouse incorporated in Ybor City in 1891, specifically for Spanish immigrants who came to work in the cigar industry. West Tampa was founded in 1892 when Hugh Macfarlane, a native of Scotland, went to the area and bought several hundred acres, promoting it as a great land to expand cigar manufacturing. This building was constructed as a branch of the Ybor club for use by members in the growing West Tampa area in 1913. The architecture mimicked the structure in Ybor City and was open to all members. It housed a theater, ballroom, cantina, meeting and recreation areas and was a prime spot for socializing and playing dominos.

It fell into disrepair as the cigar industry dwindled and membership fell. The City of Tampa purchased the 12,000 sq. ft. building in 1999 and leased it to the Tampa-Hillsborough Urban League for $1. The league folded six years later with over $3 million in debt. The city again purchased it from Wachovia Bank, the mortgage holder, for $1 million in 2007. In 2010, The Hillsborough Education Foundation, a non-profit organization providing free assistance to teachers and students, moved in and remains there today, a good fit for a building constructed as a mutual aid society.

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