In the late 1920s, members of the Riverside Baptist Church acquired a lot at the corner of Tampa Street and Keys Avenue, with a formal groundbreaking for a temporary two-story structure scheduled for December 1927. Church members immediately began volunteering their time to build the wood-frame structure in record time, and it was opened in early 1928.

In 1946, the church built additional housing behind it on the same lot. In 1959, church officials sought permits for a new building located one block north at 2923 N. Tampa St. The permits were granted, and the new $300,000 Georgian Colonial architecture church opened in 1961. There have been several changes to the church organization and name since then, but Exciting Central Tampa Baptist was established in January 2007 and continues to worship in the building. The original church building is now gone, but the residential housing built on the property remains and is owned by Exciting Central Tampa Baptist Church.

Interestingly, the Burgert Brothers photo journal entry says, “Riverside Baptist Church at 2911 Tampa Street (at intersection with Keys Street)”. Keye Street is misspelled. 

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