The Castle (Ybor City)

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The Castle is a nightclub in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, located at 2004 N 16th Street in the Ybor City Historic District. Built in 1930, it began as a clubhouse for the Knights of the Golden Eagle and was known as the Cristobal Colon castle. In 1968, it became the Labor Temple for cigar and restaurant workers after the previous Labor Temple building (a white stucco structure from 1925) was demolished.

In 1992, Alan Kahana bought the ground floor and opened a saloon for Guavaween; he later purchased the whole building and redesigned it as The Castle. The interior was made to resemble a medieval castle, with the Main Hall upstairs and a ground-floor area called the Dungeon. A moat-like feature in the bar was removed after spills.

During the 1990s, The Castle hosted a variety of genres, including acid jazz, swing, live bands, and later goth and industrial music. By 1997 Friday nights became a popular Goth night, and by 2003 there were retro ’80s nights along with goth nights. Today The Castle operates on Friday and Saturday nights, offering themed events such as Star Wars, steampunk, cosplay, and vampire balls.

The Tampa Bay Times has called The Castle a Tampa institution and “Ybor’s goth mecca,” and it is recognized internationally among goth and industrial music fans. The Castle is a contributing property in the Ybor City Historic District and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 28, 1974 (NRHP reference 74000641).

The Castle has appeared in pop culture as well, with claims that it inspired a Saturday Night Live goth segment ( disputed), and it has been used in a Slim Jim commercial and the film Parasitic.