Historic Photos of Florida Tourist Attractions

By Steve Rajtar

Today, we're familiar with the major theme parks which charge families hundreds of dollars a day to wait in line for moments of thrills on technologically amazing rides. Florida, however, has been drawing tourists for centuries with simpler attractions which cost much less to view the animals or exhibits, or commune with nature. In Historic Photos of Florida Early Tourist Attractions, Steve Rajtar brings us back to the simpler ways early visitors enjoyed their time in the Sunshine State.

Tour the state with photos of the tourist attractions which were here before Walt Disney World, in the days when a row of antique cars sufficed and tourists did not require constant action. See the wax figures which amazed visitors long before the invention of audioanimatronic mannequins. See what curiosities brought in the tourists and their dollars decades before today's theme parks dominated the billboards and themselves became worldwide vacation destinations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Jan 1, 2008
• ISBN: 9781618586261

Book preview

HISTORIC PHOTOS OF

FLORIDA TOURIST

ATTRACTIONS

TEXT AND CAPTIONS BY STEVE RAJTAR

Henry Plant built the Tampa Bay Hotel to attract railroad passengers. It opened in 1891 at a cost of $3 million, featuring a Moorish Revival style modeled after the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. There are twelve towers with bulbous domes and cupolas, ornate porches, and covered cornices. The former resort now houses the University of Tampa.

HISTORIC PHOTOS OF

FLORIDA TOURIST

ATTRACTIONS

Turner Publishing Company

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Nashville, Tennessee 37219

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Historic Photos of Florida Tourist Attractions

Copyright © 2008 Turner Publishing Company

All rights reserved.

This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007936866

ISBN-13: 978-1-59652-417-0

Printed in the United States of America

08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15—0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

ALACHUA COUNTY

BAY COUNTY

BREVARD COUNTY

BROWARD COUNTY

CITRUS COUNTY

CLAY COUNTY

COLLIER COUNTY

DUVAL COUNTY

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

FRANKLIN COUNTY

GLADES COUNTY

GULF COUNTY

HAMILTON COUNTY

HERNANDO COUNTY

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY

JACKSON COUNTY

LAKE COUNTY

LEE COUNTY

LEON COUNTY

LEVY COUNTY

LIBERTY COUNTY

MANATEE COUNTY

MARION COUNTY

MARTIN COUNTY

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

MONROE COUNTY

NASSAU COUNTY

OKALOOSA COUNTY

ORANGE COUNTY

OSCEOLA COUNTY

PALM BEACH COUNTY

PINELLAS COUNTY

POLK COUNTY

PUTNAM COUNTY

ST. JOHNS COUNTY

SARASOTA COUNTY

SEMINOLE COUNTY

SUMTER COUNTY

TAYLOR COUNTY

VOLUSIA COUNTY

WAKULLA COUNTY

WALTON COUNTY

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

In 1955, the Gulfarium opened in Fort Walton Beach with a porpoise theme. Porpoises performed in the large pool. Porpoises were shown on posters and signs throughout the park. The sign along the road showed a porpoise outlined in neon, constantly jumping through a hoop. The attraction is still entertaining porpoise fans today.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This volume, Historic Photos of Florida Tourist Attractions, is the result of the cooperation and efforts of many individuals and organizations. It is with great thanks that we acknowledge the valuable contribution of the Library of Congress, the State Archives of Florida, and the many photographers and collectors who have shared their images of the state by donating them to the Florida Photographic Collection.

We would also like to thank the hundreds of millions of tourists who have visited Florida since the state was new, anxious to pay for the opportunity to be entertained and amazed. Without their curiosity, most of the attractions depicted in this book would not have existed.

INTRODUCTION

Since the earliest days following its discovery by Europeans in the 1500s, Florida has been attracting visitors who seek adventure, wealth, escape from civilization, and opportunities to set up their own businesses to attract the dollars of others. Early tourist attractions were comparatively simple, some consisting merely of natural phenomena such as spouting artesian wells, clear spring waters, large or unusual trees, or a variety of ways to view and enjoy the flora, fauna, water, and sunshine.

Many of the early attractions were little more than small exhibits of curious objects or animals. A structure of coral or a collection of parts of trees might bring in visitors willing to pay a nominal amount, just enough to keep the attraction in existence.

The late 1800s also ushered in an era of elaborate hotels, themselves intended to be tourist destinations. Resorts with golf courses, water sports, and gourmet food became popular, especially with wealthy Northern industrialists riding the new railroads.

Things changed drastically in Florida on October 1, 1971. That day, the huge, modern Walt Disney World opened near Orlando with special effects to entertain and amaze, and bring back visitors again and again. The opening of Walt Disney World constituted a challenge to all other tourist attractions to grow and impress and modernize. Some did and today still exist, but many could not compete and soon went out of business. A few retain their mom-and-pop character and enjoy some success in diverting tourists drawn to the mega-parks, which advertise everywhere.

To a significant number of travelers around the world, Florida tourism means Orlando and nearby areas. In addition to Walt Disney World, consisting not only of the Magic Kingdom but also of MGM Studios, water parks, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, Pleasure Island, and other attractions, there are Sea World, Universal Studios, and several other parks designed to draw in tourist dollars. Nearby US 192 heading into Kissimmee is essentially a strip of tourist attractions.

Before 1971, however, Central Florida was not as important as a tourist destination. Vacationers traveling to Florida generally headed for the beaches. They went there for the sand, surf, and sun, but also for the man-made attractions. Panama City, St. Augustine, Miami, Sarasota, and other cities close to the water were where these tourist attractions sprang up. The central part of the state, with its clear springs and geological formations, attracted many who wanted to swim and spend the day with nature, but the coasts were where unusual entertainment could be found.

Early Florida was full of animals not to be found in other parts of the country, other than in zoos. Entrepreneurs found ways to display them and charge admission fees. Performing porpoises were popular at Ocean World, Theater of the Sea, Gulfarium, Aquatarium, and Marineland. Colorful birds populated Jungle Land, McKee Jungle Gardens, the Miami Rare Bird Farm, Sunken Gardens, and the Everglades Wonder Gardens. Snakes were featured at Rattlesnake, Ross Allen’s Reptile Institute, the Miami Serpentarium, and Sarasota Reptile Farm and Zoo. Of course, alligators attracted the curious to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, and to Casper’s Ostrich and Alligator Farm, which, along with the Florida Ostrich Farm in Jacksonville, had tourists getting up close and personal with a bird definitely not from Florida.

Some of the popular attractions were and still are the homes of famous individuals, including Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Thomas Edison, and Ernest Hemingway. Other homes are visited because they are impressive to look at, such as the Gamble Mansion