Changing Attractions

I received a great gift in the mail last week of Florida postcards purchased by a friend in Cambria, California. I had always thought that it might be easier to buy Florida ephemera outside the state, but never would have expected it on the west coast. Included in the batch were three from subjects of past blogs, The Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, Bok Tower in Lake Wales and Sunken Gardens in St. Pete. While these vintage attractions are still in operation, none of them match the images on the postcards.

My guess is that this is the original spring located on the Fountain of Youth property which has since been plugged up. When the owner of the property unearthed a cross made of rocks in the ground with a nearby silver vessel holding a note from Ponce de Leon inside, the location of the fountain was moved there and they dug a well from which to produce water.

I'm not sure where this Sunken Garden postcard was based on; there was nothing resembling it on my recent trip to St. Pete's Sunken Garden. I love the text on the back, it reads:

"Florida is a delightfully sunny place, fashioned by nature in her happiest mood, endowed with super fine gifts of climate, beauty and salt-ladened health-giving winds and smiling skies."

My favorite thing on the Bok Tower postcard are the two prominent flamingoes, Florida tourism's unofficial state bird. While the reflecting pond below the tower still is home to a pair of beautiful swans, the flamingoes have gone the way of the Dodo.

More images of Sunken Gardens

St. Pete's Sunken Gardens

In 1903 a plumber named George Turner bought four acres of land in St. Petersburg, Florida and promptly went to work draining a lake on the property. Once the lake bottom was exposed, he planted palms, crotons and exotic plant species from all over the world. Soon he was charging admission to see his garden and one of Florida's earliest roadside attractions was born. The Gardens added exotic animals like parrots, flamingoes and monkeys in the '50s and in the '60s added the World Largest Giftshop. In the '90s with the era of roadside attractions long since passed, the city of St. Pete stepped in and took over Sunken Gardens. 

Today the World's Largest Giftshop holds a children's museum and a Carrabba's Italian Restaurant. The Gardens are well maintained and some of the original plants still thrive and have grown to gigantic sizes. Traveler Palms are enormous, bougainvillea tower above oak trees and you can rest in the shade of once squat little Sago Palms. In many places the trees and plants come together overhead to create incredible outdoor rooms that maintain a sense of utter peacefulness. The amphitheatre that once held animal shows is empty as are many of the grotto-like animal cages. The site still has several large Macaws, Parrots and Flamingoes in captivity. The side of me that loves the kitsch of old Florida wishes the animal shows still existed, but I understand why the City of St. Petersburg no longer continues them. The Gardens overall is a beautiful, serene place and I'm glad the city is keeping it intact.