Where's Waldo?

My first visit to the wonderful world of Waldo Sexton was on my second wedding anniversary three years ago. The occasion for my latest visit, was anniversary number five for Mrs. Ephemera and I, and more importantly anniversary number fifty for my parents. And this time we actually stayed in Sexton's Driftwood Inn, a real treat.

Waldo Sexton discovered Vero Beach in 1913, after moving from Indiana. According to "A Brief History of the Driftwood Inn", Sexton's early focus was the oceanfront structure he built for his family that later became the Driftwood Inn. "He built with whatever lumber was available: scraps from a demolished barn, discarded planks along the roadside, ocean-washed timbers that appeared worthless to anyone else", and he embellished both the exterior and interior of structure with "art, artifacts, antiques and just plain junk he collected."

The front and back of the original portion of the Driftwood,
circa 1934, also known as the "Breezeway"- listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1994

This large table near the ocean bears the brunt of many guests
who want to leave their mark on the Driftwood

Details from around the Driftwood

The front of the poolside restaurant at the Driftwood named "Waldos"

Staying a the Driftwood was like immersing yourself in Waldo's world. Even in the newer sections, the attention to detail is far more greater than you'd find in your average beach side hotel, an homage to its founder's eccentricities.

One reason staying at the Driftwood is so great, is that it is a short walk to another of Sexton's creations, The Ocean Grill, circa 1941. "Tiffany lamps, retrospective paintings, complicated ironwork and nautical artifacts decorate the main dining room," according to a 2002 article from Island Life magazine. With great views of the ocean, an interesting menu and fantastic decor, the Ocean Grill made for a memorable anniversary dinner for my folks. Thank you Waldo.

The reason for our original visit a couple years ago was to visit the former roadside attraction, McKee Botanical Gardens. While I must admit, I wish the property was still full of tropical birds and monkeys, it is a gorgeous spot and Sexton's Hall of Giants is still an inspiring space.

The Hall of Giants today

Volunteer gardeners brought the grounds back from a
nearly jungle-like state after years of neglect.

Our "Where's Waldo" tour continued up US 1 with what used to be the Patio Restaurant and now appears to be serve Mexican food. The ironwork, tiles and odd ephemera placed around the building made a "Sextonian" ID pretty easy. The restaurant was closed so I couldn't see the interior but a quick walk around the building showed that Waldo didn't skimp on stuff for the exterior.



As we headed home down 60 towards Yeehaw Junction, Mrs. Ephemera spotted an odd chimney behind another building when we stopped a red light. We did a U-turn and came back to investigate, and sure enough it was the Szechuan Palace, another Waldo Sexton design.

What appears to be an old car radiator built into a railing

While many beach towns in Florida have been over-developed, homogenized and overrun with franchises, Vero Beach still celebrates one of our state's more eccentric builders. For me it is reassuring that we still have places like this, where creativity and non-conformity is prized and preserved.

Land of Orchids

I noticed a small article in today's paper about the American Orchid Society headquarters in Delray Beach, FL closing their greenhouses to the public due to the economy. Florida has a history of orchid-themed attractions going back to the Orchid Jungle that opened in 1925 near Homestead. After being pummeled by Hurricane Andrew, the attraction closed in 1994. In 1998, Miami Dade County's Environmentally Endangered Lands program purchased much of the property with intentions of re-opening it to the public. It is now known as Hattie Bauer Hammock.


There was also a mom and pop attraction in St. Pete called Caswell's Orchid Gardens, according to Ken Breslauer in Roadside Paradise. Breslauer states "a majority of Florida's prominent early tourist sites came in the form of garden attractions." My 1995 map lists "Orchid Garden" in Winter Park as an attraction at Mead Botanical Garden.

Weeki Wachee was at one time home to an Orchid Gardens (top image), but as near as I can tell they are no longer part of what is now a Florida State Park. And these vintage postcards show orchids as part of the collections at McKee Jungle Gardens and Cypress Gardens (below). It is likely that they were featured flowers at many of Florida's botanical themed attractions from Sarasota Jungle Gardens to Everglades Tropical Gardens. And according to my friends at Vintage Roadside, the roadside attraction near Daytona Beach known as the Atomic Tunnel boasted of an orchid room where you could meet a beautiful orchid queen.



Keeping the long-standing tradition alive, Central Florida has its own orchid-themed attraction called A World of Orchids in Kissimmee. According to the Florida State Park website, the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve "is the orchid and bromeliad capital of the continent with 44 native orchids and 14 native bromeliad species." And finally Orchid, FL, population 140, is made up of mostly of a gated community called Orchid Island Golf and Beach Club. I'm sure you can find lots of orchids there too. 

UPDATE: One of several short-lived Central Florida attractions was Kissimmee’s “A World of Orchids.” After Hurricane Andrew destroyed a greenhouse full of orchids in 1992, volunteers from the Central Florida Orchid Society met a truck packed with plants in Kissimmee to help salvage and re-pot the collection. The attraction opened in 1993 and displayed 5,000 flowering orchids in their 30,000 sq. ft. facility. Guests strolled past a fish pond, waterfalls, and a winding stream while parrots flew overhead. But after Hurricane Charley roared across the state in 2004, the greenhouse roof was damaged and never properly repaired. The attraction closed its doors for good in 2012.

McKee and Sexton, a perfect match

Valentine's Day is squished between my wife's birthday and our anniversary, so it always sneaks up on me. This year we have agreed to downplay Valentine's Day and focus on our anniversary in April. Last year we started what I hope will become a tradition of going away for the weekend of our anniversary. Our inaugural trip was to Vero Beach because we wanted to visit McKee Botanical Gardens.

Formerly McKee Jungle Gardens, a roadside attraction on US 1, the new botanical gardens only re-opened in 2001. In 1976 after almost 50 years in operation, the Jungle Gardens closed and much of the property became condos. Originally opened in 1929 by Arthur McKee and Waldo Sexton, the Jungle Gardens offered an amazing array of tropical plants, exotic birds and wildlife and some unique architecture. The Hall of Giants, holding the world's largest table made out of a single piece of wood (mahagony), was the creation of Waldo Sexton. Sexton collected objects from all over; bells, tile, wrought iron, cannons and reinterpreted them into his own funky architectural style. His Hall of Giants still stands proudly in the Gardens as does several other structures he designed in Vero including the Ocean Grill and Driftwood Motel. Seeing these structures alone is worth a trip to Vero.

Vintage Hall of Giants postcard and image of Waldo Sexton with monkeys from the State Archives of Florida