SHARE:
Lost Fla. Landmarks
Many of Florida's quirky attractions have disappeared over the past 50 years.
 |
» Webb City (St. Petersburg): 1925-1979
James Earl “Doc” Webb built a giant drug/discount store with low prices and creative gimmicks, including dancing chickens, mermaids and ducks that played baseball. For a time, he sold dollar bills for 95 cents. But the area declined, and the store went bankrupt in 1979.
» Ross Allen
Reptile Institute (Silver Springs): 1929-1969
Ross Allen recruited Seminole Indians to set up a village and demonstrate their traditional skills, including alligator wresting. The attraction had an extensive collection of snakes, crocodilians and animals from around the world.
» Fuller Warren toll bridge (Jacksonville):
1954-1988
Drivers entering Florida on I-95 groused for years about having to stop and pay at the Fuller Warren. Adding to the bottleneck was the fact that it was a drawbridge. The toll was eliminated in 1988; the drawbridge was replaced in 2002 with a fixed span.
 |
» Wolfie’s Deli (Miami Beach): 1946-2002
This famous Jewish delicatessen on Collins Avenue served up chopped liver and to-die-for baked goods. In its heyday, the deli was a hot spot for celebrity sightings, including mobster Meyer Lansky. Lines snaking outside the deli were a common sight.
» Miami Serpentarium (Miami): 1946-1984
Bill Haast turned his fascination with cobras
and other snakes into a thriving south Florida attraction. Always wearing
a crisp, white shirt, he extracted venom as tourists watched.
» Texas Jim’s Sarasota Reptile Farm and Zoo (Sarasota): 1935-1965
Two miles east of downtown Sarasota, the attraction featured reptile wrangler “Texas” Jim Mitchell and a collection
of gators, snakes, monkeys, birds and other animals.
 |
» Old Sunshine
Skyway bridge (St. Petersburg): 1954-1980
The 15-mile bridge ran from St. Petersburg to Bradenton. A freighter crash in 1980 left a 1,261-foot gap in the southbound span and killed 35. Cars used the northbound span until a new bridge was finished in 1987.
» Orange Bowl (Miami): 1937-2008
Originally built for the University of Miami football program, the Orange Bowl could seat 74,476. Five Super Bowls were played at the stadium, and the Miami Dolphins played professional football’s only perfect season there in 1972. Demolition began in March. A new, 37,000-seat retractable roof baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins will replace it.
» Pirates World (Dania): 1966-1975
The 87-acre buccaneer theme park had rides including the original steeplechase from Coney Island. Post-Disney, the park became passé. Bankrupt in 1973, it closed in 1975.
 » Kissingen Spring (Polk County): This powerful, clear-blue spring flowed with a force of 20 million gallons of water a day. One of the most popular swimming holes in central Florida, it became a victim of groundwater overpumping and dried up in the late 1950s." [Photo: Florida Archives] |
 Links: Share your memories
of lost attractions.
Also, visit lostparks.com for other fallen landmarks. go to the Links page. |
