Genuine Florida

Just saw this article on the Florida Trend website, part of their 50th anniversary celebration: Lost Florida Landmarks, a short round-up on some of the Florida tourism treasures (and foibles) that have vanished off the map since 1958. Since my first trip through Florida as a wee tourist in tow with Mom and Dad was in 1964 or thereabouts, I do remember a few of these. In fact, there’s a photo in our hallway of me modeling a snake at the Ross Allen Wildlife Institute in Silver Springs. I’ll have to take it out of the frame and scan it someday. Meanwhile, read the article…

Swampy visits Kappy’s in Maitland right on US17 and 92, south of Maitland Boulevard. This has been a tradition for folks in Maitland since 1972. Before that the building was a Whataburger when it opened in the early ’60s. The specialy is subs, but they serve hot dogs and subs, too.

Inside are is a counter you can sit in spinny-like chairs. Otherwise there are metal tables outside. The signage has somewhat changed over the years. In teh last few years newly painted signs have been put up. This is one of the few greasy spoons that still operates in Central Florida. But what a good greasy spoon!

We believe Punta Gorda has the most murals as public art in the state. Here are two that Swampy visited. There are many, many more. Click here to see those! Wouldn’t be great to see historical murals like this in counties all over Florida?

Here Swampy visits the Deerfield Beach train station built just as the Florida land boom was about to make it’s bust in 1926. Originally part of the Flagler plan it now sees cargo, AmTrak and the commuter Tri-Rail system go by.

If you saw the film, ‘In Her Shoes’, this image might look familiar. It is taken from the same spot that a scene with Cameron Diaz was shot. In the film she has made her way from Pennsylvania to Deerfield Beach and she is seen exiting a train at with the Deerfield Beach station in full view.

Here’s an image from a brochure for the City of Winter Park. It’s the center area of the Winter Park Mall sometime around the late ’60s.  The Mall was anchored by Ivey’s and J.C.Penny’s. Other stores in the mall were Walgreen’s, McCrory’s, Bill Baer TV, The Mall News, Lillie Rubin, etc. The mall slowly lost it’s stores and closed in the ’90s. It was demolished not long after to make way for ‘Winter Park Village’, what I call the mploded-mall-concept.

About Lillie Rubin: Another Florida native store that started on Miami Beach. The store was in most major malls across Florida and across the U.S. The concept was aimed at the more affluent and those that wished to be more dressy. The overly casual style that has become the norm for most Americans crushed business for the likes of Lillie Rubin. Other companies bought and sold the chain until the store was phased out completely in 2006.

The huge fountain in Winter Park Mall was very refreshing to walk near after entering the mall from the heat, as a soft spray of coolness came from it. In this photo the fountain shows the wooden barrier with small plants in it. Years later the wooden barrier was replaced with an open stone bottom. For sometime plant life was a part of Winter Park Mall’s decor. Most of this was gone by the mid-80s.

To the left is a corridor vendor that I believe called iteself the ‘Artists Cabinet’, where various prints and paitings were sold. I don’t believe this vendor was still around by the mid-70s.

Here is Swampy at the Webster Flea Market, one of the largest flea markets in the Southeast.

Here’s a great brochure from the 1950s for the Naples Beach Hotel.

Erstwhile Swampy stops at one the more fascinating architectural wonders in Florida, Top of the World, in Clearwater. The dozens of condo buildings throughout the sprawling property each has a unique construction. Each building has a location name as do the streets.

Just past the guard is the world as above. Beyond the world are the senior adult only community that is stuffed with amenities.

Probably the greatest of which is the construction of the multi-family homes. Built in 1947, these structures are pure concrete block and built for permanence. There’s probably not a hurricane that can come to disturb these buildings.

Swampy went to get a haircut and stopped at Jim’s Barber Shop in Orlando. Jim has been cutting hair in Downtown Orlando for 45 years. One of his early haircuts was mine, Rob Smith. That was my first haircut 44 years ago. Jim originally worked with a group of barbers just down the street where he cuts now by himself on W. Church Street in Orlando.

Jim is an Apopkan and is a nut about fishing. One of his hobbies is collecting lures. Above him is part of his collection.

Update: Unfortunately for all of us who were the recipients of Jim’s sharp cutting skills and gentle good humor, Jim passed away August 5th, 2008. He will be greatly missed.

Here’s a bit of history of what I remember of Jim’s barber history: 
Jim had apparently started cutting the year before cutting my hair in 1963. I know he worked with the barbers that worked on Church Street. I don’t remember the name of the shop. It was located on the back side of McCrory’s that faced Orange Avenue. The other barbers eventually retired or left that shop and Jim took it over sometime in the mid-80s. When the McCrory/Woolworth block was doomed to extinction around 1990, Jim moved to a little spot just outside the parking garage for the old First Federal, now a County government building, also facing Church Street which he stayed in until a few weeks ago..