1960s postcard with Florida welcome station two miles north of Havana on U.S. 27. Credit: Photo via Florida Memory

There’s no social media or fancy app that can replace the good ol’ postcard.

Aside from souvenirs, they also show how landscapes and art styles change over time. Sarasota-based editor and author Liz Coursen knows this.

She’s used the medium to trace segregation in Florida and even has rare postcards showcasing vintage tourism in Plant City.

At Tampa’s scenic Mann-Wagnon Park, Coursen will use museum-quality postcards to show Florida’s history from ox carts to air conditioning.

There is no cover for “Having Fun, Wish You Were Here! An Illustrated History of the Postcard in Florida” happening Sunday, May 11.

Readers are invited to submit their own events to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s things to do calendar.

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This article appears in May 1-7, 2025.

Selene San Felice is managing editor of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Prior to joining CL in 2025, she started the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter and worked for her hometown paper, The Capital in Annapolis,...