Mesmerizing Mermaids and Creepy
Creatures: Florida’s Bizarre Roadside
Attractions with author Rick Kilby
Thurs., Oct. 22; 7-9 p.m., Roadside Attraction Vintage,
13836 Walsingham Rd, Largo
$10/$20 includes signed copy. RSVP at 727-793-8826.
Oh, the terror! The dark maze through a hall of horror! The glassy stares and lifelike beard hairs! The wax baby’s tiny winkie!
As children visiting the “King of Kings” exhibit at St. Pete’s tropical oasis, Sunken Gardens, in the late 1970s, my sister and I were more than a little freaked out at this stroll through the life of Jesus, rendered in creepy life-sized wax mannequins. Fortunately, there was fudge waiting for us in the adjacent “World’s Largest Gift Shop.”
Since its discovery, Florida has never failed to produce an endless variety of creative entrepreneurs, hawking everything from age-erasing waters to dancing fish, waterskiing elephants … and yes, wax depictions of biblical proportions.
It’s not that Florida, abundant with sunshine and shoreline, couldn’t have attracted visitors and transplants by the millions on its own, as indeed it has. A little something extra makes Florida a true one-of-a-kind destination — now, then and forevermore: the roadside attraction.
The mystery and allure of the roadside attraction runs so strong in my third-generation-Floridian veins, that’s just what I named my vintage boutique. In fact, I also use the shop as a gathering place to showcase the history of this gloriously wacky peninsula, welcoming lovers of “Old Florida” kitsch to a trip down Memory Lane. And I found the perfect guy to lead our next excursion.
“The roads bringing visitors to the Sunshine State once teemed with campy amusements,” said Rick Kilby, the Orlando-based author of Finding the Fountain of Youth: Ponce de Leon and Florida’s Magical Waters. “At one time, few places had more interesting, offbeat attractions than Florida.”
Kilby’s interest in Old Florida took off during a family gathering in St. Augustine. The intriguing combination of “kitsch and history” he experienced at the Oldest City’s Fountain of Youth attraction prompted a surge of curiosity about other “overlooked and underappreciated” sites around the state. He decided to chronicle his adventures in a blog to help other Floridians discover them, too. He also hopes to raise enough awareness to save them for the enjoyment of future generations.
“Sadly, there aren’t very many roadside attractions [left] today. The survivors are holdovers from another era, and that alone is reason enough to visit them,” he explained. “These places allow you to take a step back in time to a Florida without corporate theme parks and interstate highways.”
During his research, Kilby realized that some attractions, like the ones that developed around the state’s many beautiful natural springs, shared a common narrative thread. First, a spot was deemed sacred by the Native Americans, then colonists settled nearby, taking advantage of the fresh flow of water, which often triggered a chain of events evolving it from health spa to early 20th century fantasyland.
Memories run high for attractions we’ve lost, such as that “South Sea Island Paradise in Florida,” Tiki Gardens, once an Indian Rocks Beach landmark, now a county beach-access parking lot.
Kilby suggests that we keep the past alive by seeking out organizations dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of our most unique and endangered treasures, from natural wonders like the springs to the quirkier spots, like the Fountain of Youth.
“I’m particularly fond of the Society for Commercial Archeology,” he said. “Since 1977, they have been America’s roadside heritage advocate.”
Statewide, there’s the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, and most cities have museums and historical societies that do a terrific job at the local level, Kilby said.
This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2015.