Once upon a time, Tampa had its first zoo on the grounds of the Tampa Bay Hotel, in Plant Park. It was a small zoo, and in the 1950s Mayor Nick Nuccio decided the animals needed more space. So the zoo was moved to the Seminole Heights area, where, ever since then, Tampa Bay’s kids could see all sorts of animals. But for a long time, they’d first walk across the Rainbow Bridge and enter Fairyland. It was, by all reports, a magical place filled with wondrous storybook legends — Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan, to name a few. Amid these life-sized nursery rhymes, people could ride a train past wild animals and see an African village.
This was the first Lowry Park Zoo, although in the 1960s we called it Tampa’s Lowry Park, period.
The spider isn’t the only character who needs a little cosmetic surgery — the three little pigs needed new fingers (or any, really — they were missing when Gonzmart bought them). And Humpty Dumpty? Well, let’s simply say he fulfilled his destiny. And the aforementioned handless horseman for Cinderella’s carriage? If Gonzmart doesn’t get it restored by October, perhaps downtown’s The Vault can use it for their Elegant Evening of Fear.
The restoration, though, is well underway, even if it’s taking longer than everyone had hoped. Artist Jason Hulfish has already restored the three little pigs and started putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. The two remaining pig houses, though, suffered a setback when someone broke into them and caused more damage, Gonzmart says. Once Hulfish finishes those, he’ll move on to Jack and his beanstalk, and when the exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center ends in late May, those three scenes will come to Ulele: the Three Little Pigs (though the original wolf didn’t make an appearance at the auction, Hulfish will recreate him, Gonzmart says), Jack and the Beanstalk and Humpty Dumpty.
“I want to put Humpty Dumpty on the roof of Ulele,” Gonzmart says. “He’s really big and I thought it would be a great way to showcase these figurines.”
From there, Hulfish will work his way through the remaining eight scenes. The not-so-itsy-bitsy spider will adorn the outside wall of Ulele. Cinderella’s carriage, if it can be made safe enough, will be set up so kids can climb inside and have their pictures taken with Cinderella. QR codes will accompany each scene, a modern touch for this vintage bit of Floridiana that will allow anyone to look back into Tampa’s history.
“This is all motivated by my youth, of going to Plant Park with my grandfather,” Gonzmart says. “It brings back memories for me, and I think it will create memories for generations.”
Like his grandfather took him to Plant Park, he took his 7-year-old granddaughter, Amelia, to see the Fairyland characters at the workshop.
“Pop-Pop, those are so cool,” she said, and begged him to return two more times.
The restoration, he admits, might take some time.
“It won’t happen overnight — the weight and the size of the beanstalk has taken more time than imagined,” he says, but then allows: “It’s been how many years since they’ve been in place?”
When people see them, he says “they’ll have no clue” how decrepit they looked when he bid on them in January. He says he wants to revive history, inspire kids to read and make dreams come true.
How much does making dreams come true cost? Or, more to the point, how much has it cost so far?
“I don’t know, and it’s the God’s honest answer,” he says, laughing. “How can you put a price on memories? I’m not worried about it. It’s artwork; it’s history, I believe it’s a good investment. I’m not your average person, either.”
Contact Cathy Salustri here.
This article appears in Apr 13-20, 2017.