Suncoast Memories (Tampa, Clearwater, Stuart: big house, live, restaurant)

[jadeheart911]

Originally Posted by TJ Sport

1) Shakeys next to the Hillsborough River on Florida Ave. Hillsborough High school after football game hangout.

2) Tower Drive In accross from Shakeys.

3) Northgate Shopping Center on Florida Ave. way back before Home Depot, with Maas Brothers, JC Penney, etc.

4) Floriland Mall on Florida Ave. with stores like Montgomery Wards, JM Fields, and the grocery store Pantry Pride. Remember that name?

5) Wagon Ho Restaurant across from Floriland Mall with the huge wagon roof and large figure of the wagon driver sitting in front of it.

6) Arthur Treachers Fish-N-Chips on E. Hillsborough next to the interstate.

7) Biff Burger on E. Hillsborough

8) Sears on E. Hillsborough now Erwin Technical School.

9) Fun-Lan Drive-In next to Sears.

10) Merita Bakery across from Sears.

11) Zayres across from Fun-Lan Drive-In.

12) Eastlake Square Mall at the corner of 56th St. and E. Hillsborough now a business center.

13) The fairgrounds right behind the University of Tampa.

14) Channel 10 back when it was ABC and WLCY.

15) Back when FM-101 was the only rock station prior to Q-105.

16) Back when Ben T. Davis Beach had a huge concession stand, and picnic shelters, prior to Hurricane Elena in '85 took them out.

17) Back when there was a Ralston Beach on the corner of Sligh and Habana with a big ski ramp and a large painted bathing beauty on the concession building.

18) "Chick Smith Ford in the heart of sparkling downtown Clearwater". Remember that commercial on TV?

19) John Naughton Ford "The Little Cheaper Dealer" on E. Hillsborough Ave.

20) National Auto Supermarket on E. Hillsborough Ave.

21) Koons Ford prior to Ernie Haire on Florida Ave.

22) Jim Harrell Pontiac on the corner of Dale Mabry and W. Hillsborough Ave. Now Courtesy Nissan.

23) Country station WSUN with Paul Harvey.

24) Channel 13 when it was CBS, with anchorman Hugh Smith, weatherman Roy Leep, sports announcer Andy Hardy, singer Ernie Lee, fish reports with Salty Sol, and editorials with Ray Dantzler.

25) Q-105 jockeys Cleveland Wheeler and Scott Shannon.

I could go on and on.

Anyone remember Skip's on Gulf Blv near the the old Hawiian cottages? I worked at the Brown Derby santa madeira and the Rube's on treasure Island at central ave. I also worked a the Candy kitchen for a college job too. Fun! Back then there was a Coney Island hot dog place next to the candy kitchen. I lived upstairs and at that time there were no condos across the street and you could see a perfect sunset view. Met a great group of people and had some good times there! I also had an aparment over the QC tv repair shop ( its now a tatoo parlor)...what a view of the sunsets from those livingroom windows! Now blocked by condos. We used to hang out on the beach and fry to a crisp...then there was Quick Dog hotdogs down the street a bit near the Tom Stuart causway.Ahhh... Wish I was 21 again!Deb

[jadeheart911]

Sounds like we lived there about the same time.? Skips was my hang out 7 nights a week ...well I did live across the street! Worked at the candy kitchen andf Rube's and the Brown Derby. Have a bunch of great memories of living on gulf blv back when it was a bunch of locals and the fishing boat people. Great bunch!

[goaldilaux]

Originally Posted by Brian_from_Atl

I grew up in Florida and lived there between 1970 and 1989. Do you remember:

The Kapok Tree
Salty Saul used to give the fishing reports in channel 13.
$1 haircuts at Webb City
Sand Key just had sand on it
Disney was only in California
Maas Brothers
The Aquatarium on St. Pete Beach
Hits station WLCY
The Evening Independent newspaper
Free beer samples at Busch Gardens
The day the Sunshine Skyway fell

Wow....I remember all of it...I actually got bit by a monkey at that aquarium when I was in kindergarten. Hit stations...95YNF and 98 Rock....Drag races and parties off of Gandy, Drive through liquor stores, Cement water slides, The Bounty

[Sunscape]

Down memory lane.....always nice to read!

[BookishAngel]

I remember going there once in awhile with my parents when we lived in Safety Harbor in the early 1970's. My parents would give me a dollar or two and one of the things I always bought was a small gel tube of orange blossom perfume. I have not smelled orange blossoms in decades!

Another place on Highway 19 (i think) near or in Clearwater was a BBQ place that had a big pig statue out front.

I still can't conclusively remember the name of the large hot dog restaurant in Clearwater near or on Missouri Ave. I think it was on the right if you were headed west. I went there many times from about 1972 to maybe 1983. Great chili dogs and fries in those plastic baskets.

[thession]

Madeira Beach....Mr H's, Ohio food store, spaghetti palace, Deep sea fishing fleet Atlantis, Gulf beaches elementary school, Elks club little league team, Gulf beach journal, charter boat center, jacks bait house, original Johns Pass, Ledfords sea shells, And of course pool hopping.

[New Horizons]

Does anybody remember that surf shop called Good Vibrations? It was at the mall, either Tyrone or Pinellas Square. I had just gotten into skateboarding in the mid 80's, and they had all those nice wide skateboards from Sims, Powell, G&S, Madrid, etc.

[Lynnfromclearwater]

I went to junior high in Clearwater and Clearwater high around 1967-1973. Anyone Remember the coffee house where you could go and hang out listen to music, and loved pier 60 and the beach, had a friend Bonnie lived in a two or three story White House right on the beach

[floridagirl777]

Originally Posted by BucFan

Sunshine Skyway Bridge - Disaster - 1980

Wow … reading that brought back so many memories. I was in elementary school when the bridge went down. I remember several students being called to the office to check in on their parents who traveled the Skyway every day. My family knew John Lerro, the captain who ran into the Skyway. He was such a mess after the accident. I remember meeting him years after the tragedy occurred, and he was still pretty distraught over it.

[floridagirl777]

Here's what I remember …

Lowry Park Zoo when it had the ugly blue cages and the little amusement park with the red roller coaster.
Town-n-Country was new and a nice place to live.
Maas Brothers and the Suncoast Restaurant.
Polly the Parrot in the Maas Brother's children's department.
Bonfires on the C.C. Causeway.
Clearwater when it actually had spring-fed streams running through it.
Old B and R Ranch.
Sand Key Beach when all it had was sand.
Friday and Saturday nights cruising Clearwater Beach.
Moonbeams teen nightclub.
Tampa Bay Center.
Morrison's and Picadilly.
Q105, 95YNF, and 98 Rock.

So many memories.