Suncoast Memories (Tampa, Clearwater, St. Pete Beach: amusement park, theater, school)

[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

[tonynorie]

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

I remember all of those things! By the way, it was Salty Sol Fleishman (not Saul.....sol is spanish for sun) and there has been for quite a while a boat ramp facility on Gandy Blvd named after him. You pass it on the way to where the WLCY station was on the St. Pete side of the Gandy Bridge, on the way to where the Webb City Outpost was - it's now a restaurant.

My recollection is that the Sunshine Skyway fell in May of 1980, although I may be wrong (I drank too many free beer samples at Busch Gardens and it affected my memory!). And I remember when going to the Kapok Tree was a fancy outing.....it's now a music retail store in that building.

I hope you don't come back for a visit and see what used to be Sand Key....it's do developed now that you wouldn't recognize it.

Great post....you brought back some great memories (and made me realize how old I've become........).

[Keeper]

The way it was..

When Dale Mabry was a 2 lane road. There were no resturants past the McDonalds just past Busch Blvd.

...The nightclub Casbah on DM. The band Rapsody played every weekend
...TnC was the place to live
...Malio's was were Burt Reynolds use to hang out
...Colonnade was the only seafood restaurant in Tampa.
...Ybor City had cigar factories and a few stores
...La Teresita was a small building with a lunch counter

The Kapok Tree muffins were so good, plus all the different dinning rooms.

[duncan2007]

....Biff Burger on 49th st...it's still there!!!!!!
....Shakey's pizza on 34th st
....Shoney's,Big Boy ( he was stolen many times),now Four Coins Rest (bad fire this week)
Guess I like to eat...9cent ice cream at Webb's City,I worked there!!!!Where are those dancing chickens?

[Brian_from_Atl]

I used to work at the 94th Aero Squadron at the St. Pete Clearwater airport. I'm sure that's gone.

[spainbrit]

unless I'm mistaken you still can get free beer at Busch gdns

[gypsychic]

Wow - all those great memories! (except the bridge falling )

I LOVED the Kapok Tree! The food was pretty good but the decor was just AWESOME! So many different themed dining rooms!

When I was a tiny little girl, there used to be a hamburger joint called "Falor's", I think it was on Florida Ave? Those were to die for! Anyone remember that place?

How about the "Super Test" amusement park, and all the great drive-in movie places?

Ahhh, memories, memories.....

[TampaKaren]

Among some other greats, I miss Consuelos Restaurant on Neptune.

[rtjr]

...how about the old Sanchez lounge on Henderson (which actually had great Cubans) and Ferrell's (sp?) in Westshore Plaza

[Reg]

I grew up in Tampa (south of Gandy). Some of the things I remember...

Riding my bike down Bayshore to get ice cream in Old Hyde Park
The Britton Plaza theater
Fishing on Gandy Bridge pier
Shakey's Pizza on Dale Mabry
Ballast Point Park (is there still a park there?)
Ballast Point School - It was probably the most interesting architecture for a school, complete with rought iron gates instead of doors and courtyards with fountains between the buildings
The Dale Mabry Drive In (on the corner of Dale Mabry and Gandy Boulevard)
Zichex bar on the same corner
Lums
I often wonder what it's all like now.....