When I was a kid my father knew everyone in the St Augustine tourism industry. He and my mother manufactured costume jewelry. We traveled to just about every attraction in the state. I had the run of all the buildings in St Augustine, some had not been used in decades. Fort Marion was in poor condition being built in the 1500’s. I sat and watched people from the University Of Florida unearth Spanish artifacts and soldiers bodies underneath the city’s narrow streets. Ripleys Believe it or Not was just opening up in the old Hotel that Flagler built during his railroad project to Key West.
I was raised in Tampa. The Plant Hotel that is seen in the background was home to Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders before they journeyed to Whip Poncho Via.
Thanks for all the Florida photos. Brings back great memories of a special time that will never play out again.
Ah, Barbra Eden. A redhead in a yellow bikini in Ride the Wild Surf, studio promo photograph. Later a blond for her acting career. .