It the Citrus Tower in Clermont! Now the view is of a sea of roofs but the tower is still there, plus the gift shop and the Hall of Presidents. It’s been more recently further updated with much more to[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
This undated postcard tells us there is “Steam Heat, you control it for your room”. The owners & managers of the motel, at the time, was Mr. & Mrs. Orville Bumgarner, seen in the bottom half of the postcard. Also![…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
This engine, No. 21, was built in 1886 for the Florida Southern Railroad and named ‘Ocala’ after the city. This photo is from ‘The Plant System’ by Gregg Turner and Seth Bramson. You can purchase a copy by clicking here[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
At the wheel of his delivery truck is B.B. Hawkins, the first distributor of Coca Cola in Fort Myers. Apparently he also sold Cherokee Ginger Ale. The child sitting beside him is his son, who took over after B.B.’s death. […]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
A young lady and a baby gator! this 1896 is not an unusual site as tourists visiting Florida saw these little fellows as not much different than a lizard. They would buy them and carry them around in a cigar[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Here’s a great photo of early tourism in Florida. This being at the Shady Rest Tourist Camp in 1929 near Brooksville. From the May 2012 copy of ‘Old Brooksville in Photos & Stories‘. This is terrific little monthly publication available[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Here’s a small brochure advertising the Naples Beach Hotel. Ah, the old American Plan! The hotel opened in 1948 and I would say this brochure came out with in a few years of it’s opening. It’s still around, too! Click[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…