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a vintage picture post card

Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here ....

Those were the good ol' days.  Here are a few odds and ends.

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This is Hillsborough High School, Tampa.  Note the gasoline pump out front.
 
The source offered no date for this photo, but it sure isn't recent!

A bit of Florida trivia:   Florida is home to the only southern civil war memorial dedicated exclusively to Union troops.  The city of Lynn Haven (near Panama City, Fla.) was home to many retired Yankees at the turn of the 20th century.  They erected a monument to the Union soldiers (exclusively).  This is believed to be the only such monument south of the Mason Dixon Line and was probably intended as much to attract more northerners to the young city (incorporated 1911) as to honor Union soldiers.

Another interesting piece of trivia:Tampa Has the smallest dedicated park in the US (possibly the world).   It is Snow Park, a small "island" in the "Y" at the intersection of Kennedy Blvd. and Grand Central Ave.(across from Tampa U.)  Have a look at Tampa University's unusual Moorish architecture here.

Here are a couple more old postcards - Silver Springs' glass bottom boats

..... and Weeki Wachee.


You can find a major collection of old postcards and lots of other stuff on line at http://www.dos.state.fl.us/fpc/

Check out a 1930's picture booklet promoting Tampa here.

Take a peek at an advertisement for a stagecoach operating in old (1855) Florida by clicking here.

The trip was made a bit faster in one of these.These gentlemen were about to attempt the grueling Tampa to Jacksonville competition.

This is Gorrie Elementary School in Tampa.  Dr. John Gorrie, of Apalachacola, invented an ice making process that would lead to the invention of air conditioning.  Air conditioning would, in turn, lead to Florida being spoiled when all the Yankees - who once visited in the winter, left their money, and went home - began moving here permanently.

Back then, Florida was (and still is) among the leaders in agriculture.

This is downtown Tampa, looking north along Franklin Street.  Maas Bros. "shopping center" (on the left) was Tampa's major department store for years.  The Arcade, in Sulphur Springs (long since swallowed by Tampa) was more like today's shopping centers, housing a bank, two pharmacies, a 5&10, barber shop, beauty salon, sheriff's sub-station, furniture store and a hotel.  Note, in the photo above, the early traffic signal. The green light is at the top, while cross traffic has a red light at the top.  This simpler system (allowing one lamp to illuminate all four lenses) was still in use into the fifties.