Take the Train to Tampa Downs

I've noticed a lot of you find my blog when you search for history of race tracks in Florida. So for you, here's a little something I learned this weekend.

I was at the library, reeling through microfilm of old Tampa newspapers, reading about legal issues that shut down local horse and dog tracks in the 1920s (gambling, you know). And I noticed the ads the track ran on the bottom right hand corner of the sports page each day there was racing. These were attractive ads, with dynamic graphics of horses running and fashionable women, but what caught my eye were the directions for getting to get to the track. Tampa Downs (which became Sunshine Park, and now, Tampa Bay Downs) is not completely on the beaten path here, and I had wondered why people would venture so far out from the city to go to the races. But it seems that race fans could catch a special Seaboard train from Tampa'a Union Station to the track, or one of the Blue Line buses that ran every hour or two. It's small potatoes compared to the train from New York's Penn Station to Belmont Park, but on a Friday in 1927, 3,000 fans reportedly showed up to watch the ponies.

New Issue of Florida Historical Quarterly

I got my copy of the latest Florida Historical Quarterly in the mail today, and it looks pretty interesting. The articles are:

"A Plague in Paradise: Public Health and Public Relations During the 1962 Encephalitis Epidemic in St. Petersburg, Florida," by Eric Jarvis

"A Women's Page Pioneer: Marie Anderson and Her Influence at the Miami Herald and Beyond," by Kimberly Wilmot Voss and Lance Speere

"Progress and Sacrifice: Tampa Shipyard Workers in world War II," by Stacy Lynn Tanner

I've learned that in an attempt to stop the spread of St. Louis Encephalitis, the City of St. Petersburg made it against the law to feed wild birds (including pigeons in parks), that journalist Marie Anderson used the newspaper's women's page to promote feminism, and that shipyard workers organized into leagues to play basketball and softball.

The Florida Historical Quarterly is a benefit of membership in the Florida Historical Society.

This Week's Florida Happenings

"Rosen Shingle Creek Opens New A Land Remembered Restaurant" World Golf News, June 22, 2007. Resort opens upscale restuarant inspired by Patrick Smith's novel about Florida Crackers.

"Forgotten Indiana Jones Was Man of Many Mysteries" The Villages Daily Sun. The story of archaeologist Dr. Edgar J. Banks, who discovered ancient relics and made bad movies.

"Treasure Island Resident Wants to Protect Architecture." Beach Beacon, June 20, 2007. Will Treasure Island be the next South Beach?

"Reviving Rose Bay: Port Orange Estuary's Rebirth" Orlando Sentinel, June 23, 2007. Remains of old bridge pulled out of bay as part of restoration project.

"Present Meets Past at FSC -- A Cyber Cafe Coexists with Frank Llyod Wright Buildings." Orlando Sentinel, June 23, 2007.

"Explosions Demolish Towers" Florida Today, June 17, 2007. Cape Canaveral Air Force Base demolishes two launch towers. Includes links to video.

"Study Casts a Light on Shade." St. Petersburg Times, June 17, 2007. Study completed to analyze shadow that would be cast by proposed 32-story building.

Prize Property

A relic of my husband's youth in Miami, dredged from the bottom of the family game closet: Prize Property, the 1974 Milton Bradley land development board game. The object: "to develop wastelands into prize properties."

At the start of the game, the board is covered with overlays showing the undeveloped land, brown and in places, on fire. Old brick factories and farm buildings stand abandoned, gaping holes in their roofs. These overlays are removed as players "improve" their property, revealing lush green sites where casinos and resort hotels may be built.

To win, you must be the first to construct all nine of your resort buildings. On the waterfront, you build a tennis & swim club, a marina, and camp grounds. In the middle tier, you build a golf course, a health spa, and a dude ranch. And finally, you build a hotel, a casino, and a ski lodge. Nope, no affordable housing for the people who run your properties, but the little buildings sure are cute.

The money is counted in the millions, and players must navigate town meetings; legal actions are settled by drawing colored marbles from a plastic gavel. Periodically, a marina is flooded or a camp ground burns.

Aside from creative genius of the game's design, it's actually pretty dull to play and it comes in a large awkward box. But we keep it around because it's just so..., well, they just don't make them like this any more.

Fenway Hotel, Dunedin, Florida

Today Robert La Follette shared a beautiful photograph of the historic Fenway Hotel on the Dunedin waterfront. The hotel's owner has been working with local citizens and the city government to agree on a plan to renovate the 1920s Mission Revival style building.

WGHB first broadcast from the Fenway in 1925; in 1927, the radio station became WFLA, which still broadcasts today.

Related Links:

WFLA - A History

SaveTheFenway.org

"Fenway Hotel Benefits from Common Ground" (St. Petersburg Times editorial, May 27, 2007)

City of Dunedin, Florida

Blog of the Day: Community Mosaic

Community Mosaic is the creation story of a large outdoor mosaic celebrating the history of Winter Park's Hannibal Square community. The mosaic was designed and made by students, with the assistance of local artists and teachers.

Nancy Moskovitz

Florida artist Nancy Moskovitz was nice enough to talk to me yesterday about her artwork, particularly the house portraits she has done. She told me that when she paints or draws a house, she tries to capture the "essence of the house," rather than create a formal architectural rendering. She noted that these artworks make nice corporate gifts, but some clients just want a reminder of a special house. Also, sometimes she is asked to paint landscapes of property particularly meaningful to a family, like a ranch or farm.

Nancy also paints portraits, and you can see her work on both her website and her blog. I like her paintings of the Sharpe's Ferry Bridge, a 1920s drawbridge over the Oklawaha River in the Ocala National Forest.

Other Voices

Saurly Yours -- "Our Trip to Egmont Key"

"Vintage Urbanism in the CBD" -- Boom or Bust: Miami looks at restored historic buildings in Miami

"Go Go Gatorland!" -- Celebration Florida visits a recovering Gatorland

Woodland Shoppers Paradise is "Searching for Webb's City"

Seminole Heights "As Grandma Remembers"

And a new blog, Florida Keys History This Week

History is a Business Asset

"Innovative." "Industry Leader." "Successful." These are positive words -- but can your company back them up with facts and concrete examples? Here are some examples of how Florida companies use history online to put some substance behind those claims.

Innovation is the result of problem solving, a new idea or technology developed in response to a challenge. Innovation sets one company apart from another, and showing how your company has met past challenges encourages customer confidence in your future. An example of innovation from a Florida company? Tropicana's Juice Train solved the problem of shipping fresh orange juice to the Northeast.

A company's creation story helps customers connect with the company and its product on a personal level. Publix's website shares the story of founder George Jenkins, who worked hard during the depression and in the 1940s took out a mortgage to open his dream store, the first supermarket in Florida.

Corporate experience and corporate history go hand in hand, and online timelines highlight acheivments. For example, in 1960, Ryder was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1998, Palm Harbor received the EPA Energy Star Certification.

Consider incorporating your company's history into your next marketing campaign.

This Week's News -- Historic Florida

"Capt. Sewell's Homestead Still Stands" -- Eliot Kleinberg of the Palm Beach Post is writing a series of columns about Florida towns turning 50. this week -- Sewell's Point.

Speaking of anniversaries, Happy 185th Birthday Jacksonville! ("Commemorating Jacksonville's First City Planners" -- Financial News and Daily Record)

"Jackie Robinson Ballpark Scores All-Star Game" (Daytona News-Journal) getting ready for the Florida State League All Star Game at "the field where Jackie Robinson broke professional baseball's color barrier 60 years ago during a spring training game."

"Train Depot Fate Still Unclear" (Panama City News Herald) What should be done with the Bay Line train depot in Panama City?

"His Land, His Ranch, His Lifetime" (St. Petersburg Times) A profile of rancher Milo Thomas

"History Club Collects Firsts" (St. Petersburg Times) Why wait until everyone has forgotten? Wiregrass Ranch High School students record history as it happens.

"Wright Rescue Takes Shape" (Orlando Sentinel) Frank Lloyd Wright buildings at Florida Southern College in Lakeland are now on the World Monuments Fund 2008 list of 100 Most Endangered Sites.