Florida's Weeki Wachee: Spring of Live Mermaids
Weeki Wachee Spring (Fla.)--Amusement parks
Mermaids--Florida--Weeki Wachee
Springs--Florida--Hernando County Region
Amusement parks--Florida
Weeki Wachee (Fla.)
Tourism--Florida
Brochure for Weeki Wachee produced in the mid-1950s. Weeki Wachee features performances by underwater mermaids, a glass-bottom boat ride, and other natural attractions. The springs are named after the Seminole words for "little spring" or "winding river." In 1946, former U.S. Navy member Newton Perry began to develop a tourist attraction at Weeki Wachee. By the 1950s, Weeki Wachee was one of the top tourist stops in the United States. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) purchased the site in 1959 and continued to expand. In 2008, Weeki Wachee was taken over by the state of Florida as a state park.
Original pamphlet: Private Collection of Thomas Cook.
Cook, Thomas
application/pdf
eng
Text
Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida
Florida's Famed Underwater Fairyland...Silver Springs
Silver Springs (Fla.)
Springs--Florida
Amusement parks--Florida
Tourism--Florida
Brochure produced in 1959, promoting Silver Springs, Florida. It also shows a map of Florida showing pre-Interstate system roads as several other Florida roadside attractions. Silver Springs was originally settled by the Timucuans in the early 1500s. Although they were able to reclaim their territory after Spanish invasion, the Timucuans were ultimately succeeded by other tribes, such as the Seminoles. In the 1850s, Silver Springs began to attract tourists for steamboat rides. The park's popularity skyrocketed when the glass-bottom boat was invented in 1878.
Ray, Davidson and Ray
Original brochure by Ray, Davidson and Ray, 1959: Haynes Lithograph Company, Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Private Collection of Thomas Cook.
Haynes Lithograph Company
Cook, Thomas
application/pdf
eng
Text
Silver Springs, Florida