Holiday Inn Staff Posing in Front of Hotel Sign in Celebration of 9th Anniversary

Holiday Inn Staff Posing in Front of Hotel Sign in Celebration of 9th Anniversary

B&W Photograph: Weeki Wachee Springs Holiday Inn Staff in Front of Sign Celebrating 9th Anniversary, June 5, 1975

Weeki Wachee Springs (Fla.)

Tourism--Florida

Photograph albums--1960-1970

tourism & museum

Tourism--1960-1980

Mermaids--Florida--Weeki Wachee--History

Theater--20th century

The staff of the Weeki Wachee Holiday Inn standing in front of the hotel's iconic sign. The marquee on the sign reads, "Our 9th Anniversary June 5 1975." This Holiday Inn was located directly across the street from Weeki Wachee Springs and opened in 1966.

Along with a group of investors, Newton Perry opened Weeki Wachee Springs to the public in October of 1947. At the time, roadside attractions were becoming popular stops along Florida roadways. The attraction consisted of an amalgamation of vendors, an orchid garden, a river boat tour, as well as the star attraction: a mermaid show that took place in an underwater theater. Eventually, the May Museum of the Tropics, an "abandoned Seminole village", a show called “Birds of Prey”, and a petting zoo were added. After peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, attendance began to decline as theme parks and highways changed the dynamics of Florida's tourism. The State of Florida took over the attraction as a state park in 2008. Since then, the park has focused on appealing to a modern audience while preserving its history.

Black and white photograph Weeki Wachee Holiday Inn Staff

Holiday Inn

Original Black and white photograph of Weeki Wachee Holiday Inn Stafff, June 5, 1975: Weeki Wachee Springs State Park Collection.

1975-06-05

1975-06-05

Digital reproduction of original photograph: June 5, 1975. Scanned by RICHES team. RICHES, Orlando, Florida.

Weeki Wachee Collection, RICHES.

image/jpg

11.2 MB

B&W Photograph

Still Image

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Spring Hill, Florida

Donation

History Teacher

Humanitites Teacher

Visual Arts Teacher

Theater Teacher

Originally created by Holiday Inn, owned by Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, and published by RICHES.

Copyright to this resource is held by Weeki Wachee Springs State Park and is provided here by RICHES for educational purposes only.

Florida Humanities Council Community Grant Program and Friends of Weeki Wachee Springs State Park

Schwandt, Rebecca

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park Collection.

Allman, T.D. Finding Florida: The True History of the Sunshine State. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2013.

Ammidown, Margot. “Edens, Underworlds, and Shrines: Florida’s Small Tourist Attractions.” The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts 23, (1998): 238-259.

Georgiadis, Bonnie and Lu Vickers. Weeki Wachee Mermaids. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012.

Hollis, Tim. Glass Bottom Boats and Mermaid Tails: Florida’s Tourist Springs. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2006.

Pelland, Dan and Maryan Pelland. Images of America: Weeki Wachee. Mount Pleasant: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.

Revels, Tracy J. Sunshine Paradise: A History of Florida Tourism. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2011.

Vickers, Lu. Weeki Wachee City of Mermaids: A History of One of Florida’s Oldest Roadside Attractions. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2007.