Cypress Gardens Booklet
Dublin Core
Title
Cypress Gardens Booklet
Alternative Title
Cypress Gardens Booklet
Subject
Cypress Gardens (Winter Haven, Fla.)
Winter Haven (Fla.)
Amusement parks--Florida
Water skiing
Botanical gardens--Florida--Orlando
Flowers--Florida
Description
Cypress Gardens booklet from the 1950s that includes information on plants, Cypress Gardens' water-ski show, and motion pictures filmed at Cypress Gardens. Billed as Florida's first commercial tourist theme park, Cypress Gardens opened on January 2, 1936 as a botanical garden planted by Dick Pope, Sr. and his wife, Julie. Over the years, it became one of the biggest attractions in Florida, known for its water ski shows, lush gardens, and Southern Belles. It became known as the "Water Ski Capital of the World" because many of the sport's landmark firsts and the over 50 world records broken there. Numerous motion pictures were filmed at the Cypress Gardens, including portions of This is Cinerama, the first feature filmed in the wide-screen format, as well as a string of Esther Williams films and television specials in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1950s, young women dressed in the crinolines reminiscent of the Antebellum South. During the American Civil War Centennial, young men dressed in Confederate uniforms would be photographed with the Southern Belles. With the addition of a custom photography boat named Miss Cover Girl in the early 1960s, the park became a popular site for the filming of television commercials. Cypress Gardens closed in 2009. Legoland occupies the former lot.
Source
Original booklet: Private Collection of Thomas Cook.
Date Created
ca. 1950
Date Copyrighted
ca. 1950
Contributor
Cook, Thomas
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original booklet: Private Collection of Thomas Cook.
Requires
Format
application/pdf
Extent
292 MB
Medium
34 page booklet
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Winter Haven, Florida
Spatial Coverage
27.989311, -81.688649
Temporal Coverage
1950-01-01/1950-12-31
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by Cypress Gardens and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.
Contributing Project
Curator
Cook, Thomas
Digital Collection
Source Repository
Private Collection of Thomas Cook
External Reference
"Cypress Gardens Adventure Park." Florida Amusement Parks.com. http://www.floridaamusementparks.com/resources/Cypress-Gardens-Adventure-Park.html.
Flekke, Mary M., Sarah E. MacDonald, and Randall M. MacDonald. Cypress Gardens. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2006.
Rajtar, Steve. A Guide to Historic Orlando. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2006.
Hall, Francis Dawson Wyly. Palms and Flowers of Florida. St. Petersburg, FL: Great Outdoors Pub. Co, 1979.
Bendick, Robert, Lowell Thomas, Merian C. Cooper, Lou Forbes, Fred Waller, John Sittig, Dave Strohmaier, Randy Gitsch, and Jim Morrison. This Is Cinerama. [Los Angeles, California]: Flicker Alley, 2012.
Pasternak, Joe, et al. On An Island With You. Burbank, CA: Distributed by Warner Home Video, 2007.
Lang, Walter, et al. Moon Over Miami. Beverly Hills, Calif: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2006.
Vadnay, Laslo, William S. Roberts, Charles Walters, Joe Pasternak, Esther Williams, Van Johnson, and Tony Martin. Easy to Love. Culver City, CA: MGM/UA Home Video, 1992.
Kingsley, Dorothy, Jack Cummings, Edward Buzzell, Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalbán, Red Skelton, Keenan Wynn, and Betty Garrett. Neptune's Daughter. Culver City, CA: MGM/UA Home Video, 1989.
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
34 page booklet
Collection
Citation
“Cypress Gardens Booklet,” RICHES, accessed December 31, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/989.