Winter Visitors Discover Clearwater Beach "For a Great Part of Our Country, Florida Is the One Winter Myers
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december / 2010 ISSUe 6 Clearwater Beach Hotel in the 1950s Winter Visitors Discover Clearwater Beach "For a great part of our country, Florida is the one winter Myers. The Clearwater Beach Hotel, built shortly after resort," reads the first sentence of a book promoting the construction of the causeway in 1917, provided first class state's wonders, published in 1912. accommodations right on the Gulf. The hotel was rebuilt in Yet, swaying palm trees and warm sunshine were an the 1970s, then torn down in 2005 to make way for the impossible dream for the vast majority of Americans until Sandpearl Resort. two entrepreneurs opened the door to winter tourism in the Winter enjoyment of Florida was not exclusively limited to late 1800s, at least for those who could afford it. the well-to-do or the ritzy hotels. The automobile age The two Henrys, Plant and Flagler, built an infrastructure brought middle class "adventurers" from up north who were that would provide accessibility and bring the comforts of willing to brave less than first-class roads in rickety, home to the remote Florida wilderness. Henry Plant chose breakdown-prone vehicles. "Tin can tourists" even arrived Tampa as the termination point of his railway system in with their winter homes (trailers) in tow. 1884, later extending the line down the west coast as far as Tampa and St. Pete residents constructed cottages along the Naples. On the route, he built the Tampa Bay Hotel, a shore for both winter and summer enjoyment, and real fantastical Moorish castle, on the banks of the Hillsborough estate sales boomed along the beaches in the early 1900s. River, and the fashionable Swiss Chalet-styled Belleview on A number of those cottages in Indian Rocks Beach have Clearwater Bay. been preserved and passed along though the generations. The rich and famous would now share the warmth and A series of hurricanes in the 1920s and the Great sunny days with the few adventurous sportsmen and Depression wiped out many Florida dreams. But a great determined invalids who had roughed it in previous tourism revival blew in following World War II on the cool decades to reach paradise on earth. winds of a miraculous new invention: air conditioning. The Belleview, later Belleview Biltmore, would play host to Indoor comfort, the allure of refreshing gulf breezes and a heads of state, including three U.S. presidents, the Duke of first class federal highway system brought thousands of Windsor, sports superstars from Babe Ruth to Arnold Palmer baby boom families southward to enjoy an extended family and industry titans Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. Edison vacation… in the summer. and Ford would come up from the winter residences in Fort Notable beachfront accommodations of the post-war era included the Sea Shell Hotel (on the current Hilton site) known for its distinctive octagon shape, and the Beach Tower Apartment Motel topped with fantastical blue cupolas. l F , g r u b s r e t e P t S These were joined by scores of family-oriented motels on 8 0 0 4 . o N t i m r e P the bay side. D I A P E G A T S O P S U The era saw Florida's coming of age as a year round tourist D T S destination. D E T R O S E R P By Wayne Ayers, Indian Rocks Historical Society Photo courtesy of the Indian Rocks Historical Society CLEARWATER BEACH NEWSLETTER RoTARY, Clearwater Beach meets every credITS cITY NUmberS Thursday, 12:15pm at Shephard’s lunch Sulaman Hemani, President 447-0058 CiTY HALL 562-4250 112 S. Osceola Avenue CARLouEL HoMEoWnERS ASSoCiATion www.clearwater-fl.com Kris Hampsey, President 441-4188 CLEARWATER BEACH ASSoCiATion MAYoR oFFiCE . 562-4050 Sue Johnson, President 447-1896 MAYoR - Frank V. Hibbard - Seat 1 Ann Garris 446-4410 CiTY CounCiL . 562-4042 SAnD KEY CiViC ASSoCiATion This newsletter is published by John Doran - Seat 2 George N. Cretekos - Seat 3 Meets first Wednesdays each month at the GRIFFIN PRODUCTIONS, Inc. and is Bill Jonson - Seat 4 Clearwater Community Sailing Center mailed to every occupied residence Paul F. Gibson (Vice-Mayor) - Seat 5 Gene Gillespie, President 596-0993 in Clearwater Beach’s zip code CiTY MAnAgER . 562-4040 iSLAnD ESTATES CiViC ASSoCiATion 33767. We are not associated with William Horne Wally Pope, President 461-1818 the City of Clearwater. ASSiSTAnT CiTY MAnAgER . 562-4040 www.MyIslandEstates.org PUbLISHer BuiLDing PERMiTS . 562-4558 iSLAnD ESTATES WoMEn'S CLuB Bob & Becky Griffin HuMAn RESouRCES . 562-4870 Barbara Blakely 449-8453 PLAnning & Zoning . 562-4567 LiTTLE LEAguE ArT dIrecTION PuBLiC SERViCES . 562-4950 John Murphy 813-486-4430 Becky Griffin PuBLiC uTiLiTiES . 562-4600 FRiEnDS oF THE LiBRARY SALeS PuBLiC uTiLiTiES EMERgEnCY 462-6633 Anne Garris 446-4410 727-517-1997 CLEARWATER gAS . 562-4980 CLEARWATER HiSToRiCAL SoCiETY SoLiD WASTE . 562-4920 Mike Sanders, President 434-1684 ------------------------------------------------- cONTAcT INFO PiER 60 . 462-6466 PinELLAS CounTY inFo . 464-3000 P.O. Box 1314 MARinA . 462-6954 Indian Rocks Beach, Fl 33785 PARKS AnD REC . 562-4800 CoMMiSSion oFFiCES . 464-3000 PuBLiC LiBRARY . 562-4970 Susan Latvala , CWB/Island Estates 464-3276 517 -1997 ~ 517 -1 998 FAX Karen Seel, Sand Key . 464-3278 BeachNewsletters.com ViSiToR inFo CEnTER . 442-3604 EMERgEnCiES . 9-1-1 STATE: We’d like to hear from you. Is there PoLiCE non-EMERgEnCY . 562-4242 Senator Dennis Jones . 727-549-6411 something you would like to see FiRE DEPARTMEnT . 562-4334 Republican, District 13 included in this newsletter? Tell us PoLiCE HoTLinE . 562-4080 8940 Seminole Blvd, Seminole 33772 nEigHBoRHooD LiAiSon . 562-4554 [email protected] what you think at ------------------------------------------------- Representative Jim Frishe . 727-518-3902 [email protected] CHAMBER oF CoMMERCE . 447-7600 Republican, District 54 333 South Gulfview Blvd, Clearwater Beach © 2010 Griffin Productions, Inc. 125 Indian Rocks Rd, Belleair Bluffs Darlene Kole, Executive Director [email protected] PoST oFFiCE MARinA . 441-3931 Governor Charlie Crist . 850-488-4441 PoST oFFiCE iSLAnD ESTATES 449-8732 [email protected] SAnD KEY PARK . 588-4852 FLoRiDA uniTED STATES SEnAToRS : CLEARWATER BEACH Shelter Reservations,PinellasCounty.org/park George Lemieux . 202-224-3041 MARinE AQuARiuM . 441-1790 www.Lemieux.Senate.gov nEigHBoRHooD nEWSLETTER. 249 Windward Passage, Island Estates This is our Christmas issue covering Bill Nelson . 202-224-5274 CLEARWATER SAiLing CTR . 517-7776 www.BillNelson.Senate.gov mid-December to mid-February. We 1001 Gulf Blvd, Sand Key AREA uniTED STATES REPRESEnTATiVE: JoLLEY TRoLLEY . 445-1200 included information about restaurants Rep Bill Young . 727-394-6950 483 Mandalay Avenue, Suite 213 with New Year’s eve celebrations. As 9210 113th St, Seminole, Fl 33772 always, this issue could not have been CLEARWATER YACHT CLuB . 447-6000 www.house.gov/young done without the help and support of 830 Bayway Blvd South our advertisers. 2010-2011 cALeNdAr OF LOcAL eVeNTS We hope you enjoy this newsletter. Our goal is to bring you fun december 2010 Beach Walk Chapel By The Sea 22 information, with local news, special Hanukkah Begins 1 Clearwater Half-A-Thon Run 23 events and a touch of history. We call Christmas Tree Lighting Downtown 3 Blast Friday / Cleveland Street 28 it a “Neighborhood Newsletter” Miracle on Cleveland Street 3 Folk Festival / Heritage Village 29 because it is about Clearwater Beach, Post Office Toys for Tots 4 Backwater’s Chili Cook-Off 30 your neighborhood. It is mailed to about 5,000 households and includes Annual Beach Chamber Breakfast 7 FebrUArY Island Estates and Sand Key. We now Island Estates Lighted Boat Parade 11 Super Bowl 6 publish this edition six times a year. Winter Begins 21 Valentine’s Day 14 We produce similar newsletters in four Public School Out for Holidays 20 Presidents Day 21 other cities. Christmas 25 Blast Friday / Cleveland Street 25 We want your input. How do you like Outback Bowl comes to CWB 30 mArcH this issue? Do you have suggestions New Years Eve (Friday) 31 Daylight Savings Time Begins 13 or ideas for future issues? Happy New Year ! Call or email us, St Patrick’s Day 17 JANUArY 2011 Great American Clean Up 19 Bob & Becky Griffin, 727-517-1997 Outback Bowl, Tampa 1 [email protected] National Quilting Day Heritage Village 19 Public School Starts 3 Blast Friday / Cleveland Street 25 Little League Tryouts 3-8 SEE You AgAin in FEBRuARY! Martin Luther King Day 17 Spring Break Begins 28 CLEARWATER BEACH NEWSLETTER BiLL SHEPHARD’S BEACH RESoRT THRougH THE YEARS by Gerri Shephard Bill Shephard has been in business on Clearwater Beach for 30 years. In July 1977, he moved his family from Brunswick, Maine and purchased a little known motel called The Lagoon on South Clearwater Beach. This small family-run motel was in a prime Son Billy and daughter Gerri location. At that time, with Bill Shephard St. Petersburg Beach was the place to go and Clearwater Beach was relatively undiscovered. Bill saw the potential. On the property also was a buffet restaurant lounge called “The Bank” and a long term lease with its operators. Bill was fine with that. “What do I know about the restaurant business?” he thought. The property needed a lot of work to get the motel up to a standard Bill could be proud of. The building needed to be upgraded from top to bottom and over the next several years he made drastic improvements. In 1988, with the restaurant lease coming up for renewal, Bill thought, “Why not get in to the restaurant business?” Experienced restaurateurs tried to talk him out of it, but he was always up for a challenge - and was it ever a challenge.