Glass Bottom Boats & Mermaid Tails: Florida's Tourist Springs

by Tim Hollis

Glass bottom boats, mermaids, underwater performances, petting zoos--Florida's tourist industry began with the attractions that developed around the state's natural springs. This quintessential roadside book tells the story of how Florida's natural wonders were first developed as tourist attractions, leading to the booming theme-park era of today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 2006

Reviews

[George Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular read on Florida tourism, mostly before Disney. Highly recommended for a look at the major and minor springs.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a native Floridian, I've been to a handful of sites discussed in this book, like Silver Springs and Weeki Wachee. My mother loved to tell me about how she and my grandparents would go there decades ago, and how the area has changed so much since then. This book nicely illustrates this, giving tons of historical photos, with some modern shots for comparison. I must admit though, that this isn't the reason why I got this book.

There is a VFW post in Fort McCoy, Florida, that has an authentic G-26 Missile on display. This is the only example of this type of missile, part of the Navaho missile, that exists in the world, outside of Cape Canaveral. As a Navaho enthusiast, I am deeply curious to know how the missile came to be at the VFW. Nobody there could tell me much beyond the fact that it was once in a museum. Further research identified the museum as the Early American Museum, which is featured in this book. I was delighted to find a couple of photos of the missile on display at the museum (even though it NEVER would have been painted like that in real life). The author seemed to think the missile wasn't real. He kept referring to it as a "replica" of a rocket ship. Okay, I have a problem with the term "rocket ship" on principle. This is a missile with a nuclear payload, not a prop from Flash Gordon.

I had hoped there would be more information on this artifact, but there was't probably because the author thought it was fake. No sir, it is real, and it has a real history. I hope that one day I'll find out how it escaped scrapping and wound up in central Florida.

If you are interested in Silver Springs and related sites in Central Florida, this will probably be very interesting to you. A nice nostalgia trip for people who actually visited these places back in the day.

[Jenny Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look a the boom and bust of the Florida springs tourism industry that dominated this region through the mid 1900s. The book focuses in on the "Big Five" springs, their success, and the ripple attractions that built up around them... followed by their ultimate destruction by I75 and Disney. From "mermaids" and trained animals and glass bottom boats and rainbow fountains and more, it was a unique era. All documented in nostalgic souvenirs and staged photo ops galore.

The book has a lot of information but comes off pretty cheesy in the writing. The abundant photographs are the highlight.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the days before Disney and Universal — and before the interstate system turned several Florida highways into backwaters — the state teemed with small theme parks built around springs and water attractions. Silver Springs with its glass-bottomed boats (my family went to that one). Weeki Wachi with its mermaids. And associated animals parks, motels and even religious exhibits.
Most of these tourist destinations are gone now, though some are run by Florida as state parks.
Specialized subject but if you're into the topic, a good book.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it might not seem as thorough as I would have liked, I think think a lot of it can be chalked up to lack of resources available about the attractions but such an interesting read and a wonderful casual writing style.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really good FL touris book by Tim. This one is all about the different attractions that built up around the various springs in FL like Sliver Springs and Rainbow Springs. Lots of nice pics of the various attractions and kind of a "where are they now" stories on each location.

Tim is a great historian of all the FL attractions of yesteryears.

[Denise Ballentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a native Floridian I loved the nostalgic trip down memory lane of some of Florida's best loved attractions. Sumptuously illustrated with brochures, photographs, and memorabilia, I was transported back in time before interstates and Disney World, back to numerous family outings and vacations I experienced growing up in our glorious land of sunshine and springs.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and informative. I loved the vintage memorabilia included as illustrations throughout the book.

The only "con" was the author's cutesy style sometimes grated on my nerves.