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    Gulfport
    Gulfport
    Gulfport
    Ebook184 pages44 minutes

    Gulfport

    By Lynne S. Brown

    ()

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    About this ebook

    In today’s Florida of strip malls and mega attractions, there is little perception of the state as part of the American frontier, but the hardy folks who settled Gulfport were truly pioneers. Moving away from lives disturbed or destroyed by the Civil War and its aftermath, these early families made homes on an isolated bluff surrounded by tidal flats and bayous, filled with virgin pine and palmetto scrub. From these modest beginnings, a small but thriving fishing village emerged.
    As the years passed and the Florida boom took hold, Gulfport began to know a new kind of prosperity: tourism. Fancy hotels, shops, and restaurants were built and entertained a steady flow of visitors. A popular winter destination for wealthy Northerners following the Depression era, Gulfport became an interesting study in contrasts. Vacationing gentlemen fished on piers alongside the rugged local seamen; well-dressed tourists played bridge on manicured lawns across the street from rowdy taverns. The middle of the century saw rapid residential expansion as returning servicemen needed homes for their young families and retirees flocked to the area for its mild climate and economical living.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 15, 1999
    ISBN9781439610213
    Gulfport
    Author

    Lynne S. Brown

    Through the years, Gulfport has retained a unique sense of identity and a strong individualism. In this comprehensive pictorial history of the area, author and historian Lynne S. Brown has compiled a wonderful collection of photographs that capture Gulfport’s spirit and tell its fascinating story. Drawn from such sources as the Gulfport Historical Society’s archives, as well as from members of the community, these remarkable images are sure to entertain and educate longtime residents and tourists alike.

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      Book preview

      Gulfport - Lynne S. Brown

      it.

      INTRODUCTION

      In today’s Florida of strip malls and mega attractions, there is little perception of our state as part of the American frontier. The folks who settled Gulfport were truly pioneers, moving away from lives disturbed or destroyed by the Civil War and its aftermath, into uninhabited tracts of virgin pine and palmetto scrub.

      Here, an isolated bluff surrounded by tidal flats and bayous beckoned hardy families seeking a place to begin anew. The earliest settlers came from two widely different cultures. Some were hard-working dirt farmers, slow and steady, whose ancestors had moved gradually down through the Southern states, the Carolinas, Georgia, and North Florida, raising families on the small plots of land they cultivated. Others were bold sailing men who traced their descent from Bahamian wreckers and Key West adventurers, whose only homes had been their fleet little boats.

      From these beginnings, a small thriving fishing village grew up, isolated from the rest of the world except by sea, facing and surmounting disasters both natural and man-made. Hurricanes swept away the docks, the hoped-for railroad never arrived, and the settlement dwindled. Then came the early entrepreneurs, with their electric streetcar line and plans for a grand, almost utopian, community. While the 50,000 homes along fine boulevards never materialized, the trolley soon brought a new kind of prosperity: the tourist. It was now possible to travel from Tampa to St. Petersburg and on to Gulfport, where one could disembark by boat for the beaches.

      The 1920s were boom times in Florida. The magnificent Rolyat Hotel, the very epitome of the new Mediterranean Revival architectural style, was the centerpiece of local development, but everywhere in the town homes and businesses sprang up to meet the demands of the burgeoning population. The Depression hit here, too, of course, closing the Rolyat, halting planned municipal projects, and again slowing Gulfport’s growth and prosperity.

      As the economy recovered in the late 1930s, Gulfport found itself more than ever before an important winter destination for wealthy northerners who created an interesting contrast as they fished along the new pier beside the rugged locals or played bridge on manicured lawns almost across the street from rowdy taverns. The rebuilt Casino and the charming Boca Ciega Inn, and the shops and restaurants all entertained a steady flow of visitors who came for their piece of paradise.

      Once again harsh realities of the outside world caused the dream to die. The war years show us a microcosm of small-town America: a community drawing into itself, at first highly opposed to foreign intervention, and later supportive of the war effort nearly to the point of jingoism. All the boys who grew up here were sailors almost from birth; when the war came, every member of the local sailing club enlisted. The town rallied in complete support of their heroes, and heroes they were, including the young pilot about whom was written the song, Comin’ in on a Wing and a Pray’r.

      The 1950s brought a huge residential expansion. Air conditioning became more available, returning servicemen needed homes for their young families, and retirees flocked to buy into the mild climate and economical living. Still, the city retained an unusual, if not unique, sense of place, a strong individualism that has become only stronger through the ensuing decades. Today, Gulfport attracts artists and writers, refugees from totalitarian regimes, and people of disparate lifestyles—a citizenry dedicated to preserving a kind of history and culture rarely seen at the end of the 20th century.

      People of Gulfport now and in the past have always loved this place with unabashed emotion. It shines through these pages and lights our lives as we move into the future.

      –Lynne S. Brown

      One

      BEFORE 1910

      The Casino has always been the heart and soul of Gulfport. After the streetcar from St. Petersburg began running in 1905, this building was constructed to provide a waiting place for passengers connecting with boats to Pass-a-Grille. Called the Dock and Spa, the Casino opened January 14, 1906, with a dance hall on the second floor above a refreshment stand. Though planned as a stopover, it soon became a popular destination in itself.

      The first settlers arrived shortly after the Civil War. James and Rebecca Barnett homesteaded the bluff now at the foot of Fifty-second Street, where they built a home, planted crops, and eventually sold their improvements to Joseph Torres, who came here in 1876 from New Orleans. William Miranda’s family had earlier settled elsewhere on Point Pinellas.

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