Sunken Gardens Celebrates 100 Years As Roadside Attraction

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — One of Florida's original roadside attractions will celebrate its 100th anniversary with Roadside Attraction Revisited, a retro party, on Sunday, Jan. 5. Special guests will include St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and Ken Breslauer, author of Florida Roadside Attractions History.

Sunken Gardens was a 6-acre sinkhole and pond when plumber George Turner purchased the property at 1825 4th St. N. in the Old Northeast neighborhood in 1902 and planted tropical flowers, lush plants and fruit trees in its fertile soil, turning a sinkhole into a botanical paradise.

Turner started out selling fruit, vegetables and other plants grown on the property, charging visitors 5 cents to stroll through the gardens. In the fall of 1935, he fenced off the property and started charging a 25-cent admission fee.

The property included a large Mediterranean-style building with Moorish towers, stone trim and a tile roof, originally known as the Sanitary Public Market. Constructed in 1926, it was designed by architect Albert Lee Hawes.

In 1940, it was given an Art Moderne facelift and converted into the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Then, in 1967, the Turner family turned the building into the World's Largest Gift Shop and the King of Kings Wax Museum.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Sunken Gardens, famous for its iconic roaming pink flamingos, was among the top 10 tourist attractions in Florida. Turner's son continued to run the gardens after his death in 1961.

When Sunken Gardens was on the verge of closing 20 years ago, St. Petersburg residents voted to purchase, preserve and restore the landmark tourist attraction for $2.26 million.

On June 27, 2002, the former Sanitary Public Market was added to National Register of Historic Places. It now houses Great Explorations Children's Museum.

It is now one of Florida's few remaining kitschy roadside attractions along with The Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, the Mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs, Gatorland in Kissimmee and Monkey Jungle in Miami.

Thousands of visitors continue to visit the attraction each year, meandering down paths flanked by exotic plants from around the world, photographing cascading waterfalls and exploring the demonstration gardens containing more than 50,000 tropical plants and flowers.

Sunday's celebration will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Visitors are invited to wear vintage threads and stroll through the gardens, shop vintage and plant vendors, enjoy food and a bar, and listen to the surf guitar tunes of The Johnny Zoom Hi-Fi Show.

At 1 p.m., Kriseman will give remarks at the Exotic Bird Encounter.

From 2 to 3 p.m., Breslauer will discuss his best-selling book, Florida Roadside Attractions History: Guide to Florida Tourist Attractions Before Disney. The new 208-page hardcover book covers the history of Florida tourist attractions before the opening of Disney World in 1971.

Visitors are invited to share their own memories of the attraction for the Sunken Gardens archives and copies of Breslauer's book will be on sale.

Vendors and organizations at the event will include:

• Sunken Gardens Forever
• O'Berry's Succulents
• Pinellas Chapter FNPS
• Critter Companions by Kenny Coogan with carnivorous plants
• Glitter & Giggles face painting
• St. Petersburg Museum of History
• The Urban Harvest LLC
• Vintage Life Assembled
• Mitch Armstrong Nursery
• Damiana Olivi jewelry
• Amy Wells Art

Additionally, Great Explorations will host retro activities for kids.

Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors age 62 and up; $4 for children 2 to 11; and free for members.