Old Florida: If You Know You Know.

Florida gets a bad rep. I get it, though I largely blame media hype. I was at The University of Florida when “don’t taze me bro” went down, and it was only a few years later when the bath-salt episode took place in the Miami area…

The news generally likes to cast Florida as the crazy step-child; like the heat has somehow fried everyone’s brains. (Which I can assure you is - for the most part - completely untrue.)

I also grew up in Sarasota, and am sorry to tell you that the populous of our world famous Siesta Key Beach is nothing like its cast in MTV’s show: “Siesta Key”.

For most people, this is their idea of Florida: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the weird. It’s Daytona and beaches and Florida man and Disney; highways and strip malls and palm trees and dog-eating alligators. They don’t even hear about or see or know anything of the real Florida. They gloss right over those most special and rapidly disappearing parts to gobble up that media hype. . . We call it “Old Florida” and if you know. . . you know.

Old Florida is a magic that’s tough to describe. If you’re a Floridian you’ve at least seen it. And whether or not you recognized it for what it was, you may have been lucky enough to have spent some time in small pockets of it here and there.

Climbing in a hundred year old banyan tree, or in a live oak with swooping branches that sometimes touch the ground - dripping all over with Spanish moss. Digging up coquinas in the sand at the beach, just to watch them inch their way back down, or playing in the branches of the mangrove trees. . . Or if you’re really lucky, swimming in one of the freshwater rivers when the manatees swim by. Stopping at an old kitschy roadside fruit stand from the 50s/60s, whose roof is covered with oak pollen & moss patches — if you’re lucky they’ll be selling spicy cajun boiled peanuts that day.

That is my Old Florida. And I consider myself lucky to have seen a few of its secret special pockets.

We love this Old Florida inspired print from Society 6. Shop it here.

While I grew up in Sarasota which is in Central Florida on the Gulf Coat, I spent my collegiate years a bit farther north in Gainesville. Humidity and mosquitos are like cousins to me.

My parents went to school at the University of Florida, too, so we spent lots of weekends during football season driving up to Gainesville to go to games and tailgate with friends and family. Those trips often detoured off of I-75, one of the state’s main highways, and onto smaller country roads like 441. (You know, the one Tom Petty sings about. He went to UF, too.) That was where I got my first taste of Old Florida.

The majority of those back road stretches are still pretty sparse, but Florida has changed and grown tremendously over the years, and there are now far more shopping centers and subdivisions than the farmlands and fruit stands that once stood there.

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What I wouldn’t give for a bag of boiled peanuts right now. . . Source: Whole Lifestyle Nutrition

And though those special places that give us that Old Florida feeling are quickly being developed and replaced, there are still lots of special pockets that you should add to your list if you want to set out and find your own little slice of that Old Florida magic.

Some of our favorite spots to visit:

Central Florida area Favorites:

Bok Tower Gardens

Bok Tower was referred to by one architect as “America’s Taj Mahal.” This is an easy space to get lost in. Built in the late 20s, Bok Tower Gardens is located in Lake Wales, Florida (between Orlando and Tampa). The 250 acres of gardens were designed by America’s founding landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (who also designed Central Park in New York City and the Biltmore Estate Gardens outside of Asheville North Carolina.). And you literally can’t miss the beautiful and towering 205 foot “Singing Tower” Carillon, which plays daily at 1 and 3 o’clock, and was designed by architect Jr., Milton B. Medary. And if architecture is your main squeeze you should definitely book a guided tour of the Pinewood Estate: the 20+ room mediterranean-revival style mansion, built in 1930 as a winter residence for a steel industry mogul, C. Austin Buck. The picturesque property and grounds also include a nature trail that provides a great way to view some of the local Floridian flora and fauna. (It’s hugely popular for birding enthusiasts!) The entire place is simply impressive and magical. There are so many serene and romantic little corners to wander through while you admire the magnolia, ferns, oaks, and in the Springtime, explosion of azaleas.

Check out more information on daily events, tour and ticket information at Bok Tower Gardens right here on their website.

P.S. Attention brides: They do weddings here too. Can you imagine a more dreamy Old Florida wedding backdrop?

“Singing Tower” Carillon at Bok Tower Gardens. Source: Villas at Regal Palms

This is like something out of a dream: looking out from inside the Carillon at Bok Tower Gardens. Source: DuJour

Shop this vintage postcard of Box Tower here.

Azaleas blooming under a canopy of live oaks at Bok Tower Gardens. Source: UCF

This page contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you use those links. For more info please see my Disclosure here.

Cypress Gardens

Cypress Gardens was marketed as one of America’s first theme parks, and operated from 1936 to 2009.

It was immensely popular with Hollywood stars and even worked its way into some smaller films in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. I remember going as a kid and wandering through the gardens, attending an impressive water ski show, and loving the giant hoop-skirt dresses the Southern Belles walked around wearing.

Though Cypress Gardens is no longer operating, most people who grew up in Central Florida have some memory of going there while they were kids. It was an iconic piece of pre-Disney Florida tourism.

This is the coolest. If I were one of the ladies in this photo I would have this framed HUGE on my wall. Just sayin’. Source: Abandoned Florida.

A gloriously kitsch vintage postcard of Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, FL. Source: Swampy’s Florida

I mean, COME ON! It looks like they’re FLOATING! This is so fabulous and midcentury Florida tourist kitsch at its essence. Love it. Source: Visit Central Florida

The Cypress Gardens Ski Girls & Southern Belles. Source: Visit Central Florida

Weeki Wachee Mermaids

I will always remember going to see the Mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs when I was a little girl. And a few years ago my parents took my then five year old niece to go see them and she, too, had that same transfixed look on her face.

The first show was in October 1947, and Americans were immediately transfixed. Even The King: Elvis Presley, made a stop at The Springs to see the mermaids in 1961.

In the parks’ heyday had all kinds of fun underwater interpreted shows besides the mermaids. Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Pirates, and more. The mermaids were the crowning jewel of this Florida gem, and you can still see them perform today. In 2008 Florida also named Weeki Wachee Springs an official State Park. The first two photos show the then & now of the Weeki wachee Springs Mermaids.

One of the first mermaid shows. Source: Roadside America

The mermaids nowadays! Source: Roadside America

Elvis pays a visit to see the mermaids in 1961. Source: Antique Archaeology.

How fun and fabulous are these ladies? Not to mention talented! This can’t be easy. Source: Antique Archaeology.

Shop this fabulous vintage postcard at HipPostcard. This is perfectly Old Florida.

An underwater pirate show at Weeki Wachee. Source: Amazon

In the Sarasota/Gulf Coast Area:

Jungle Gardens

How fabulous is this lady? Shop this vintage shot here.

Jungle Gardens sits in the upper corner of my Sarasota hometown and is still open today. It’s a small but dense botanical gardens that rings so true with the feeling of another pre-Disney Old Florida tourist attraction.

Opening to the public in 1939, the park charged just a few cents to come in and tour the grounds. Sarasota historians believe it sits on land that has been more or less occupied for over 5,000 years.

If you’re a nature lover it’s well-worth a visit today. The founders made sure to choose varieties from around the world that would flourish in Florida’s tropical climate. Some of their prized pieces still there today include the rare Australian Nut Tree, a Bunya Bunya tree, the largest Norfolk Island pine in Florida, Bulrush, Strangler Figs, Royal Palms, Selloums, Banana Trees, Peruvian Apple Cactus, Staghorn Ferns and native Red Maples, Oak Trees and Bald Cypress.

Scarlet Macaws at Jungle Gardens. Source: The Gay Raj

Vintage Postcard of Jungle Gardens. Source

I remember going on a few field trips here as a kid that stuck with me. Playing in the banyan tree, watching the flamingos, and going to see the parrot show where they’d have a Scarlet Macaw or a Cockatiel or some beautiful big bird that ride a tiny bicycle and talk and perform other little tricks! You can still go tour the gardens today and take a step back into Florida’s golden era.

Check out info on Sarasota Jungle Gardens here.

More Historical sites + neat attractions in the sarasota, Bradenton, + Venice gulf-coast area:

Shop Florida Home Decor + Style Favorites:

Looking for more cool pieces of Florida history that aren’t around anymore? Abandoned Florida is a really cool site that shows dozens of places across the state that have been lost throughout the decades as the tourism and recreation industry changed in Florida.

There are still lots of little pockets of Old Florida sprinkled throughout the state that need to be appreciated while they still can- before they’re gone.

Take a few hours next time you’re cruising up or down the Sunshine State and see what you’re nearby.

Plan a few days this year and go see the mermaids at Weeki Wachee. Go explore the grounds and gardens at Bok Tower. Go find the historic neighborhoods and back roads of the town you’re in. Take your kids before they’re too big to appreciate some of the kitsch and magic of some of these special places, and soak up as much as you can of that Old Florida magic.

What are some of your favorite hidden gems in Florida? If you haven’t found many magical pockets yet, we can’t encourage you enough to get off the main highway and travel along those smaller country roads. Roll the windows down and listen to the cicadas as you move through open fields that are sprinkled with cows, ponies, and huge live oak trees. And if you see a boiled peanut stand, for the love of God do yourself a favor and pull over for my sake!

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