Evening star., 1950-12-03
All of Florida
Builds Upos
IVucutionIund
State Can Claim
It's Greatest Show
BY Michael Frome
American Automobile Association

In Florida last week cold spell
had ended. The State was again a
dazzling spectacle of sun and
sand; even the sWamplands
sparkled. Once more the fla
mingoeS flew, the mermaids swan
and the Chambers of Commerce
in scores of cities and towns
looked ahead to what they hoped
would be the greatest winter
tourist season ever.
With that anticipation by Flor
ida's vacation industry, worth
now almost 81 billion annually, a
staggering promotional buildup
moved into high gear. Along with
the grapefruit, tangerines and
cans of concentrated orange
juice. several tons of advertising
literature were exported to the
cold, cold northlands.
To this writer, who completed a
preWinter tour of much of Flor
ida just as the cold spell broke,
the words and photos-even when
they come in full color-fall short
of the mark. The place is every
thing it's paid advocates claim it
to be. and more besides. Though
contiguous to the rest of the
United States, it would be identi-
fed more properly as bounded on
three sides by water and on the
fourth by the sun.
And the winter, above all other
seasons, is Florida's grandest
| glory.
Season Of Pageantry.
Winter in Florida is the time
for pageantry. Every town with
a Chamber of Commerce sponsors
festival or wishes that it did.
To name a few, the Watermelon
Festival is held at Leesburg, the
Strawberry Festival at Plant City,
the Orange Festival at Winter
Haven. the Gasparilla Carnival
at Tampa, the Sara de Sofa Pag-
cant at Sarasota. Ponce de Leon
VAL NC G1IC 4lC1O vi q 44CW NC1CO1 a
ton at St. Augustine.
All these doings are planned
by the local people, who enjoy
festivities because they live in
Florida in the first place. Yet the
activity and gayety is arranged to
draw and hold the out-of-State
visitor, who has come to be recog-
nized as a major contributor to
the economy of the community
and the State.
This attitude on the part of the
native is sure guarantee not only
of fun at the festival but Of
friendliness and hospitality when
it ends. Hospitality has grown
into a byword of the State; or.
as one Florida Cracker put it, THE
only trouble with the Yankees
any more is that not enough Of
them come to Florida"
BY definition, it should be said
that Florida is not a synonym for
Greater Miami, though many
winter vacationers have journeyed
south year after year with that
mistaken concept in geography.
Admittedly, Miami is sheer spec
tacle at the end of the tourist
rainbow, but those who travel
more than a thousand miles with
out DEPRESSING en- route are de-
priving themselves of many rich
and thrilling experience.
There is grandeur, and an amaz-
ing variety of sights, throughout
the State. Almost every town,
whether on the Gulf Coast, in the
lake region through the center,
or on the Atlantic. has a person.
ality and charm distinct unto it
self.
New Tourist Accommodations.
To make room for the winters
record number of visitors, all
these communities have been
building new accommodations at
an almost unbelievable pace. At
st. Augustine, 20 new motor courts
have gone up; at Miami Beach,
where some $50 hotels and thou
sands of apartment units already
offer % per cent of all Florida's
transient accommodations. nine
more hotels are under construc-
ton. In Miami itself. the first new
hotel in years is nearly completed;
Sarasota has a galaxy of four new
| hotels, motor courts, apartment
buildings and cottages on the gulf.
In design. many of these struc-
lures are as modern as tomorrow,
Florida being a great laboratory
for the architect with a flair. In
concept, too, they represent some
thing of a departure. Sarasotas
apartment units include such
utilities of living as pool, chill
dren's playground. drugstore and
laundry. The Bahama Shores Ho-
tel in st. Petersburg appears to
combine the best features of both
hotel and motor court-private
villas accessible by automobile. a
central building for dining, dane
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