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Dancing chickens, talking mermaids
A most unusual exhibit tells the story of Webb's City, the little drugstore that grew into a 10-block retail colossus, and ''Doc'' Webb, the little big man who made it happen.
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[Times photo: Michael Rondou]
One of Webb’s City’s promotions was the dancing chicken. A disclaimer stated that no harm was done to the animals, that they lived more comfortably than their barnyard cousins. |
By LENNIE BENNETT
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 25, 2002
ST. PETERSBURG -- A life-size cutout of James Earl "Doc" Webb greets visitors as they enter the new exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, a reminder that he was a slight man, standing 5 feet 3 inches.
But as "Webb's City: A Community Remembers" also demonstrates, he stood tall as a businessman.
Webb long ago became a legend. Anyone who lived here between the 1930s and 1970s remembers "the World's Most Unusual Drugstore," as Webb proclaimed it on billboards around the United States, in traveling promotions, radio shows, newspapers and any other medium that would allow him to advertise.
He was a brilliant showman, unerring in his use of gimmicks to attract attention and crowds. The dancing chickens, the "live" mermaid grotto, the two-for-one specials, the beautiful Webb's Poster Girls are like code words that elicit stories and memories.
Webb's City was its own world and culture. It employed thousands of people. During the worst years of the Depression, Webb kept the business going, paying employees with in-kind food and services, extending credit, accepting chits instead of cash from strapped locals. During World War II, he sold $1-million in bonds.
Over the years Webb, who started out as a co-owner of a small drugstore, introduced many innovations that are now common -- express lanes, for example, and one-stop shopping.
Its peak in 1970, when it was actually 70 individual departments spread through seven buildings on 10 city blocks, was also the beginning of its demise, though Webb, so astute in the past, did not see the end coming.
Changing demographics downtown and the emergence of suburban malls made the Webb's City concept seem shabby and anachronistic.
Webb's City closed in 1979, and its contents and fixtures were auctioned. Webb died in 1982.
Doc Webb is probably unknown to younger people. This exhibit is a great excuse for families and friends to share stories, trade memories, create the oral histories that connect generations.
The museum's executive director, Mathias Bergendahl, said the exhibit itself was built around the idea of shared experiences.
"We asked people to come in and talk about Webb's City," he said. "All their stories inspired the title."
Bergendahl said most of the items in the show were borrowed from locals. The call for memorabilia produced a fascinating assemblage that includes a rusting shopping cart, the famous bear statue, signs that hung inside and outside the store, most notably the huge globe being held up by Atlas. Cigar boxes, menus, empty coffee bags -- name an item, and it's probably here.
Where did people keep these things for so many years, one is tempted to ask. And why?
How lucky for the community that they did. Curator Robin O'Dell has arranged the exhibit in a thoughtful way, using groupings that are mostly thematic while observing a timeline.
At the beginning, a 22-minute video produced by the city of St. Petersburg is showed, which includes comments by Richard Leavengood. His original production, Webb's City: The Musical, has been presented in St. Petersburg and Clearwater to local acclaim and probably was most responsible for renewed interest in Webb.
In addition to the explanatory notes on the gallery walls are comments, printed on a red background to distinguish them from the notes, of people who shared their memories of Webb's City. Their voices are the "witnesses" that add human texture to the show.
A re-creation of the dancing chicken and the mermaid grotto -- complete with the "hidden" microphone -- will amuse children.
Older adults will enjoy the re-creation of an old drugstore counter. They can enter their own anecdotes about the old store in a large scrapbook set up by the museum.
A sidebar display contains a collection of celebrity photographs, many signed, that belonged to the late Mary-Jessma Wilson, a radio personality in Hollywood before moving to St. Petersburg and broadcasting a local show from the cafeteria of Webb's City.
"Webb's City: A Community Remembers" segues nicely into the permanent display at the museum, the Walk Through Time Gallery of the history of St. Petersburg.
Seeing everything should take no more than an hour or two, though some, overcome by nostalgia, will probably want to linger.
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PREVIEW: "Webb's City: A Community Remembers," through Jan. 20, St. Petersburg Museum of History, 335 Second Ave. N. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Adults $5, seniors $4, ages 7-12 $2, 6 and under free. Call (727) 894-1052 or www.museumofhistoryonline.org.
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