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Attractions go by the wayside

Florida's old mom-and-pop roadside attractions are an endangered species.

Only 12 of the 85 members of the Florida Attractions Association, an industry trade group, are owned by the second or third generation of the families that started them. The rest are owned by entertainment companies, nonprofits or quasi-governmental agencies.

"These families are a hardy lot," said Donna Ross, chief executive of the industry trade group. "They've learned how to survive and probably will."

The smaller attractions, such as botanical gardens and roadside zoos, sprouted up along conventional highways. Half of the ones opened between 1929 and 1971 were on U.S. 1, U.S. 27 or U.S. 41.

In Daytona Beach, the Atomic Tunnel was a tour of a family's bomb shelter. In Clearwater, Sea-Orama offered a waterless aquarium of hand-painted replicas of fish, marine mammals and plants. In Chiefland, Dog Land featured 113 breeds of dogs and a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet. All have closed. But the Cypress Knee Museum in Palmdale and the Coral Castle in Homestead, a mansion hand-carved from coral rock, are still open.

Once tourist traffic moved to the interstates, old drive-by attractions that appealed to the curious and road-weary lost their customers.

"The deck is really stacked against small attractions today because they cannot market like the megatheme parks," said Ken Breslauer, a St. Petersburg author who chronicled the industry history in Roadside Paradise. "But the interstate highway system is what really killed a lot of them."

Of the 89 roadside Florida attractions Breslauer counted, only 28 remain open. Many live on as public parks such as Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg, Rainbow Springs in Dunellon and Nature's Giant Fish Bowl in Homosassa Springs.

"It's a location business," said David Piper, whose grandfather opened Everglades Wonder Gardens on U.S. 41 in Bonita Springs when it was the main road to Miami.

So when new attractions open, they're now closer to where tourists flock. In Orlando, 45 attractions fight for vacationers' time. Coming next: Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, a $28-million dinner theater that opens in June.

New generations are trying to keep many of Florida's old family-owned roadside attractions alive. Here are some notable ones:

Gatorland, Kissimmee: third generation of the Owen Godwin family, which founded the attraction in 1949.

Oldest Schoolhouse and Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth, St. Augustine: third generation of Walter Fraser family, since 1932 and 1927 respectively.

St. Augustine Alligator Farm: Founded in 1893 and moved to its present location in 1922, the farm is operated now by the second generation of the W.I. Drysdale family, which bought it in 1937.

Monkey Jungle, Miami: second generation of the Joe and Grace DuMond family, since 1935.

Everglades Wonder Gardens, Bonita Springs: second generation of Lester and Wilford Piper families, since 1937.

Caribbean Gardens, Naples: second generation of the "Jungle" Larry and "Safari" Jane Tetzlaff family, since 1969.