TREASURELAND
From the mid-1960s to early
1970s, many tourists and locals
ventured into Treasureland, a
high seas side-stop just across
from Busch Gardens that could
easily be described as a smaller,
more comical take on Disney’s
Pirates of the Caribbean. This
attraction took a lively look at
pirate lore and included a glimpse
of the fabled Jose Gaspar, the
namesake legend behind Tampa’s
Gasparilla festival.
While the pirates of Treasureland
tickled the ribs of many a land
lubber, the arrival of Disney’s
Magic Kingdom and other attractions
just down Interstate 4 pulled
many tourists away from smaller
Tampa Bay-area attractions like
Treasureland. The pirate-palooza
swashed its last buckle by the mid
1970s.
MANY LONG-GONE
LANDMARKS
OF TAMPA,
ST. PETERSBURG
AND CLEARWATER
ONCE DREW
TOURISTS FROM
ALL OVER THE
WORLD
KAPOK TREE INN
Decades ago, tourists flocked to see an exotic tree growing along a two-lane road in eastern Clearwater. The glorious
kapok tree, which has botanical roots in India, would eventually inspire the creation of an adjacent restaurant
appropriately called the Kapok Tree Inn on McMullen-Booth Road in Clearwater. This ostentatious restaurant opened
in 1957 and featured eight themed dining rooms that, in total, could seat seventeen-hundred and fifty guests. For
many years afterward, the restaurant’s Greek- and Italian-inspired architecture, opulent décor, famous punch, and fine
meals would help fill every one of those seats with guests from all over the world. The Italian gardens directly behind
the restaurant lured many to a peaceful stroll after a multi-course meal.
The Kapok Tree Inn remained a popular attraction into the 1980s, when “dinner and a show” meant enjoying a
meal at the ornate restaurant followed up with viewing a performance at the newly built Ruth Eckerd Hall next door,
for which the Kapok had donated the land. By 1991, changing appetites drew many locals and tourists to other local
dining establishments, and The Kapok Tree Inn closed. However, the building and its grounds would soon become
home to Thoroughbred Music, which was later sold to Sam Ash Music. To this day, many people stop by the music
store just to view the largely intact Kapok Tree Inn architecture and décor. Meanwhile, the grand old kapok tree still
greets motorists driving up and down busy McMullen Booth Road.
MARCH/APRIL 2015 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 43