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I've been reminiscing with some friends about South Gate Plaza and its evolution. Pat Keefe and I spent time on the phone one day trying to remember as many stores as we could. We came up with quite a few but then Pete went to the History Center and gleaned a bucket of information from past R.L. Polk Co.City Directories. Polk published city directories annually for years and they have been such a valuable research resource. I'm not sure if they are still publishing or if the internet has made them obsolete. I hope not.

While I can't list all the stores through the years I'll list some and maybe it will trigger your own memories.

In the first book (1956) we noticed there was something different on the South Trail, other than Minute Maid Groves. It showed a Southgate Plaza Inc. real estate office with a Ringling exchange telephone number (remember that?). The 1957 directory was the first that listed stores ie: Coach Butterfield Toys, Canadian shoe repair, Glamour Shop, Thom McAn, Woolworth, South Gate Hardware, Cinderella Bootery, Lad n'Lassie, W.T. Grant, Liggetts and of course the anchor stores, Publix and Kwik Chek to name a few.

Many of the same stores appeared in subsequent directories. At some point in time J.C. Penney opened in an out building that is now a spa. Also in an out-parcel Morrison's Cafeteria appeared in the 1962 edition. That was located in the northwest corner of the plaza and they were there for a number of years and later it became The Brown Derby. Also in the 1962 edition a few new stores were listed: South Gate Camera Shop, Durfee's Television, Karmelkorn & Candy, House of Gadgets, Crane's Book Store, Naylor's Hardware, Sewing Circle Fabrics, Bob Francis Apparel, Stich Typewriter Co. to name a few.

Moving to 1964 we find: Shrode Jewelers, Francis Brown Realtor, Big Phyl's plant nursery, Zales Jewelry, Preston Knapp, optometrist. Henry Bryant shoe shiner

I think I will continue our stroll through SouthGate, through the years, in a subsequent blog but I'm sure this will stir some memories.
Pat Keefe also mentioned that she remembers the swarms of parakeets that used to gather in the trees along Siesta Drive and you could hear their chirping. I remember many times we'd hear them on State St. near our shop too. What a cheerful sound it was. To be continued.....