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Back to our search through the past history of South Gate Shopping Mall. For many years the same basic businesses remained in the mall and it was fairly stable. In the ‘70s Publix added their Danish Bakery which ultimately forced Colonial Bakery to close. We also found a few new ones like Bresler's Ice Cream Shop, the Rainbow Gift Shop, Jennie's Ladies Shop, Hunter Music, and the Singer Sewing Center.

South Gate Bowling Lanes opened in the ‘70s along with a restaurant. As we moved to the mid-1970s along came Cloth World and World Bazaar who moved in where W.T. Grant had been. I loved going in World Bazaar because they had such a huge selection of imported items, but I couldn't stay long because they had incense burning (that was so popular with the hippie culture) and it made me sneeze.

Kuban's Records appeared about that time along with Toys ‘n Things and Walgreen Drugs, Mr. Freedom Clothing, Cappie's Handbags, South Gate Beauty Salon, as well as Radio Shack and Boyce Travel Agency.

When Sarasota Square Mall opened, J.C. Penney moved out of South Gate and relocated in the new mall, and Robinson's moved into their vacated space.

Stay tuned for another episode of the growth of South Gate Mall coming soon. This is fun trip down memory lane. Hop in with your own memories. Life is good...

(Editor's note: Please feel free to post your memories to Pete and Diane's blog)

 

 

This 1940s "Then" photo depicts the Smack Restaurant, a very popular local spot for great burgers and great times, with car-hops to boot. Talk about customer service! Many of you remember it well, but our new comers might not even know of it. 

 

On the same corner of Osprey Avenue [edited] and Main Street, where the Smack was located, the Sun Trust building now stands tall.

Back in the late 1930s, three gentlemen got a room overnight at the Hotel Sara Sota, for thirty dollars. Later, the desk clerk decided that was too much, so he gave the bellhop a five dollar bill to take and give back to them.

The bellhop figured the guys wouldn't be able to split the five dollars three ways, so he gave the guys three ones and he pocketed the other two dollars.

This means instead of the ten dollars each, the guys paid nine dollars each. Nine times three equals twenty-seven, and the two that bellhop kept makes twenty-nine.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER DOLLAR??

Life was good...

 

 

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.....

1. What was the name of "St. Armands Circle" before it became known as  "St. Armands Circle"? (Hint: Many streets out there are named for U.S. Presidents)
2.  In the mid-1920s, the son of a prominent local bank president was a gun-toting volunteer un-paid sheriff's deputy and fireman. What was his family's name? (Hint: The bank opened at downtown Sarasota Five Points in 1929)
3. What was the name of the circus that moved its Winter Quarters to Sarasota in 1927?
4.  In 1959 where did the circus move to for Winter Quarters?
5. What was the name of the unfinished hotel on the southern tip of Longboat Key started in 1926 by John Ringling? (Hint: A luxury hotel with the same name is now in downtown Sarasota)
6. What was the name of the county-wide Pageant celebration held here from 1936 through 1957? (Hint: It was named for the legendary daughter of Hernando de Soto)
7. What was the name of the frolics celebration from 1964 through 1886? (Hint: Think of Poseidon, God of the seas and Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom)

(See Diane's blog for the Answers)