By Lucy Beebe Tobias
TARPON SPRINGS – Two pieces of history sit about a mile apart in Tarpon Springs – the Sponge Docks and downtown. A red trolley connects the two. For a dollar each way, or three dollars for all day, you can ride back and forth between the historic Sponge Docks and historic downtown. Both areas are very walkable.
Get a free walking map of Tarpon Springs at the Tarpon Springs Chamber office (727) 937-6109) downtown at 11 Orange Street and also at the Chamber’s Visitor Center, a small white building at 100 Dodecanese Boulevard at the Sponge Docks.
In the late 1800s wealthy northerners began migrating to Tarpon Springs in the wintertime. Victorian homes rose up several stories tall around Spring Bayou. Tarpon Springs incorporated as a city in 1887.
One of those winter visitors was the American landscape artist, George Inness Jr. His large religious paintings are on display at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tarpon Springs (727) 937-4682, 230 Grand Boulevard, from October through May.
Seven blocks of downtown are listed on the National Register of Historic Places Restaurants, antique stores, coffee shops, art galleries, a winery with wine tasting, a cultural center, a cathedral and a train station with a museum are all in the downtown area.
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot (727) 943-4624), 160 Tarpon Avenue, built in 1909, is restored. Inside the Depot the Tarpon Springs Historical Society Depot Museum is open for tours Tuesday through Saturday.
Next to the Train Depot, the old railroad line is paved and now is part of the Pinellas Trail covering 38 miles from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs. This is a popular trail with bicyclists and hikers. See their Web site at www.pinellascounty.org/trail/gd
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral (727) 937-3542), 36 N. Pinellas Avenue, began as a small church in 1908 seating 250 people. Building of a new cathedral, a replica of St. Sophia in Constantinople, Istanbul, began in 1941. The church was consecrated on the feast of the Epiphany in 1943. Sixty tons of Greek marble went into the construction.
The cathedral is open to visitors at no cost. The stained glass windows and the ceiling paintings inside are spectacular works of art. Think of the year it was finished – 1943. World War II raged, shortages were everywhere, jobs scarce. But for Greek Orthodox families, their church is the center of their lives and this cathedral reflects the deep commitment of the Greek community to their faith and connecting the Old World with the New World.
In 1900 small sea creatures called sponges were discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. When cured and dried, different kinds of sponges have a multitude of uses. The worldwide demand was, and still is, quite high. Discovering vast sponge beds on the Gulf floor led to a gold rush of sorts, only this was a sponge rush.
Within a few years over 500 divers arrived from the Greek Islands. They brought with them mechanized diving methods – sending a diver down with an oxygen line, heavy rubber suits and lead weights to keep them on the bottom. Before that, sponges were hooked from the bottom with long poles lowered from the water’s surface.
A Greek fishing village, complete with the traditional white buildings and blue trim, sprung up on the banks of the Anclote River. It is still a working port today. Sponge boats and fishing boats are tied up the docks. Across the street shops sell the cured sponges.
Within a few blocks of the docks there are 15 restaurants serving Greek food and an estimated 125 family owned stores. Many put their wares out on the sidewalks for colorful display.
Towards the end of the Sponge Dock area is the Tarpon Springs Aquarium (727) 938-5378 at 850 Dodecanese Boulevard. Shark feeding shows are held daily.
The sponging industry has ebbs and flows. In the 1940s, a blight appeared and wiped out the beds but the sponges returned to the Gulf of Mexico in the 1980s. Most sponging is done during the summer months. During the 1920s, spongers began taking tourists out on the sponge boats in the winter season, a tradition that continues today.
St. Nicholas Boat Line (727) 942-6425) at 693 Dodecanese Boulevard, started the tourist sponge diving exhibition and half-hour round trips continue the family tradition. The diver dresses in the original equipment, goes down, finds a sponge in the river and brings it on board.
Tarpon Springs will call you back for seconds – you’ll want a second helping of everything, including Baklava, my personal favorite.
Lucy Beebe Tobias is a freelance writer, author and photographer living in Ocala. Her book “50 Great Walks in Florida”, University Press of Florida, is available for pre-order at www.upf.com. The book will be in bookstores February, 2008. This article first appeared the The Observer.