Silver Springs

Tourists started arriving at Silver Springs, east of Ocala in Central Florida, immediately following the Civil War, when the only way to get there was by boat or train. They employed an advertising technique that would become common to all the springs looking for tourists: pretty gals in what would today be considered conservative swimsuits waving you to come on in. Silver Springs would eventually become Florida’s undisputed king of the state’s roadside attractions, according to author Hollis.

Wakulla Springs

Near Tallahassee, Wakulla Springs made its mark with another tourist springs staple: the glass bottom boat, ideal for taking advantage of the ultra clear spring water. Comically, a vintage postcard in the book shows tourists dressed in suits and gowns as if they were attending a formal event instead of a leisurely vacation activity.

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, 465 Wakulla Park Drive, Crawfordville

Rainbow Springs

In 1937, two businessmen changed what was originally known as Blue Springs to the jazzier sounding Rainbow Springs because of the prism-like reflections under the water. Located not far from Silver Springs, they distinguished themselves from other tourist-seeking springs by having submarine boats, where sightseers would view underwater wonders through portholes. Torpedoes, however, were not on board. Rainbow Springs State Park, 10830 SW 180th Avenue Road, Dunnellon.

Weeki Wachee Springs

Newton Perry, known for staging surreal underwater scenes of picnickers drinking bottles of Coke and eating bananas at Silver and Wakulla Springs for publicity photographers, cooked up an even bigger tourist marvel with his partner in 1947: a submerged theater for visitors to view underwater shows in ultra-clear Weeki Wachee Spring. They really hit their stride when the shows featured elaborate mermaid-themed performances, which are still put on today in the west central Florida state park near Spring Hill. Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, 6131 Commercial Way, Spring Hill

Homosassa Springs

For its first 20 years, Homosassa was known as “Nature’s Giant Fish Bowl,” inspired by the fact that both saltwater and freshwater fish intermingled there. An underwater walkway, and later observatory, enabled tourists to view the aquatic goings-on. By the 1960s, an enormous sign with neon rotating fish was erected and Homosassa’s highway billboards featured a mini-skirted Native American princess. The property changed hands many times between 1978 and 1984 and was eventually taken over and turned into a state park by the state of Florida in 1989. Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, 4150 S. Suncoast Blvd., Homosassa

PHOTOS: UNIVERSITY PRESS OF FLORIDA/COURTESY Approximately ten years after its opening, Weeki Wachee replaced the original underwater theater with this giant auditorium-like building.

Although Rainbow Springs did have a fleet of glass bottom boats, its more distinguishing watercrafts were its Submarine Boats.

The way these Wakulla Springs tourists are dressed might be a good indication of the different class of visitors the attraction brought in.

Recognizing its long-standing selling point, the “new” Homosassa Springs continued to emphasize the underwater observatory, an updated version of the attraction’s original feature.