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Tampa Bay, Florida.
http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-ne...com-ar-300153/
(snippet copy, see link for complete article)
By BUDDY JAUDON | The Tampa Tribune
Published: November 03, 2011
Updated: November 03, 2011 - 1:58 PM </SPAN>
TAMPA -- Drivers in the Tampa Bay area have four choices if they want to cross from one side of the bay to the other.
But back in November 1924, when the Gandy Bridge opened to traffic, the span was greeted as far more than a way to cross the water. It was a unifying vision, destined to link two groups of people to the benefit of both.
The Tampa Morning Tribune of Nov. 20, 1924, the day after the unofficial opening of the bridge, waxed poetic:
"The dream of 'Dad' Gandy and the dream of the people of Southwest Florida was that of a span across Tampa Bay, a bridge whereby the residents of two cities, St. Petersburg and Tampa, and the residents near the two cities might visit each other, might trade ideas with each other and might enjoy what each had to offer the other."
In the wake of 87 years of increasing connectedness, and more than a little enmity over topics such as where the Tampa Bay Rays should play, this vision seems downright quaint.
Still, there's no denying that the father of the project, George S. Gandy, was a visionary.
He came to St. Petersburg in 1903, bringing experience in utilities and construction gained in the Philadelphia area.
He began the initial securing of rights of way for a potential bridge in 1913 with the aid of a local developer, H. Walter Fuller.
Nine years, three special acts of the Florida Legislature and one world war later, Gandy began to raise money for construction of the bridge through a sale of stocks in 1922.
Historian Karl Grismer reported that construction of the bridge required 170,000 sacks of cement, 15,000 tons of sand, 3,500 tons of steel and 7,000 tons of rock.
When it finally opened in November 1924, Florida Gov. Cary Hardee was on hand for the ceremony.
He was in good company. The governors of 16 other states were there as well.
Hardee was hosting a tour of Florida for his peers from other states, which coincided with the bridge opening.
An amusing story ran the day following the official opening.
Peninsular Motors Corp., distributors of Studebaker automobiles in southwest Florida, took the trouble to count the number of Studebakers that crossed the bridge on Nov. 20. There were 311.
Peninsular ran an advertisement the same day thanking Gandy and wishing him well with the bridge.
For its first 20 years, the Gandy was a toll bridge. At the time of its opening, you could drive across for 75 cents. Riding your horse over it cost only a dime.
George S. Gandy died in 1946 at 95, two years after the federal government took control of his bridge in a wartime emergency measure.
The bridge lasted 32 years, until 1956, when it was first replaced. Today's eastbound span was constructed in 1975, the westbound portion in 1996.
Today, as always happens with the passage of time, the Gandy crossing has lost some of the luster of its debut. It has been copied three times to the north. It's pedestrian portion is a crumbling hulk.
But during this month of its anniversary, as you're driving anywhere over the waters that separate Hillsborough from the Pinellas peninsula, think about the man who first made the trip possible – and how it was once more than mere daily routine.
The day after the bridge's opening, the Tribune summoned its purplest prose to describe just what a wonder its completion was, in reporting that the people of southwest Florida "doffed their ephemeral garments to become clothed in the raiment of reality."HTIH (Hope The Info Helps)
Jeff
Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. Mark Twain
Note: SDC# 070190 (and earlier...)
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That building (with AMSCOT) was built in 1938, according to the Hillsborough County Assessor's site:
http://www.hcpafl.org/CamaDisplay.as...012000070A#bld This probably was the Fellows Motor Company Service Department
http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...-Dealers/page5 I think the round sign held the 'Circle S' sign.Last edited by texbodemer; 11-08-2011, 10:48 AM.\"Life is short, write in pen\"
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Do you have any pictures of it? Anything will be greatly appreciated for a paper model.Last edited by texbodemer; 11-08-2011, 05:17 PM.\"Life is short, write in pen\"
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I think I have pics of Lugoff on my Graveyard pages..
Bob
64 GT Hawk (K7)
1970 Avanti (R3)
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64 GT Hawk (K7)
1970 Avanti (R3)
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Title139 Drayton Street, Savannah, Ga.DescriptionSavannah (Ga.)
Chatham County (Ga.)
139 Drayton Street
Exterior
Buildings
Streets
Josey’s Garage
StudebakerHTIH (Hope The Info Helps)
Jeff
Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. Mark Twain
Note: SDC# 070190 (and earlier...)
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