CK.51 - Fabulous Florida's Cypress Gardens - The Esther Williams Swimming Pool was built in the shape of the map of Florida, projecting out in Lake Eloise, as a set for MGM technicolor movie filmed at Cypress Gardens. (The film was Easy To Love from 1953 co-starring Van Johnson)
FG-61 - Happy Times In A Florida Garden. Beautiful Bougainvillea, Azaleas and Petunias frame dancing Southern Belles in famous Cypress Gardens, Floirda
FNC-925 - The Fascinating Silhouettes of Cypress Trees: One of the typical trees of Florida against a beautiful sunset in Cypress Gardens, Florida.
FG159 - Throne Of Citrus Royalty - When this unique throne at Cypress Gardens, Florida is not being used by Florida Citrus Queens, visitors from all over the world can make pictures of their friends and family as they sit on the throne and reign as King or Queen for a day.
I wonder if the new ownership ever reclaimed the old gardens. I went when my brother's family visited a few years ago, but it was still a mess from being untended when the park was closed, and storms had taken a toll, too. It made me sad that all of the emphasis and interest seemed to be on the concert series and the new rides.
ReplyDeleteThe Florida Pool always fascinated me as a child. Yet, it never seemed that big in real life. Wasn't there a second pool built for Esther Williams with a side view for filming underwater sequences?
The last time I was there in early 2005, the gardens were still being worked on. They seemed much smaller than when I was a kid. Part of this was because some of them were blocked off. I also was always fascinated witht he Florida pool (which was in a terrible state of repair the last time I saw it). I believe the pool with the underwater viewing area is where the new water park is now at the very back of the gardens.
ReplyDeleteI just went to the Cypress Gardens website. Based on the map, photos, and other info I found, the Botanical Gardens have revived. They still have the ski show, but the other shows and animals exhibits are gone. Apart from the water park, there are no rides. So, it must be more like the park of my early childhood than it has been for about three decades.
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