Tower Drive-In

Juan, You poor guy. Too bad there wasn’t a way of voiding the tickets. That certainly would have put a crimp in her plans. And afterwards making you aware of what a great time she had was spiteful. I wonder if the Tower management ever become suspicious of how she won the tickets!

I’m afraid my stories about the Dale Mabry would probably bore you and anyone else as well. I never had any unique problems/experiences. It was my second job and my first time dealing with the public so most are just general stories about problem customers, complaints, and various duties I had to perform. Luckily I managed to stay out of harm’s way the entire time I was there.

Here’s one example: Lady comes in with a more-than-half-eaten corn dog complaining corn dog is raw, and demanding a full refund which is denied by manager. Customer yells and threatens to tell friends and everyone else never to come to this drive-in. There are several others of this nature but you probably get the general picture.

Now this incident happened at the 20th Century Drive-In to a couple friends of mine. I was supposed to go with them that evening but couldn’t make it. They forgot to place the speaker back on the pole before leaving and they and yanked the entire pole out of the ground along with the cement base, and pulled the window completely out of the car parked next to them. Not sure what the outcome was but as I recall somehow my friends didn’t have to pay for any damages but received a stern lecture by the manager and driver of the other car.

As you can see my stories are generally tame and non-unique in comparison to yours and others I’ve heard. By the way, we received a Christmas bonus of an extra $5.00 with our regular pay at the Dale Mabry. And every payday two free passes were included with our pay (for family and friends.) Do you recall if the Tower did the same?

Wow, SNAKES in the booth.Hope the operators got time and a half.I guess you told me this,If I could only get Nick on Facebook.lol.

I think it’s pretty much the same feeling people have here as they do in Virginia regarding trailer park residents. The trailer park image has changed from what it once was years ago and unfortunately not for the better. I’ve heard about this area being the winter home of Barnum & Bailey folks for many years with most employees/performers residing around the Mango/Seffner areas. But it’s interesting to hear some performers resided in Tampa. The fat lady in a skimpy outfit must’ve been an unforgetable sight. I guess the carneys were probably keeping a low profile so as to stay out of jail.

Snakes and water moccasins were a big problem at the Auto Park Drive-In. The theatre was located next to the bay off 22nd Street Causeway, and the open sewage pipe from the booth drained right into the bay. The projectionist had to carefully check the toilet before sitting down as snakes and water moccasins were known to occasionally surface in the bowl. Not to mention the mosquitoes here were the absolute worst. Every car that entered the lot automatically received a free Pic coil at the box office.

Thanks, Nick. As I recall, the Hilltop was right on the corner of Florida and Waters (there might have been a gas station there as well). It sounds like the steahouse and grocery store were built on the original Hilltop property.

It’s interesting to think about the fact that both trailer parks and drive-in theatres were victims of the rising cost of land in developing areas. Trailer parks back then were more acceptable to a wider range of residents that they are today. Maybe Florida is different, but here in Virginia people are very wary of people who live in trailer parks. I still have a warm place in my heart for them, just as I do drive-in theatres.

The Hilltop was an interesting place. It was the winter home of a lot of Barnum & Bailey employees, including some of the performers (the circus itself wintered in Sarasota). I remember the Fat Lady sitting out in front of her trailer with a skimpy outfit trying to get a suntan, while eating a bunch of bananas to keep up her weight. We also had a sword swallower, who used to give impromptu performances to the kids in the park. I suspect some of the roustabouts had a police record, but we never had any trouble with them.

Thanks, tampapix. That’s a pretty good indication of the size of the park, although I think what appears to be woods on the east side is an extension of the park as I remember it. Perhaps there was an expansion between the time of the photo, 1957, and the time I moved in, 1960. Or maybe it was just more woodsy than the rest of the park. In any event, it’s a great shot. Thanks again.

The trailer park didn’t go all the way over to the dog track (there was a large open field in between), but it was a fairly large park nevertheless. A lot of snowbirds from Michigan and Ohio would come down and spend the winter. They were great people. I lived there for the nearly four years it took to get through college. My mother, who also lived there, bought an old trailer and let me use it for housing. All I had to do was pay the $19 monthly lot fee and the electric bill. I even took in a roommate to help with the expenses. Pretty good deal.

Prior to college, we lived in another trailer park called the Hilltop, which was at the top of the hill across Florida Avenue from the Tower park. It was smaller and less woodsy. I don’t know what’s there now. At the bottom of the hill on Florida was a McDonald’s, which opened while I was in college. It must have been one of the first in Tampa. I had never seen anything like it. Hamburgers for 15 cents and fries for a dime. A cheap supper for a guy with no money. Is it still there?

I don’t remember where we went skinny dipping. It wasn’t the “river” behind the drive-in. We could hear alligators at night there. I think it was a creek feeding the Hillsborough River, but I don’t recall where.

Talk about bad luck! Opening a mall anchored by Zayre and Montgomery Ward must have been somebody’s idea of a bad joke (perhaps another version of Springtime for Hitler?). Thanks, Nick, for the history of the property after the Floriland closed. As I said, I was pretty young when I worked there but I enjoyed it.

When I found out the State was going to open a brand-new university north of Tampa called University of South Florida in 1960, I enrolled and then went looking for part-time work. I chose the Tower Drive-In because it was across the street from where I lived—the Tower Trailer Park. The park encompassed a lot of the property along Florida Avenue from Bird Street up to the top of the hill on Waters Avenue, and eastward toward the greyhound track. It was a lovely wooded park that was later leveled for commerce. I think a Super K-Mart was built on the property. It was a bad trade-off for society, in my view.

The Tower Drive-In folks were very friendly and jovial. After we closed and cleaned up the place on the weekends, we would break open the booze and sit around on top of our cars all huddled together, and solve the problems of the world. We also had a habit of going skinny dipping at a local watering hole after getting smashed. That made for some embarrassing moments the next night when we all showed up for work sober.

By the way, I actually cut my teeth on another drive-in when I was about 16…the Floriland on Florida Avenue, north of the big mall built back in the 50’s. I think it was called Northgate Mall. I was a flunkee at the Floriland. The manager was Garland Flowers, a prissy older gentleman who was always nice to me. J.M. Fields but a big-box store next door and the lights hurt business. I remember the Fields roof collapsing, but I don’t recall why. I was too young to be in on the mischief at the Floriland, but it was good prep work for my experiences at the Tower.

I bet you never ran so fast in all your life! And for the next few evenings you were probably hoping this guy wouldn’t remember you if he ever showed up at the drive-in again…lol!

Thanks Juan1941. Nice to hear comments from a former employee which you seldom see for theatres in this area. I feel the same way every time I drive by the deserted lot. Plans for constructing a hotel on the property fell through years ago. They should have at least waited until the plans had been finalized before demolishing the screen tower and concession building. If the screen and concessions were still standing the drive-in could very well have been reopened and still be in operation today. I understand the Fun-Lan continues to do good business so the Tower should certainly have been able to survive.

My grandmother retired from the tower drive inn. She was the manager for a very long time. I also worked the concessions and set up the marguee when movies changed (mid 70’s). Hated to hear that it was no longer in use. Good times!!

great Comments,glad to see Nick back, mikeoaklandpark,just going by the way Nick spoke of it, got the impression it was one Tampa’s Best, did see sight when i visited Nick.