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MERMAIDS POSTCARD: STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA/LAGERBERG; BOAT CRUISE AND MERMAID: WEEKI WACHEE SPRINGS STATE PARK (2)
The Seminoles
nameditWeeki
Wachee,which
means “little spring”
or “winding river.”
The spring is
believed to be the
deepest in the U.S.
Its caverns have
been explored to a
depth of 407 feet,
but the bottom
hasn’t been found.THE PAST SPRINGS ETERNAL:
WEEKI WACHEE THEN & NOWCertain areas can
be explored only
during droughts,
when the current
slows down.
When Newt Perry
scouted the area for
his roadside park in
the ’40s, the spring
was clogged with
appliances, old cars
and other junk.
Perry built his
auditorium into the
spring’s limestone
shelf. It forms a
natural theater on a
slope 16 to 20 feet
below the surface,
where the current
is a robust 5 mph.
Mermaids work
hard to stay in place.
The first show
was Oct. 13, 1947.
Mermaids weren’t
paid, but they did
get free meals and
bathing suits.The spring pumps
about 117 million
gallons a day of
fresh, 74-degree
water into the
Weeki Wachee
River, which wends
12 miles to the Gulf
of Mexico.
Submerged signs
warn divers away
from its most
treacherous caves.In 1959, steady
promotion by new
owner ABC kicked
off the park’s most
successful period.
It joined Florida’s
state park system
in 2008 and has a
$13 adult gate fee.
Mermaids perform
three times daily.PERFORMERS HOLD air hoses that allow them to breathe
and remain submerged for programs lasting up to 45 minutes.
Below, glass-bottom boat tours are among the park’s attractions
that continue today.