The Crystal Ballroom of the Fort Harrison as it appeared in the 1920s (top) and the magnificently restored ballroom today (above).

“The Scranton Arcade was a part of the social life of downtown Clearwater in the 1920s and 1930s, according to Mrs. K.A. Hamlin of Clearwater. ‘Going to town’ was part of Clearwater life as people would park in front of one of three drugstores on Cleveland Street within a two-block area, toot their horns, and await the friendly face of the ‘curb-hop’ boy.

“Johnny Livington, president of the Pinellas Title Company, started his career as a curb-hop at the Scranton Arcade Drugstore owned by Dr. Mizell; this was the most popular with the young people. Johnny knew everyone and everyone knew Johnny. Life was happy, uncomplex, and safe while many an hour was whiled away sipping a coke or a milk shake on a tray which was attached to an open window. Young people would visit back and forth between cars, some cruising from one to another so as not to miss anything. Other stores in the arcade included the Postal Telegraph Company, the post office, Rellop’s Smoke Shop, Frank J. Booth Insurance, a newspaper office, a beauty shop and the Dutch Kitchen.”

Away from the bustle of downtown Clearwater, out on the Gulf just across the Memorial Causeway, lay unspoiled Clearwater Beach. Aerial photographs from 1928 show still-virgin territory with rolling dunes, sandy inlets and a few paved roads, where a profusion of homes, motels and hotels stand today.

Strollers on Mandalay Avenue 70 years ago would have seen sun worshippers and bathers, but beach development was limited to the new pavilion, Clearwater Yacht Club, Southern College classrooms, the Mandalay Hotel on the north end of the beach, and a few other sites.

Memories abound from the era—including one that Clearwater High School football teams have lived with for decades. In 1922, the local team lost its first game to Bartow—104 to 0.