Miracle Strip, Silver Circle, House of Chan. Your favorites of yesteryear? | Ray Glenn
Watching all the growth and change across Bay County since Hurricane Michael has been eye-opening. The transformation has been nothing short of incredible.
Beautiful new buildings popping up where destroyed eyesores sat, sometimes in piles of twisted metal and broken lumber. Jobs increasing and droves of new residents flooding in to fill new subdivisions. Yes, Bay County is storming back to life. I love the bright, clean new version and the vision for what’s to come. I am proud to call Panama City my home.
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But the changes also have me thinking of the sleepy Bay County of yesteryear where I grew up and all the iconic places that are gone now, some for a long time.
My family moved here in the late 1960s when Dad was transferred to Tyndall Air Force Base. Believe me, back then Bay County was sleepy except for about three months during the summer when Panama City Beach awakened. But come Labor Day, PCB again put away the beach chairs and rolled up the sidewalks. It was time for another nine months of hibernation. At times, you could drive along Front Beach Road in late September and not see another car for a mile or two.
Wow, those days aren’t coming back! Nor are many of our favorite places of the past 50 years.
Who remembers the Isle of View drive-in theater in Springfield? How ’bout Castle Dracula Wax Museum in Panama City Beach? Or the many Jr. Food Stores that dotted the county’s landscape?
They bring back memories, don’t they?
But I’m betting the children of the ’60s and ’70s will say these three places were their favorites, hands down: Miracle Strip Amusement Park and Petticoat Junction amusement park in Panama City Beach, and Silver Circle Skating Rink in Panama City. All of us begged our moms and dads to take us those three places all the time.
Miracle Strip Amusement Park operated from 1963 to 2004. The highlight of the park was The Starliner, the first roller coaster built in Florida. The wooden “out and back” coaster was such a classic that it lived another life in Winter Haven after the closure of Miracle Strip. Great things live on!
As a food lover, I can’t leave out a few places that could satisfy those cravings. Anyone up for Zip’s Ice Cream? Maybe Loco’s Bar & Grill on 23rd Street, now the home of El Jalisco Mexican restaurant? Or easily my all-time favorite restaurant as anyone who knows me well can attest, House of Chan (versions I and II). The new Bay County has hundreds of eateries and snack shops, but nothing tops those three.
One of Panama City Beach’s most popular attractions in the late ’50s and ’60s was “The Hangout.” But it wasn’t really an attraction, just a simple dance hall. Didn't matter, The Hangout was always packed during the summer with teens and young adults having a good time and twisting the night away.
Here’s one that might stump some longtime residents. Anyone remember who owned the Red Rooster nightclub, aka “The Kickin’ Chicken,” in Panama City Beach? Ask Hank Williams Jr., he’ll tell you.
And finally, a couple of pastimes that have vanished in the past 10 years or so. Did any of you stand atop the observation deck at the former Bay County airport (now the site of the SweetBay community) and watch the planes land and take off? It was the only observation deck I’ve ever seen at an airport. And who didn’t walk around in the Panama City Mall just because it was cool inside and a nice place to walk while talking with a friend? Hurricane Michael declared an end to that.
Well, there you go. While a list of long-gone Bay County favorites could run hundreds of lines, those are my quick picks in talking with friends and family. Now it’s your turn. What are your favorites of the past? Send me an email with your top two or three and include a line or two about why they were special to you. I might include them in a future column.
Ray Glenn is the content coach and engagement editor at the Panama City News Herald. You can reach him at RGlenn@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Growth in Bay County: A look at iconic places of the past | Ray Glenn
