"Water Ski Capital of the World"
because
many of the sport's landmark firsts
and the
over 50 world records were broken there.
January 2, 1936
Opened
September 23, 2009
Closed
Richard Downing Pope, Sr.
(1900-1988)
As for a man who did it all Mr. Dick Pope, he had a dream larger than life and set forth to create that vision.
Richard Downing Pope, Sr., better known as Dick Pope, was the founder of Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida. Pope played a key role in the development of tourism in the state of Florida and in the growth of theme parks as tourist destinations. He was an avid outdoorsman who was a highly accomplished athlete and helped to popularize the sport of water skiing. He was a member of the first class of inductees into the Water Ski Hall of Fame and a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.
Pope became interested in water skiing during the 1920s while working with his brother promoting and selling speed boats in Florida. He began skiing behind the boats as a way to increase exitement during the sales demonstrations. Soon, he began trying different moves and tricks to increase the excitement. In 1928, he became the first person to successfully complete a jump on water skis, jumping a wooden ramp and going a distance of 25 ft. Despite his prowess as a water skier, his real importance to the sport was promoting it. Pope produced newsreels, films and magazine articles about the water skiing featured at Cypress Gardens. He promoted the sport in media outlets around the world. His efforts brought the sport international recognition for the first time.
In 1950, Pope hosted the second World Water Ski Championship. He hosted the event again in 1958. For many years, his Dixie Water Ski tournament was one of the most important annual water ski competitions. At the 1964 New York World's Fair, he staged a series of highly successful water skiing exhibitions. He also staged a water skiing exhibition for a segment on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Pope worked hard to organize water skiing as a sport. He served as the American Water Ski Association vice-president for many years and was eventually elected to the position for life. His son, Dick Pope, Jr. was one of the first persons to successfully water ski, barefoot and became a member of the Water Ski Hall of Fame. Dick Pope and his son are the only father-son pair in the Water Ski Hall of Fame. Dick Pope, Jr. being inducted in 1989.
Richard Downing Pope, Jr.
(1930-2007)
Richard Downing Pope, Jr. was just a little boy when his father and mother opened Cypress Gardens. After water ski shows were introduced to the park during WWII, Pope Jr. became one of the early performers. He appeared in park promotional photos that were distributed and published throughout the world. In 1948, when he was 18, Pope Jr. was featured skiing barefoot on national television. Pope Jr. taught the late King Hussein of Jordan how to water ski and developed a lifelong relationship between the Gardens and the Jordanian royal family. Dick Pope, Jr. was named president of Cypress Gardens in 1962 and helped lead Florida's first theme park until the Pope family sold it in 1985 for $23 million to Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich book publishing company. They purchased the park to build their SeaWorld parks group which included Boardwalk and Baseball. Harcourt sold the other businesses to Anheuser-Busch in 1989. Anheuser-Bush continued to operate Cypress Gardens until April 1, 1995 when a group of the park managers, led by Bill Reynolds, bought the property. Under President and CEO Reynolds, the park operated until April 13, 2003 when it closed after a prolonged tourism decline following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 529 people were put out of work with a three days' notice!
Dick Pope, Sr. referred to himself as the "Grand Poobah of Publicity" and through his efforts, the image of Florida as the playground for sun and fun spread around the world. He is credited with single-handedly re-vitalizing Florida tourism after the difficult times of the Great Depression and WWII. Cypress Gardens helped to establish central Florida as the dominant area in the world for theme parks.
Ski Champs in Action at Cypress Gardens
Circa 1958
"Having a wonderful time. On the go all the time. Weather is perfect."
Cypress Gardens, Florida's first theme park has a unique history. The Sunshine state's major tourism industry began with a 'Good Housekeeping' article read by Julie Pope.
Back in the 1930s, Dick Pope, Sr. and his wife, Julie saw an article about a Charleston, SC banker who opened up his private estate to the public and charged an admission fee having taken in $36,000 cash in one year which was a big sum in those days. After hearing about the banker's success, Pope decided he would build his own lush gardens in Winter Haven.
Cypress Gardens Postcard
Circa 1930s
Dick and Julie originally planned to rebuild the Winter Haven canals and chain of lakes. They also planned to add a hanging garden on Lake Eloise. Eventually, they created what became known as Cypress Gardens. Pope was mocked by the press. "Maharaja of Muck" and "Swami of the Swamp" were his nicknames because his dream garden was being built in the middle of a 37-acre swamp on Lake Eloise. Pope didn't let that stop him from accomplishing his goals!
Originally from Des Moines, Iowa Dick Pope moved to Winter Haven when he was about 11 years of age. Starting in 1931 and using workers paid $1 a day by the Florida Emergency Relief Assocation, Pope started cleaning the canals and planting palms plus other tropical plants on the property. Development would take five years, but on January 2, 1936 Cypress Gardens was ready for its first visitors!
Julie Pope knew the most about all the flowers that would grow in the garden because of her Brewton, Alabama roots. The picturesque theme park's success proved the press wrong. The garden included 8,000 different flowers from over 90 different countries.
Because of the gardens' notable success, Dick Pope was deemed "Mr. Florida", the "Father of Florida Tourism" and "Mr. Water Skiing".
Southern Belles once poised throughout the gardens.
In the 1940s, the Southern Belles attraction was introduced. Young women dressed in the crinolines reminiscent of the Antebellum South. While Mrs. Pope's husband was away in the Army, she introduced "Southern Belles" dressed in hoop skirts of varying colors and positioned throughout the gardens to greet visitors. In 1943, when servicemen showed up asking when the ski show would take place, Mrs. Pope told them it would be at 3:30 that afternoon. She, then, called her young son and told him to round up his friends to put on what would come to be known as the world-famous water ski show!
Another funny story about the Southern Belles involves Mrs. Pope. There had been a really hard freeze one December so Mrs. Pope was the one who came up with the idea to dress a young lady in a Southern Belle outfit and stand her outside so that visitors would not see the flame vine or orange trumpet vine with 3-inch long tubular flowers by the entrance that had been effected by the frost that winter. From that day forward, the Belles were created and were found throughout Cypress Gardens.
Cypress Gardens Florida shaped pool
Cypress Gardens Gazebo
In 1973, the gazebo, popular for weddings was constructed using an old satellite dish from WWII.
After water skiing became part of the Cypress Gardens' show, Pope helped develop different formations and tricks including the water ski human 4-tiered pyramid.
"Island in the Sky"
by
Kodak
Opening in 1983, the Island in the Sky is a 153-foot high revolving observation platform. The name is now known as the Sunshine Sky Adventure.
Cypress Gardens Banyan Tree
This tree was planted as a seedling in 1939 making it a cornerstone of the park since its early days. The tree is a significant part of the park's history and a symbol of what was once Cypress Gardens. The tree is located within the preserved Cypress Gardens Botanical Gardens which was part of the original Cypress Gardens theme park. This tree is a well-known feature of the park and its presence has helped to preserve the character of Cypress Gardens within what is now known as Legoland resort.
A Southern Belle, Legoland style.
Water Ski Show, Legoland Style
Two movies were filmed at Cypress Gardens. In 1941, Moon Over Miami starring Betty Grable and Don Ameche. In 1948, On An Island With You starring Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban, Jimmy Durante and Peter Lawford. The film was shown at Winter Haven's Ritz Theatre. In 1949, Neptunes' Daughter featuring Esther Williams and Red Skelton. In 1953, Easy to Love featuring Esther Williams, Van Johnson and Tony Martin.
"With movies and TV, the 1950s and 1960s were the gardens' glory days."
Bob Gernert, Executive Director of the Greater Winter Haven Area Chamber of Commerce
(Bernert is a Cypress Gardens history buff.)
Esther Williams being photographed during the filming
of
Easy To Love
The premiere of the 1953 film "Easy to Love" was on December 31, 1952 at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios as reported by Variety. The film's release date was December 25, 1953. The budget was $1,831,000 with box office generating $3,789,000.
This musical, starring Esther Williams and Van Johnson, was produced by Joe Pasternak and directed by Charles Walters. The film is known for its elaborate aquamusical sequences with choreography by Busby Berkeley. Esther Williams was pregnant during its filming, but still performed her own waterskiing stunts. It was Williams' final aquatic film set in the United States.
On April 14, 2014 Cypress Gardens was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
"In its first year, several thousand people paid 25 cents each to see Cypress Gardens."
Bob Gernert
Over the years many famous people including Elvis Presley, Carol Burnett and Johnny Carson would get their feet wet in their first attempts at water skiing at Cypress Gardens. By 1948, admission to Cypress Gardens was $1 per person. Three years later, it jumped to $1.25 per person and by 1953, it cost $2 to visit Cypress Gardens. In 1949, the garden's first traveling ski team appeared in Chicago. By 1953, Cypress Gardens hosted its first international ski tournament. In 1968, the ski show stadium was constructed. In 1974, Cypress Gardens purchased the adjacent Snively property and mansion. In 1992, the Spring Festival introduced topiary figures and the following year by the Butterfly Conservatory, Plantation Gardens and the Anheuser Busch Hospitality House in the old Snively Mansion. As of this writing, the Butterfly Conservatory has been removed.
Topiary Figure in Cypress Gardens
Sidenote: The Snively Mansion and the Snively name will be featured in an upcoming story connected to Cypress Gardens and its amazing history.
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