Permanently Closed Florida

05/26/2025

Home Roast Coffee
Lutz, FL

01/30/2025

The Jackson Rooming House, also known as Jackson House, is a historic building constructed in 1901 as a boarding house in the city of Tampa, in the U.S. state of Florida. It provided accommodations to African-Americans and other travelers of African descent during the era of racial segregation. It is located on the north end of downtown at 851 Zack Street, approximately one block west of Tampa Union Station. On March 7, 2007, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Jackson Rooming House was one of the only places in Tampa where black travelers could find lodging, as they were not accepted in standard hotels of the day. The 24-room establishment began as a six-room cottage built by Moses and Sarah Jackson in 1901. Soon after, they added bedrooms and a second story in order to operate the rooming house, which remained in business until 1989. The Jacksons' children inherited the business and the home remains in the possession of one of the Jacksons' grandchildren.
During its time the Jackson House played host to several prominent entertainers, including Count Basie, Cab Calloway, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ray Charles. Acts such as these would come to play the nightclubs of Tampa's black business district, which thrived nearby along Central Avenue until the 1960s
During the urban renewal of the 1970s most of the neighborhood surrounding the house was razed. By 2007, when the house was added to the NRHP, the Jackson House was believed to be the last free-standing residential dwelling in downtown Tampa.

09/20/2024

More Orlando Sun Resort...

09/14/2024

The Orlando Sun Resort Part I: The history of and After and Before photos....

The Orlando Sun Resort was once a thriving vacation destination, but it now stands abandoned, shrouded in mystery and intrigue.
Orlando Sun Resort made its grand debut in the early 1970s as a Hyatt Hotel during the peak of Orlando’s tourism boom. It was envisioned as a premier vacation spot, catering to families and individuals seeking an idyllic getaway. Boasting an impressive range of amenities, the resort featured spacious accommodations, multiple swimming pools, recreational activities, and lush landscaped gardens. Its prime location in Kissimmee, just a stone’s throw away from the world-famous Walt Disney World Resort, added to its appeal.

For several decades, Orlando Sun Resort enjoyed a successful run, welcoming countless guests seeking an unforgettable vacation experience. Despite its popularity on September 12, 2003, the Hyatt suddenly closed its doors permanently, without notice to guests or employees. They literally told guests to be out by noon that day and few got refunds.

The hotel was later purchased at auction by the Moinian Group out of New York. The new owners planned to repurpose the hotel campus by making the rooms into condominiums. While they waited for investors and permits, the hotel sat vacant for several years. In 2007, Moinian decided to reopen the hotel so that it would generate some income until they could move forward with the condo project. It was renamed the Orlando Sun Resort. The owners tried to attract new business by offering DJ dance parties and even boxing matches! These efforts failed. Guests saw the hotel as grossly outdated and wrote negative reviews on Google about hot water issues, mold in the hotel rooms, and a lackluster pool.

The Orlando Sun Resort closed once again in 2012 and was listed for $74 million. It was purchased in 2021 by another New York company that took a generous grant from Osceola County to improve the property. Nothing has been done on the property to date and the old hotel still sits abandoned.

The Orlando Sun Resort website is still active, along with a YouTube channel. They have not been updated since 2012.

03/19/2023

Los Mexicanos restaurant
Tarpon Springs, FL

06/04/2021

06/01/2021

Finally! Some new photos! The ol' Gunn Hwy Flea Market. The photos are all here but if you go to the Photos page you'll find the album. Thanks for checking these out!

06/01/2021

06/02/2020

I recently started using Lightroom and man, what a difference that software can make! Just like TV or Film production, the art of photography is equal parts shooting and editing. Few of the photos posted on this site are edited. I may get to it one day but for now I've created a new page titled "Road to the Show Productions" that has a collection of my favorite photos that I've edited. Just like photography, editing requires a certain touch and sensibility. There's no right or wrong there's just what you feel is best for the photo. None are drastically edited - that's not my speed. My desire is to reproduce what I see as accurately as possible albeit sometimes with a little boost of color and contrast just to make the image a little more interesting. I hope you'll take a moment to check it out; "Road to the Show Productions".

Thank you!

Larry

P.S. And as always, if you know of anything interesting that's caught your eye, please let me know!

05/05/2020

This is what's left of "The Links Golf Club" in Hudson, FL. It opened some time in the mid 80's and closed on June 10, 2019 due to a lack of funds. This place is huge and I only had enough time to walk around a little. Even if had the chance I'd expect that it would have just been more of the same. It was beautiful in its time. Crazy how it went from what it looked like then to now. And who knew that this is the way to destroy a golf course? Real shame. It has/had a history.

04/03/2020

Hello All! I hope everyone who visits my page is healthy and doing everything they can to keep it that way. Although I'm working from home, I'd love an opportunity to get out and shoot some stuff like this. If you have any suggestions of places within a 20 mile range of 34655 (Trinity/NPR) that you've noticed is closed down, please share. Thank you and best wishes for continued health to you and yours.

03/05/2020

So, what’s the idea behind these photos?

I've always loved history and things that are old and abandoned. For me, seeing an old building or any of the types of places I've posted fires up my imagination with a sense of wonder and curiosity. I’m inspired to take photographs that attempt to capture the contrast of what I see in the present... the old, dirty and broken... and then connect it to some past moment in time when it was new, clean and functional.

Additionally, many of these photo collections represent social and economic commentary: business that have folded; ranches that have given way to malls, etc.

Currently I’m shooting on an older and very basic Canon T3i and stock lenses that are not good in low light (nor is the camera) but I do my best to capture the mood focusing mostly on composition and available lighting. I rarely alter or enhance the photos in any way with the exception of minor adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation. My goal is to show how these things really are and not an idealized or artsy version of it. And lastly items are rarely moved and are only done so if it helps tell a better story.

I am very interested in hearing from people who may have tips for me on places in my area of western Florida they've gone to or seen that they think would make for some interesting photography. If so, please feel free to reach out to me.

Meantime, thanks so much for taking the time to take a look at my work.