STREETCARS IN FLORIDA

TECO line in Tampa/Ybor City, Florida

Streetcars rolling in Florida???? It had the same effect on me as hearing “elephants roaming in Florida” in my high school geography class. It was a strange but true fact, indeed. I always imagined Florida to be like Key West, Ft. Lauderdale, Sanibel Island or some other seaside resort. After all until my recent trip to the Clearwater/Tampa Bay area, this was the extent of my exposure to the peninsula state. The vision of urban mass transportation in Florida just never entered my imagination. But my friends took me to Ybor one day in January so we could walk around and eat Cuban food. Imagine my delight when I spotted the historic, bright yellow streetcars of Ybor City which dates from 1880. The neighborhood began as a Cuban/Italian community of cigar factories. The architecture is stunning. Lots of 1920’s style bungalow houses surrounding the big warehouses and factories which have been converted to retail shops and restaurants.

A nicely restored bungalow house typical of the region.

We boarded the TECO streetcar at Whiting, the beginning of the line. There was a bit of lag time so I took the opportunity to talk to the conductor. He said the cars were reproductions made in 2000 but the trucks of the cars were authentic. Tampa’s first streetcars reached their peak ridership in the 1920’s so more than likely the trucks that carried us were from that era….or so I imagined.

The line is barely three miles long and really just a right-of-way path but nevertheless we thoroughly enjoyed our ride as did all the passengers. I was wishing that there were a turnaround but these cars remind me of the double-ended Riverview car at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum – at the end of the line everyone stands and flips their seat to face the opposite direction. The conductor moves to the front and the overhead trolley is readjusted for the return trip. Adios! Ding Ding!

The Circle in Dundalk, MD

"BBQ" oil on canvas (18" x 24")

Affectionately referred to by many as “The Circle” this deco style diner is no longer located in the Highlandtown/Dundalk area in Baltimore, MD. It is rumored that in the 1960s it was THE big, East- side, hang-out for motor heads who packed it with jacked-up, souped up American cars. Conversations about “popping wheelies” and “laying rubber” could readily be overheard. Former patrons have said that until it was sold in the 1990s tasty Bar-B-Q sandwiches were prepared by the same husband and wife team for many years. If you walked up to the side window to order you could see the lady in the back room surrounded by gallons of milk and ice cream while preparing milk shake after milk shake. The husband kept a close watch on how the patrons behaved. In 1987 I had my first experience with the restaurant. As I pulled up in my huge 1976 Buick, we had the only car on the lot. So we casually parked and walked up to the service window on the side. Since we were inexperienced and new we had no idea of the parking regulations. The man sternly made us readjust our parking before he would make our Bar B Que sandwiches. You see since it was a round building the patrons were required to park on a diagonal representing angled rays around the building. Made sense to me once I knew the rules.

SNOWY DECEMBER FOR PETER WITT

“Snowy December for Peter Witt”

oil on gessobord™ (24” x 12”)

Today when we saw some snow flurries while Christmas shopping, I immediately thought about streetcars carrying an over-abundance of riders at the height of the holiday season. I for one really miss the hustle and bustle of the crowds jammed into the buses and streetcars. During the month of December the regular riders were competing for seats with the package-laden shoppers who had spent their day buying gifts in all the stores and shops downtown. The big four department stores, Hutzler’s, Hochschild’s, Stewart’s and Hecht’s anchored the mobbed intersection of Howard and Lexington Streets. A white-gloved policeman was there to keep the pedestrians, cars and streetcars from colliding into each other. But at the end of the day which was perhaps punctuated by a lunch in Hutzler’s Quixie or the counter at Read’s Drugstore, weary men, women and children boarded their homeward bound streetcar hoping for a seat to rest their tired feet. It was a long ride with many stops but at this time of year there was always a view of holiday decorations and lights.

Some readers here may be wondering who the heck is Peter Witt? Well according to my fellow members at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum he was a Cleveland citizen who designed this forward thinking streetcar which was named after him. Its original purpose was to keep the streetcars running on time by using the center door as an exit only. An additional conductor sat near the center door until the depression came and that position was eliminated. But nevertheless these gorgeous cars kept on carrying passengers in all kinds of weather around Baltimore. But I think that the Peter Witt looks its best in the snow.

OLD BAY SEAFOOD SEASONING

"Old Bay with Crab Wallpaper" 2010

oil on board ( 11" x 14")

Oh boy are we Baltimoreans possessive of our Old Bay seasoning! As far back as I can remember, it was coveted by just about everyone I knew. After all most of my friends and family loved to steam and eat the bountiful blue crabs of the Chesapeake Bay region. Gosh we were so proud to have the spice manufactured right here and equally delighted to share our secret with outsiders. Many families shipped the cheerful yellow tins to the less fortunate who lived outside the area where Old Bay was nowhere to be found. I seem to remember an air of mystery about the ingredients. My best, childhood-friend Charlotte, who still loves food, and I studied the box and considered duplicating the spicy seasoning. Somehow we never attempted this in either of our mothers' kitchens.

"Old Bay with Cherries" 2010

oil on canvas ( 16" x 20")

The original recipe was invented by a German immigrant named Gustav Brunn. According to the Old Bay web site, the original name was "Delicious Brand Shrimp and Crab Seasoning." It was wisely renamed "Old Bay" which was the name of the steamship line that had a huge building located on Light Street -- approximately where the Harborplace pavilion now sits.

"McCormick Seafood Seasoning" 2010

oil on board (8" x 8")

Of course in my personal collection of old spice tins, which are mainly the McCormick and Bee Brand products, I have an assortment of Old Bay and related tins. Here is an interesting observation assisted by memory. The 1950 container of " Old Bay Seafood Seasoning" features a crab, a shrimp and a lobster on the cardboard package. The lid is a gold colored tin. Baltimore Spice Company is given credit as the manufacturer. I remember that McCormick at the time had their brand of Seafood seasoning which was supposed to mirror the flavor of Old Bay. It was not popular around these parts for obvious reasons. The packaging was colorful and had a nice illustration of a red crab and some shrimp on the label. But to loyal Old Bay lovers it felt unreliable and uncool.

"Old Bay" 2010

oil on canvas (8" x 10")

Not sure when Old Bay decided to change the label from "Seafood Seasoning" to "Seasoning for Seafood, Poultry, Salads and Meats" but it is there on the shelf with its red plastic lid. (see it for yourself on your own pantry shelf - I rarely paint objects that are still available) I have read that in 1990 the Baltimore Spice Company let go of their precious Old Bay and laid it in the responsible hands of our McCormick and Company now located in Hunt Valley, MD. Thank goodness we still make this precious commodity right here on the outskirts of Crabtown. I shudder to imagine the uproar if ever the manufacturing of"our" beloved spice was relocated.

And here is a sample of one of my other spice tin paintings:

"Ginger, Allspice, Cream of Tartar" 2009

oil on canvas (11" x 14")

MCCORMICK FACTORY, Baltimore

"McCormick Factory" 2010

oil on canvas (22" x 32")

Most Baltimoreans reminisce about the 1989 exodus of the McCormick spice factory from Baltimore,Maryland's inner harbor. It was an olfactory overload to be in the neighborhood of the Light Street building and inhale the aroma of whatever spice they were making that day. During the Sunday drives of my childhood I often requested to include a pass-by of the giant white building with the huge spice tins on the roof top. It still gives me a thrill to remember the cheerfulness it added to the harbor with its jumble of sagging buildings, steaming ships and hulking boxcars. Today you can often get a whiff of the spices but in a different location. Just drive towards Hunt Valley, MD on I 83, roll down your window and breathe in the fragrance!

The Old Commander Hotel - Ocean City, MD

“The Commander Hotel” 2008

oil on canvas (12” x 24”)

The long-gone, original Commander Hotel at 14th St. & Boardwalk was the scene of the first and last time I had to wear starched crinolines underneath my organdy dress while vacationing in Ocean City, MD. One day at the age of five I decided to leave our family’s apartment which we rented for half a season that summer. I wanted to join my grandmother at her elegant retreat on the boardwalk. There we took an afternoon nap prior to dining in the formal restaurant. In the days before air-conditioning we relied on sea breezes to cool us. The guests’ rooms had a latching louvered door for privacy so that air could flow freely throughout the hotel. The two foot gap at the bottom allowed me to eavesdrop on the activity in the hallway while pretending to nap before eating dinner in my best Sunday dress. Nana loved to live properly in public and so later we dined sitting up straight while using the correct flatware. After dinner we sat on the porch and rocked in the wicker chairs while watching all the families "walk the boards." The next morning I was glad to return to the chaotic apartment where I could wear my bathing suit and matching beach jacket as I had my lunch at the kitchen table. More than likely I was barefoot as well.

OCEAN CITY, MD - ANTIQUE FERRIS WHEEL

"Ferris Wheel at Dusk" oil on board (18" x 24") 2005

At least five or more generations of the Trimper family have kept the amusement rides and arcades operating at the end of the boardwalk near the inlet in Ocean City, MD. Until recent times, the late Mr. Granville Trimper's antique ferris wheel was located next to the boardwalk across from the Life-Saving Station Museum. This gorgeous ferris wheel might be a much milder ride than the Zipper perhaps but it was hard to beat the view of the resort when perched on top while waiting for the operator to load another passenger below. It was fun to rock it back and forth ever so slightly as you circled around and around high above the din of the thousands of vacationers. I loved to hear the whirring sound of the mechanical gears as we swooped close to the ground and then up and away.