Product Details

Vintage Florida “City of Mermaids” mugs! Weeki Wachee Springs first opened to the public on October 13, 1947. Founded by former U.S. Navy diver Newton "Newt" Perry, it originally featured a small, 18-seat theater built six feet into the limestone below the spring's surface. On opening day, the first mermaids performed synchronized aquatic ballets while breathing through hidden air hoses. Because U.S. Highway 19 was quiet at the time, the performers would actually run out to the road in their swimsuits to flag down passing cars and beckon tourists into the park. Weeki Wachee Springs joined the national Park service in 2008 and is no longer endanger as a roadside attraction of closure.