The Tarpon Springs sponge docks provide visitors the opportunity to visit Greece without leaving Florida.
For a taste of Greek culture and cuisine, Tarpon Springs is the destination of choice in the county.
Known for its history of sponge harvesting, the area first attracted residents in the late 1800s.
After a particularly bad winter devastated citrus crops and a fire destroyed much of the city’s business center, residents turned to the commercial sponge industry as a new source of revenue. In 1905, John Michael Cocoris introduced sponge diving and began recruiting Greek sponge divers from the Dodecanse Islands.
The sponge beds were diminished by a blight in 1938 and by red tide in 1948. Today, tourism has supplanted sponging as the city’s main industry. The sponge docks district is the focal point of tourist interest.
According to the city’s Web site, the sponge docks at Dodecanese Boulevard in Tarpon Springs provide visitors with an opportunity to visit Greece without leaving Florida. The beautiful Mediterranean village offers shopping, dining and boat tours which allow passengers to explore the waterways and see real sponge divers harvest sponges offshore. A visitors’ center, located at the city’s municipal marina, provides local information. The city also boasts a thriving antique trade and arts community.
Take McMullen Booth Road north to Keystone Road (Tarpon Avenue). For information, call the chamber of commerce at 937-6109.
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