Keywords

History, Cypress Gardens, Florida, Dick Pope, Richard D. Pope

Abstract

This thesis examines the relationship between Cypress Gardens and the state of Florida. Specifically, it focuses on how the creator of the park, Dick Pope, created his park after his own idealized vision of the state, and how he then promoted both his park and Florida as one and the same. The growth and later decline of Cypress Gardens follows trends in Florida's growth patterns and shifts in tourism. This study primarily uses a combination of newspaper sources and promotional pictures and other media from the park to explain how Pope attempted to make Cypress Gardens synonymous with Florida. In doing so, this paper presents a history of the park during the Pope family ownership (1935-1985), while also looking at the legacy of the park until 2004.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2009

Advisor

Downing, Spencer

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

History

Degree Program

History

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002812

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002812

Language

English

Release Date

September 2009

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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