Lowry Park, 1961
Sligh Avenue at North Boulevard

In 1961 Tampa's Mayor Julian Lane asked Cinchett Neon Signs to create the new Lowry Park sign.  Seen here in a rare photo is the occasion of the dedication ceremony for the giant edifice at Sligh Avenue and North Boulevard in 1961.

This sign was a well-known Tampa landmark for over 30 years.

Left to Right:
John F. Cinchett
Frank Neff, Parks Director
Julian Lane, Mayor
Gen. Sumter de Leon Lowry, Jr.

Old days at Lowry Park
Official Zoo Website

This amazing sign was created on both sides of a wedge-shaped structure.  On the short end, there was a door to gain entry to the inside. It was initially built for a drive-in restaurant named "Henry's Round-Up". The original sign featured a cowboy (outlined in neon) spinning a lasso, duplicated on both sides so traffic on Dale Mabry, Henderson and Morrison could see it. The top of the triangle shaped structure housed a radio studio where the DJ could overlook the drive-in below. Henry's Round-Up lasted only a few months. It was a few years before it opened again as a Kentucky Fried Chicken store.

Cinchett also created the sign for the first Kentucky Fried Chicken in Tampa on N. Florida Avenue.

As seen from across S. Dale Mabry.

Col. Sanders hired the Cinchett Sign Company to create all the neon work for his first two Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Central Florida.

For three generations, the Mirabella Fish Co. market, on the Hillsborough River near the Platt Street Bridge, was the most frequented of its kind in Tampa.  In 1952, this companion restaurant opened on Dale Mabry Highway near Cypress Ave.  Both locations became destination spots for local politicians.

Located on the south side of Columbus Drive between Dale Mabry and Himes, west of the entrance to the old 20th Century Fox Drive In Theater, it was situated where Miami Subs now sits, between Burger King and K-Mart.  The lot across the street is the current location of the NY Yankees training complex, formerly "Redsland."   In the background, on the left, is the intersection of Dale Mabry and Columbus Drive.  Note the service station.

Arrow Liquors, 1959
Near Columbus Drive and Himes

The doughnut shop next door probably stood where 7-11 now sits.

This hotel was located on the west side of Dale Mabry Highway, between Buffalo Avenue (now MLK Jr. Blvd.) & Hillsborough Avenue. Note Tampa Stadium on the left, before the end zones were closed in.  Mouseover photo for enlarged view of stadium.

The Noblemen were an act Gil Cabot signed to his Paris Tower label in the mid sixties in Tampa Bay. They hailed from Clearwater and in 1966 were playing gigs around the Bay area; recording at H&H Studios and Charles Fuller Productions. Their recording of “Two Faced Woman” was extraordinary, backed with “You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice”, the John Sebastian classic.