TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Midway museum gets big boost

Tribune file photo by JIM REED

Museum officials hope it will give the public a much more intimate look at the carnival and the life that surrounds it.

ADVERTISEMENT

BY YVETTE C. HAMMETT

yhammett@tampatrib.com

Published: May 31, 2009

RIVERVIEW - A million dollars will go a long way toward building a colorful, quirky home for thousands of carnival artifacts and photographs collected over the years by Gibsonton's whimsical midway alumni.

An anonymous donation from a fellow carnival crony will go toward completion of the International Independent Showmen's Museum on Riverview Drive.

A lack of money had put the project on hold for months, long enough that zoning approvals for the property had expired, said Beau Pugh, a member of the association. Changing the zoning from residential to a planned development would allow a museum in a residential area.

Museum officials have asked the county for a waiver. The showmen's association offices are in a partially residential area on Riverview Drive and the museum would be next door.

"We had an anonymous contribution that will put a big dent in getting the project going," Pugh said. If the zoning is approved by the county commission, the association will get plans for the museum out to bid, he said.

A zoning hearing recommendation is due Wednesday, and the matter is scheduled for the Hillsborough County Commission on July 21.

Gibsonton and Riverview have for decades been a wintering ground and retirement village for those in the carnival industry.

Twenty-five trailers at the association's offices house a world-class collection of carnival rides, midway stands and side-show displays.

The association has invested about $1 million in a 25,500-square-foot building shell on the site. Another $1 million may be needed to get the museum fully operational, said Chuck Mayo, a voluntary archivist for thousands of carnival photos passed down through the generations.

"This is a big step for us," Mayo said.

Getting the project back on track is a big plus, Pugh said.

"We have such a large collection of stuff, including an antique wooden Ferris wheel that will be put together as the centerpiece for the museum.

"So many from around Gibsonton and Riverview come from the carnival industry," Pugh said. "People think we still live in tents and have no teeth."

This museum, Pugh said, will give the public a much more intimate look at the carnival and the life that surrounds it.

Mayo has been archiving thousands of pictures of carnival life dating to the late 1800s. About 250 photos are online and accessible through the University of South Florida's archive page. Go to www.museumoftheamericancarnival.org, then click on the association's logo to access the USF site.

Mayo said other specialty museums are invited to call the showmen about setting up an exhibit in the new museum. The showmen's association's number is (813) 677-3590.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 627-4763.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT