Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781439659731
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

How Busch Gardens Tampa Bay became a hit upon its late 1950s opening and grew into a zoological facility and theme park beloved by millions.

When Busch Gardens Tampa Bay opened in 1959, the Florida park became an immediate hit with locals and tourists alike. Over the decades, Busch Gardens has grown to become an internationally acclaimed and accredited zoological facility and world-renowned theme park. Serving as a sanctuary for thousands of exotic and endangered animals from around the globe and offering up unique thrilling rides and world-class entertainment, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay proudly welcomes millions of guests each year.

One

1957–1964
NEW GARDENS BREW

On July 25, 1957, Anheuser-Busch announced its purchase of 160 acres to open a $20 million brewery and tourist attraction in Tampa, Florida. The brewery was designed to produce 800,000 barrels of beer each year and manufacture other products essential to the brewing process, such as yeast. In addition to the brewery, Anheuser-Busch’s plans for the new Tampa landmark included botanical gardens and a hospitality center where adults could sample free beer.

August Busch Jr. turns a shovel in March 1958 to officially break ground for his company’s new brewery and tourist attraction in Tampa. Construction on the brewery and the original section of Busch Gardens, the Bird Gardens, would continue through 1958 and into the first months of 1959. (Tampa Bay History Center Collection.)

Construction is underway on Busch Gardens in this August 14, 1958, photograph. Looking north from Temple Terrace Highway (later renamed Busch Boulevard), one can see the brewery taking shape, impressions in the ground for lagoons, and the nucleus of the original parking lot. (Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library.)

Crews work on constructing the Anheuser-Busch brewery in late 1958. The large tanks seen inside the building were used for holding thousands of gallons of beer. When the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Tampa first opened, it could manufacture up to 800,000 barrels of beer each year. A barrel is equivalent to 31 gallons, meaning nearly 25 million gallons of beer were flowing through the brewery annually.

August Busch Jr. speaks at the dedication ceremony for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay on March 31, 1959. Founder Eberhard Anheuser was part owner of Bavarian Brewery, a St. Louis company established in 1852. Anheuser bought out the other investors by 1860 and renamed the brewery E. Anheuser & Company. Later, brewing supplier Adolphus Busch met Anheuser and married his daughter Lilly. Adolphus Busch worked for his father-in-law and purchased half-ownership of the brewery, which became Anheuser-Busch, Inc. In 2008, the company was renamed Anheuser-Busch InBev.

When Busch Gardens Tampa Bay opened to visitors on June 1, 1959, they entered the park from Busch Boulevard, which was then named Temple Terrace Highway. The original park entrance was located across from Thirty-Third Street and brought guests onto the grounds through a driveway adjacent to the east side of the Bird Gardens Gift Shop (now known as Xcursions), which became the park’s first standalone gift shop when it opened in October 1964.

One of the most popular draws at Busch Gardens during its early years was the bird show. The show allowed an array of exotic birds to demonstrate an array of natural behaviors before adoring crowds. The Busch Gardens Bird Show debuted with the opening of the park in 1959 and continued in a format similar to the original program until 2007. Critter Castaways, another show featuring domestic and exotic animals, played at the Bird Gardens Theater until 2014, when the theater was closed and later demolished; the Critter Castaways crew began performing at Pantopia Theater later in 2014. (Author’s collection.)

Guests who came to tour the Anheuser-Busch brewery at Busch Gardens entered the large factory via the Stairway to the Stars escalator, which took visitors to an entryway at the top of the building. When it first opened, Stairway to the Stars was said to be the world’s longest escalator, measuring more than 80 feet high. (Author’s collection.)

Guests touring the Anheuser-Busch brewery could watch beer be manufactured through every step of the process. In this room, visitors see the kettle (front vat) where wort is boiled and hops are added. Wort contains sugars that are fermented by brewing yeast, and hops are a type of plant that stabilize beer and add flavor. In the rear is the mash tank, which uses hot water to steep barley and start the fermentation process. (State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.)

Adults could sample Anheuser-Busch beer products at the Busch Gardens Hospitality House. However, free beer was not the only attraction here. Guests also could enjoy soft drinks and snacks while taking in views of the adjacent lagoon where waterfowl delighted in the beautiful, exotic surroundings. The Busch Gardens Hospitality House’s unique, seven-sided floating roof was the brainchild of William B. Harvard. The St. Petersburg, Florida, architect designed many local landmarks, including the St. Petersburg Pier’s inverted pyramid, which stood over the waters of Tampa Bay from 1973 until 2015. (Author’s collection.)

Visitors enjoy free beer and other refreshments inside the Busch Gardens Hospitality House in this 1962 photograph. The Busch Gardens Hospitality House continued offering free beer until 2009, when the restaurant was re-themed as the Garden Gate Café. The family-friendly dining venue serves craft beer, pizza, pasta, salad, desserts, and more. (Author’s collection.)

The Bird Gardens Nursery was one of the park’s earliest animal care centers and allowed guests to watch on as zoological staff handled everything from incubation to dietary preparations. The Bird Gardens animal care center was housed in a distinctive scallop-roofed building once located just steps north of where Walkabout Way is today. (State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.)

The Adolphus Busch Space Frame was a gold-anodized aluminum geodesic dome that served as an aviary. Named for an Anheuser-Busch founder, it was dedicated on March 22, 1960, and housed an array of exotic birds and other species in various ponds and gardens encompassed within an enclosed area measuring 99 feet in diameter. The Adolphus Busch Space Frame was removed in 1988 to accommodate a brewery expansion. (State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.)

Several beautiful pergolas covered stretches of walkway throughout the original Bird Gardens during th...