A couple of months ago, I posted some photos taken in the 1970's of the Kapok Tree Inn of Clearwater, Florida. You can see the post here.
Since the Kapok Tree building was taken over by Sam Ash Music, the gardens are still in existence and used for parties and weddings. Last month, I was able to visit the Kapok Tree gardens and was pleasantly surprised - they looked better than they did about five years ago, but nothing compares to the way they looked in the 60's and 70's.
I have to say the statues and fountains show signs of aging such as staining and wear; they've taken on the look of the old world and actually look pretty good. The marble columns and floors also have the antique look and have worn well. The gardens don't look too bad, but could stand a little TLC by someone who really knows gardening, but overall, the place is still nice. It kind of reminds me of a person's garden that was once fantastic but they grew old and couldn't do much work in the garden anymore. After 20 years you stop by for a visit and it isn't what it once was, yet it still has great "bones." A few days of work and it could be great again.
At the front of the building, the Kapok Tree still stands. It seems to have lost a large bough and from the smashed marble benches and railing below, I'll bet it fell with a bang. I noticed some construction equipment in the area, so I'm hoping the smashed items are going to be fixed soon. If Sam Ash Music (or whoever owns the building) would restore the broken items and just pay a bit more attention to manicuring the gardens and cleaning the empty paper cups from the fountains, this place would look fantastic again.
There's always hope.
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