Visible from across the tracks on 9th Ave, head to the corner of 9th Ave N and 3rd St N for the…read morebest viewing spot. The Honk4Love mural, artist unknown, is both huge and amazing! I'm sure SHAMC, a local arts center, had something to do with it. Check it out! Life is good with art!

I discovered this sculpture while exploring Tarpon Springs. Storybook Time depicts a mother reading…read moreto her daughter from a book as they sit on a bench. I was immediately drawn to this charming sculpture because it brought all of the wonderful memories of reading to my daughter as a child. You can find Storybook Time in front of Tarpon Springs Old City Hall which is now the Cultural Center. Storybook Time was created by Texas born artist, Glenna Goodacre in 1988. She also created the four statues of Greek nymphs called Naiads in the roundabout near the Sponge Docks. Goodacre graduated from Colorado College and studied at the Art Students League in New York. After her marriage she lived part time in Santa Fe, New Mexico and in Dallas, Texas where her husband practiced law. Her favorite subject matter was portrait busts and figures and sculptural compositions of active children. Goodacre is most well known for creating the Vietnam Women's Memorial at the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. in 1993. Goodacre passed away in April 2020 at the age of 80. I love how this sculpture captures the feeling of joy of intimacy that reading together brings. Besides encouraging sharing reading the sculpture also commemorates the first library in Tarpon Springs that was established 1916.

I discovered this beautiful 17 feet high by 22 feet wide mosaic mural in historic downtown Tarpon…read moreSprings. The brightly colored mosaic is on the side of the Meres building adjacent to the parking lot that was once Mother Meres garden. The mural was a gift to the city from the Garden Fairies of Tampa Bay, a group of civic, artistic gardeners who have spent seven months creating the massive multimedia art piece. The Garden Fairies received no public funds for the $60,000 mural. It was created through their fundraising efforts and a benefit party by the Chamber of Commerce. It took 2,000 hours to complete the installation of 46 panels over Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 2010. Even the concrete walls surrounding the nearby dumpster also were decorated with 86 smaller panels. The mural commemorates Amelia Petzold Meres, a city pioneer and amateur horticulturist from the early 20th century. Mother Meres loved plants and people. She was born in Germany in 1845 and emigrated to the United States with her family when she was 5. In 1882, she moved to Tarpon Springs with her husband, Walter to run the Ferns Hotel on the corner of Tarpon and Pinellas avenues. Amelia Meres and her husband had a home east of the hotel and on their land she created a lush jungle garden that fed the hotel guests fresh fruits and vegetables and honey produced in the garden. Eventually she was bestowed the nickname of "Mother Meres." In addition to the garden she also planted the cycads that gave Tarpon Springs' Cycadia Cemetery its name later replacing them with oleander after the cycads dies off in a freeze. She held the town's first Christmas party, brought plants to the sick, and helped plant trees to beautify city. With a kapok seed giver to her by her friend botanist David Fairchild of Miami, she planted the famous kapok tree at the former Kapok Tree Inn on McMullen-Booth Road. Mother Meres died at the age of 78 on Oct. 20, 1923. After her death the garden became a city park with benches and a band shell. In the 1950's the park was turned into a parking lot. The parking lot is also the site of the Sunday Tarpon Springs Farmers Market. It is so nice to see Mother Meres love of gardening and generous spirit is still honored and thriving 100 years later.

This unique patchwork sculpture used to be in front of the downtown Safety Harbor Fire Department…read morebuilding. Now, it's saved in a nearby residential neighborhood for all to see! Life is good with unique art in Safety Harbor!

This is an interesting historical feature on Limona Road off Lakewood Drive. A historical marker in…read morethe Limona Cemetery commemorates the location on what was once a Seminole trail. It connected to Fort Brooke where Tampa is now and was developed in the lat 19th century. The Mr. Pratt.gent whi developed it also started the Tampa Historical Society. :)

The design is colorful, unique, and full of intricate details that you do not usually see anywhere…read moreelse. Every corner has something interesting to look at, from the flowing shapes to the mosaic style elements that really capture that Gaudí inspired feel. It is one of those places where you keep stopping just to take everything in. The atmosphere is peaceful and artistic, making it a great spot for photos, inspiration, or just appreciating something truly different from your typical attraction. You can tell a lot of care and creativity went into every part of it. Overall, it is a must visit if you appreciate art, architecture, or just cool unique places. Easy 5 stars and a truly memorable experience.

Love this mosaic art installation in Safety Harbor, FL. There's so much cool public art in the…read morearea. They even have a cool list of them. This was the first time I saw Ode to Gaudi. It's a 40 ft bench decked out in mosaic art. Ode to Gaudi is named after a Spanish architect named Antoni Gaudi. The mosaic artists created this bench as a tribute to life in Spain - tradition, culture, and cuisine. It's so colorful with lots of fun designs all through out. Many of which you can find in Florida, like sunshine, sea, shore, & flowers. This is located on the back side of what is now Bicycle Boutique which use to be Tupelo on 4th. What a beautiful site to see.

This war memorial stands in the front plaza of the Hillsborough County Courthouse at Pierce Street…read moreand Madison Street, a solid rectangular structure about ten to twelve feet tall with plaques honoring service members from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and those engaged in future conflicts. Each face carries a pair of bronze panels, and the inscriptions move from specific battles like Belleau Wood, Meuse‑Argonne, Normandy, Guadalcanal, and the Bulge to broader reflections on freedom, justice, and equality. The memorial sits opposite the Hydria installation, whose tall cistern‑columns frame the courthouse entrance and give the plaza a distinctive civic feel. I visited in the late afternoon into early evening, after the courthouse had closed for the day, which made it easy to walk the plaza without the usual weekday flow of people heading in and out of the building. The quiet made the inscriptions easier to take in, and the setting felt more contemplative than it probably does during business hours. Metered street parking is available along the surrounding blocks, making it simple to stop for a short visit. [Review 133 of 2026 - 2244 in Florida - 25323 overall]

I love public art works and The Naiads caught my eye on a recent trip to Tarpon Springs. The Naiads…read moreis a sculpture located in the roundabout at the intersection of Dodecanese and Roosevelt Boulevards at the west end of the Sponge Docks. The Naiads depict Goddesses from Greek and Roman mythology. In Greek mythology, Naiads are nymphs associated with water. The fountain and base for the sculpture is constructed from stone imported from the Greek Island of Kalymnos in the Dodecanese archipelago. There are some benches surrounding the art. The Naiads was created by Texas born artist, Glenna Goodacre in 1989 and installed in 2019. She also created Storybook Time in front of Tarpon Springs Old City Hall which is now the Cultural Center. Goodacre graduated from Colorado College and studied at the Art Students League in New York. After her marriage she lived part time in Santa Fe, New Mexico and in Dallas, Texas where her husband practiced law. Her favorite subject matter was portrait busts and figures and sculptural compositions of active children. Goodacre is most well known for creating the Vietnam Women's Memorial at the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. in 1993. Goodacre passed away in April 2020 at the age of 80. I really enjoy this elegance of this piece. It makes a great place to take a picture. I also love the connection this piece has to the water where the historic sponge divers made their living.