There have been some very creative people that have called Panama City Beach their home. Probably the most creative in terms of mass appeal has to Vincent ‘Val’ Valentine. Since the early 60s, Val’s art lives on, in the photos and memories of millions of tourists that have visited Panama City Beach. He was the…
During the Second World War the northern Gulf Coast of Florida was patrolled by the Civilian Air Patrol #14 stationed at an airfield near today’s 11th St. and Balboa Ave. Among the members of CAP 14 was long-time Panama City resident, Johnny Reaver. Mr. Reaver’s recollections have been published in the ‘Rich Heritage of Panama…
Today, Miracle Strip Amusement Park is only a fond memory for many people that visited Panama City Beach in the 20th century. Although, it only lasted four years into the 21st century, Miracle Strip Amusement Park was the most successful attraction on the Gulf Coast of Florida for 40 years. For many years it ranked…
The Starliner roller coaster was one of the first attractions at Miracle Strip Amusement Park. The Starliner was a wooden coaster designed by nationally renown John Allen of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1963. The Starliner was the focal point of MSAP. The track of the Starliner ran for the entire length of the eastern side of the park. The Starliner…
There’s a thread that weaves its way from Marianna, Florida to Dothan, Alabama, to Panama City Beach and eventually lands on stage with the Beatles in Great Britain. The men weaving this thread were Bobby Goldsboro and Buddy Buie. Both, Buddy and Bobby, were born in Marianna, Florida and both moved with their families to…
The story of the Old Dutch doesn’t end with hard times during WWII. Instead, it goes big-time. A hotel chain owner, Cliff Stiles, purchased the Old Dutch, a year before the end of the war. At the time, Mr. Cliff Stiles owned many hotels through the southeast. Much like the originator of the Old Dutch,…
In 1937 Frank Burghduff came to visit the Gulf shores of Panama City Beach. He was so captivated by the beauty of the area that he decided to leave his home state of New York and move to Panama City Beach. He came with the dream to build a beach-front roadhouse that would earn nationwide…
Joseph Harrison was a well known mail-carrier in Panama City. Harrison, and his wife, also operated a small store in town. Walter Sharpless was more fortunate. He had the incredible foresight to homestead Gulf front property in an era when all other residents thought it was worthless. Furthermore, Sharpless’ vision was affirmed when the Hathaway Bridge…
The story of how Panama City Beach got started. The beaches in Bay County have a relatively short history as a tourist resort. There were visitors to the Gulf as early as 1909, but not on the same beaches where Panama City Beach is today. Tourists in those days took a motor launch to “Land’s…
Old Panama City Beach welcomes you to our OPCB blog site. Here you will find interesting posts about the heyday of Panama City Beach, Florida. All of our friends who are familiar with our long standing Facebook page “Old Panama City Beach”, will be happy to know that more in-depth and descriptive posts will appear…