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You Are Here: Home » Neighborhoods » Small Town Charm: The Redingtons and Indian Rocks Beach »
By Herb Hiller
Cottages once lined the shore through five towns from Redington Beach north to Indian Rocks Beach. Even as condos rise today, the towns shelter their historic character. "People want to keep the small-town feel and appeal to folks who aren't just millionaires," says Margaret Bourgeois at Park Circle B&B in North Redington Beach.
But even Park Circle claims its millionaire connection. One of seven cottages that make up the B&B came across Gulf Boulevard from the old Tides Hotel that once pampered Ty Cobb, Marilyn Monroe and Liberace. In her own pampering way, Margaret each morning hoists a flag to signal that she's ready to receive guests for breakfast.
In Redington Shores, the Dubai (formerly named Redington) Long Pier, a privately owned property, stretches 1,021 feet into the gulf and is a favorite fishing spot for anglers.
Where Gulf Boulevard narrows to two lanes entering Indian Shores, the Sun Burst Inn fronts the beach, "Sloppy" John Mahuffer's the lee side. John Korszeniewski says he gets a lot of "nightlies" from Sloppy John's. People revel, then decide not to drive home and check in at un-sloppy John's. As for Sloppy John, who roomed with Dizzy Dean as a St. Louis Cardinals hopeful in 1938, at 86 he presides over a saloon that, cluttered and labyrinthine, has seen its share of big-league parties.
And then further north is Indian Rocks Beach with its monster crab crawling atop Crabby Bill's, its kite shop, European bakery and multiple cafes, restaurants and pubs. The town began as a cottage colony in the late 1880s, where Harvey "Dad" Hendrick soon began a mainland ferry before in 1916 becoming tender of the ferry-replacing swing bridge. "Dad's" worn chair with a lifelike replica of his black and white cat sits in the historical museum. People come up and talk to the cat; some apologizing after they learn it's not real.
Make your way along Gulf Boulevard from Redington Beach to Indian Rocks Beach and discover all the small town charm these Gulf-front communities have to offer.
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