Safety Harbor
By Toby Bennison

Nestled quietly between the bustle of Tampa and the encroaching progress of eastern Clearwater, Safety Harbor embodies everything “community” once stood for. Nowadays, “communities,” such as they are, come with electronic gates, hefty association fees, and draconian rules which dictate stiff limitations on everything from outdoor lighting to shrub height.

The city’s not run by happy-go-lucky Muppets - they do have their share of problems - but there’s an pervading sense that whatever comes its way, Safety Harbor will weather the storm. As small-town America fades rapidly into memory, Safety Harbor stands as a humble bulwark against the engulfing tide of 21st-Century development, for Harborites accept progress without comprimising their love of the past.

The Tocobaga were the first inhabitants of the area, and their name has become associated with the culture which arose around this large bayou. Skilled craftsmen and agriculturalists, their greatest legacy may be their deep appreciation for communal living, for the most part independent of ruling heirarchies and chiefs. The Safety Harbor Museum (329 Bayshore Blvd., 727-726-1668) provides a great introduction to the town’s prehistory.

Enter the token conquistador, Panfilo de Narvaez, who landed here in 1528 and began causing trouble. He was forced to flee by the natives and inclement weather, but some 10 years later another Spaniard, Hernando de Soto, in search of gold, set up camp and dubbed the region Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit) after the freshwater springs he thought were the fabled Fountain of Youth.

Though the springs were alleged to have curative powers, they never granted eternal youth, and Safety Harbor was eventually abandoned. From this point on, traditional history is hazy, until 1842 when Odet Philippe, once a surgeon in Napoleon’s army, became the first non-native settler on the Pinellas County peninsula. He truned about 160 acres into a citrus plantation and is credited with introducing the grapefruit to Florida.

In the 1850s, Colonel William J. Bailey bought the land and the springs from the government and called the resulting settlement Bailey-by-the-Sea. At the time of the town’s official incorporation in 1917, it was renamed Safety Harbor, for its having served as a safe haven for storm-tossed boats.

Bottling the five identified springs as Liver, Kidney, Stomach, Beauty, and Pure Water, Bailey shipped jugs of the stuff all over the world and made a pretty penny in the process.

Safety Harbor enjoyed a long period of popularity as a tourist destination during the ’30s, when the area surrounding the springs was developed and vaunted as a rejuvenative haven. In 1945, Dr. Salem Baranoff purchased the facilities and turned them into the Safety Harbor Spa. Today, the Resort remains the main attraction for visitors, but the family-oriented town and surrounding scenery deserve discovery.

The pedestrian-friendly downtown is home to several antique shops, boutiques, and galleries, as well as restaurants and cafes, which for the most part are situated along the oak-lined Main Street. A short walk west down Main Street beginning from the Safety Harbor Spa (105 N. Bayshore Dr., 1-888-237-8772; across from the impressive library) takes you through the heart of the commercial district.
The eclectic Odile Boutique (228 Main St; 727-791-6900), Southern Hospitality Antiques and Gifts (312 Main St.; 727-797-4848), and This Old Place (454 Main St., 727-725-4242) are great spots for gift and relic shopping. BJ’s Flower Basket (101 Main St., 727-725-5817) is a cozy-old world shop which sells incredibly fresh flowers (as well as silk ones) and carries a nice selection of unique gifts.
As far as restaurants go, never were so many eclectic choices available within such a short distance. The Spa’s own bistro, 105 North, offers a healthy menu of entrees and salads which can be enyoyed on their outdoor terrace overlooking Main Street and the nearby marina. Just down the way is Athens Restaurant (226 Main St., 727-726-3471), which serves excellent Greek food in a diner-type setting. Nearby is the excellent Green Springs Cafe (156 4th Ave. N.; 727-669-6762) which serves fresh, inventive cuisine in a turn-of-the-century wood-framed house.

Safety Harbor would be nothing without Captain’s Italian Restaurant (324 Main St., 727-725-2846) a darkly comfy place which makes the best pizza in town. Across the street is Enver’s Paradise Restaurant (443 Main St., 727-725-0618), whose authentic diner atmosphere serves home-cooked family-style breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Cafe Soleil’s (737 Main St., 727-724-1112) elegant outside patio is a great place for coffee and pastry, while The Whistle Stop (915 Main St., 727-726-1956), across the railroad tracks, offers “utterly cool homemade ice cream,” live outdoor music, and many sandwiches and salads accompanied by fried green tomatoes. You can’t miss it, just look for the brightly painted cow out front.

You can’t get any more “Main Street-y” than this; the large gazebo in the center of town hosts many events and concerts and serves as the nexus for both the weekly farmer’s market and monthly “Third Friday” street fairs, during which the main drag is closed to motorized traffic. A short stroll down the cobbled side streets reveals many restored old-Florida homes lounging under shade created by sprawling oaks, lush vegetation, and hanging Spanish moss. Free monthly movies are shown outdoors at the marina, and the town boasts loads of other art shows, jazz concerts, parades, a wine festival, and even a San Gennaro Festival in imitation of Little Italy’s most famous event.

But the pride of Safety Harbor may well be the sprawling Philippe Park ( 2525 Philippe Pkwy.), a densely canopied public park which hugs mangrove-lined Tampa Bay. Many of the small “hills” which roll through the park are actually Timucuan and Tocobagan shell middens. At the southern end of the park is a small beach which looks out toward Tampa while public boat ramps, several playgrounds, a baseball diamond, and picnic pavilions reside at the northern end. You could explore Philippe Park for days and still not see every inch of it, and though the place is always busy with Harborites from all walks of life, it’s large enough to accomodate hundreds of people without feeling crowded.

Safety Harbor’s proximity to Tampa and Clearwater make it a nice intermediary stop before braving the traffic of Hwy 19 toward the gulf beaches. Any short stay here will show how the citizens have worked together for the common good; it can be seen in the beauty of its old-fashioned downtown and the fresh air of its bucolic spaces, and it’s in the eyes of the people who live there. The citizens of Safety Harbor clearly take pride in their city, and it shows.