Historical Images of Community Life: Work and Tourism
The kafeneia (men’s coffee houses) on Athens Street testify to the long-standing tradition of Greek men spending their free time at these establishments. Courtesy of Dr. Themistocles J. Diamandis.
Angel Market was located on Athens Street. Owner George Nikolaou Angeliniadis is on far right behind the counter; left front is Manuel Alahouzos. Courtesy of George Mandalou.
Thelma Karavokiros Papafotis stocks the shelves in Angel's Market on Athens Street in the 1940s. In addition to canned goods, produce, and staples, customers purchased fresh meats. Courtesy of Nickollet Tsourakis Henderson.
Evelyn Miaoulis Billirakis and Kaliope Miaoulis Harvard sitting on the back of a bike driven by their brother Nicholas Miaoulis in the 1940s. They are at the Greek American bakery on today’s Pinellas Avenue, which was owned and operated by the related Miaoulis and Lulias families. Courtesy of John Lulias.
Greek bakery on Holy Saturday, April 12, 1947. Photo by Joseph Janney Steinmetz, 1905-1985. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
Maria Pappas of Pappas Restauran twith their Greek salad, 1947.Photo by Joseph Janney Steinmetz, 1905-1985. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
At Samarkos Coffee House on Athens Street on Epiphany, 1945 are (front) unknown, Michael Manias, Peter Mastrovasilis, and John A. Samarkos smoking a nargiles; (back seated) George Kindinis, Nicholas Pantelis; (back standing) Konstantinos Moutsatsos, unknown, Steve Peterson, Bill Paskalakis, Anthony Samarkos, and the rest unknown. Moutsatsos, who retrieved the cross, holds the tray that cross divers take around town to collect donations for the church. Courtesy of Anna Tsoukalas Billiris
Helen Samarkos Tsoukalas holds baby Anna Tsoukalas atop a sign for the Seven Seas Restaurant, owned by the Samarkos family. Courtesy of Anna Tsoukalas Billiris.
Vasile Faklis fits his granddaughter, Andea Faklis Kopacz, with a shoe as her mother Katie Faklis watches in 1966. Faklis founded Faklis Department Store and Shoe Repair in 1912. Courtesy of the Faklis family.
Stamas Boat Company employees make recreational boats in a newly built facility on March 21, 1967. Peter and Nicholas Stamas learned wooden boat building from traditional Greek craftsmen as boys. Photo by Flash
Jarocki, Tampa Tribune.
Inside a kafeneion during the 1970s, a waiter picks up a coffee from the small kitchen while the men take a break from playing cards to discuss a serious matter. Courtesy of Eleni Christopoulos-Lekkas.
Roger Smirlis is flanked by employees Zach Marazos and Junior Baxter on March 6, 1987. Smirlis baked European and American breads, as did his grandfather beginning in the early 20th century. Courtesy of the Tampa Tribune.
Descended from an early sponge industry family, Dr. Themistocles J. Diamandis was a beloved doctor in Tarpon Springs for 47 years. He was also a student of local history who collected historic photographs and artifacts. Courtesy of Alyce Diamandis.
This image shows a store selling sponges at 629 Dodecanese Boulevard in 1921. Photo by the Burgert Brothers; courtesy of Special Collections, Tampa Library, University of South Florida.
A merchant surveys the street from the doorway of his tourist shop stocked with shells and sponges in 1936. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.
A Greek saleswoman explains the properties of a vase sponge inside a tourist store near the Sponge Docks, 1936. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.
By 1937, the Sponge Docks are bustling with visitors. Note the many cars parked in front of the sponge fleet, the tourist boat ride at the end of the Sponge Docks, and the large sign announcing the function of the Sponge Exchange to visitors. Photo by the Burgert Brothers; Special Collections, Tampa Library, University of South Florida.
Vassiliki in sosuvenir shop, 1947. Photo by Joseph Janney Steinmetz, 1905-1985. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
Outside their gift store on Pinellas Avenue in 1948 are children Costas Pappas, Fanitsa and Theodosios Frantzis, and Katherine Esfakis Pappas with father-in-law Costas George Pappas and sister-in-law Zula Pappas Frantzis. Costas was called the Iron Man because he was the diver who would stay down the longest. Courtesy of Joyce Pappas.
Anna Smolios Kouskoutis Ioannidis (right) worked in Sylvia Billiris’ (left) gift shop during the 1950s. Courtesy of Eleni Christopoulos-Lekkas.
In 1924 the Billiris family created an early sponge industry attraction that still operated today. St. Nicholas Boat Line Sponge Diving Exhibition still cruises from the Sponge Docks up the Anclote River and incorporates an exhibition of hard-hat diving. Ca. 1950s, State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
The crew of the tourist boat St. Nicholas III poses for a photograph. Standing on the dock, l-r Captain Michael J. Billiris, Angelo V. Billiris, unknown diver; on the boat George M. Billiris, Theodore J. Billiris, unknown, Ted M. Billiris, John M. Billiris, and Mike E. Tsongranis. Courtesy of Eleni Christopoulos-Lekkas.
While in Tarpon Springs to film Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953), Terry Moore and Robert Wagner talk with John Gonatos in his family’s Olympic tourist shop. Gonatos played a Conch sponger in Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, did diving scenes for 16 Fathoms Deep, acted in several other Hollywood films, and gave Lloyd Bridges diving lessons for the television series Sea Hunt. Courtesy of Dr. Themistocles J. Diamandis.
Four men aboard George Georgiou's sponge diving exhibition boat at the Tri-city Suncoast Festival in 1961. John Georgiou founded the business, and his son George later became involved. Photo by Jim Stokes; State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
Mike Renios, suited up for diving on George Georgiou’s diving exhibition boat, Plastiras, on February 10, 1969. Courtesy of the Tampa Tribune.