The Sponge Industry: The Sponge Docks
Images from the 1910s show boats moored just off the bank of the Anclote River, but by 1921 there was a wooden dock along what is now Dodecanese Boulevard. By the late 1950s, it was replaced with a cement dock. Today, sponge boat crews use the Sponge Docks for docking and repairs, parking trucks while loading and unloading boats; and sponge sorting, cleaning, and sales. Sponge fishermen and others socialize on the Sponge Docks, organizations stage events there, and tourists ramble while observing the spongers at work.
This panoramic view is one of the earliest glimpses of the Sponge Docks. Both diving and hook boats gazerika) are anchored wherever they can find a space. Courtesy of City of Tarpon Springs.
Probably taken ca. 1910s, this is one of the oldest images of the Sponge Docks. Not only their caps and mustaches, but also the Greek boats in the background identify the men as Greek sponge fishermen. The originally wooden dock was rebuilt in concrete by the 1960s. Courtesy of City of Tarpon Springs.
Men with gather around a 6-foot pile of sponges near the Anclote River, ca. 1920s. Among the Greek boats in the background is the Ellpis [sic], or Hope. Courtesy of Dr. Themistocles J. Diamandis.
Greek sponge fishermen pose on a schooner that has been adapted as a diving boat. Since it includes a man with a bowler hat and tie, the photograph may have been taken for the families back in Greece. Courtesy of Dr. Themistocles J. Diamandis.
By 1921, dozens of the Greek boats line the wooden docks where men work and an anchor lies. The lone horse-drawn buggy is joined by the Sponge Exchange jitney and cars probably owned by affluent merchants. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Special Collections, Tampa Library, University of South Florida.)
This remarkable panoramic view shows a line of sponge boats at the Sponge Docks across from the shops along Dodecanese Boulevard, as well as boats moored east of the Docks along the banks of the Anclote River in 1932. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.
Elevated view of the sponge fleet at the Sponge Docks, Sponge Exchange, the bridge and surrounding area in 1932. Note the boat yard to the right of the Docks. Photograph by Burgert Brothers; Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.
Sponge fleet at Sponge Dock for Epiphany, 194-. Photo by Joseph Janney Steinmetz, 1905-1985. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
Sponge fleet at Sponge Dock, 1942. Photo by Joseph Janney Steinmetz, 1905-1985. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
Sponge boats are moored and crowds walk along the Sponge in 1947. Signs in the background announce a café and an explanation of ceremonies—so this may have been taken during Epiphany. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Special Collections, Tampa Library, University of South Florida.
Sponge boats Samarkos Bros, Eleni, Posidon, Anna, Democratia, and Anastases are moored at the Sponge Docks in 1949. Photo by the Florida State News Bureau; Tampa Tribune.)
Sponge hooking schooners, such these docked in an inlet off the Anclote River on October 18, 1973, originally composed a large part of the sponge fleet. The Arty was converted to a sponge boat by George Tsourakis. Photo by Connie Standish, Tampa Tribune.
This 1947 aerial view shows the Anclote River winding to the Gulf and Anclote Key in the background. It also reveals fewer boats and cars on the Sponge Docks. In the lower left the Greektown residential area begins on on Athens Street. Photo by Burgert Brothers; Special Collections, Tampa Library, University of South Florida.
On October 2, 1970, the crew of the sponge boat Eleni hauls strings of sponges off the boat to store in the Sponge Exchange until they are auctioned later in the day. Photo by Connie Standish; Tampa Tribune.
Buyers view the largest sponge haul in decades by Anastasios Karistinos on the Anastasi. 9-10-10. City of Tarpon Springs.
Sponge merchant Jim Skaroulis and Agios Nikolaos boat owner Dimitri Fotiadis survey sponges spread on the Sponge Docks for sale, 5-30-14. Photo by Tina Bucuvalas