On last week’s word that Marineland was sold to the Georgia Aquarium for an estimated $9.1 million, Historic City News thought it would be fun to look back at a few interesting facts surrounding the attraction that for many years made its mark on tourism in the St. Augustine area.
In 2001, Jim Jacoby bought the 73-year-old Marineland property and through his company, Jacoby Development, he completed a major renovation in 2005. Reportedly, Jacoby Development still owns a two-acre parcel on the west side of A1A that it plans to eventually develop for commercial and retail uses.
You can share your favorite Marineland memory below or on our facebook.
MARINE STUDIOS AND MARINELAND TRIVIA:
• The first dolphin birth ever recorded on film occurred at Marine Studios in 1940.
• Clint Eastwood made his film debut in 1955’s “Revenge of the Creature.”
• The Marineland property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
• In 1927 C.V. Whitney helped to establish Florida-based Pan American Airways and served as the chairman of the board until 1941. He was also a member of the Truman administration in the late 1940s.
• Shark repellant used in World War II was developed based on research conducted at Marine Studios.
• Norton Baskin, husband of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, once owned the Dolphin Restaurant at Marineland.
• After a deal to sell Marine Studios’ innovative technology to a group in South Florida fell through, the rival operation simply hired away much of the studios’ trained staff and opened the Miami Seaquarium. The Seaquarium’s trained dolphin “Flipper” eventually eclipsed Marine Studios’ Flippy as the world’s best-known dolphin.
Films with scenes shot at Marine Studios:
• “Marine Circus” (1939)
• “Port Sinister” (1953)
• “The Sea Around Us” (1953)
• “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954)
• “Revenge of the Creature” (1955)
• “Secrets of the Reef” (1956)
• “Sea Hunt” (1958, TV)
• “Live a Little, Love a Little” (1968)
• “Zaat” (1975)
• “Sea Dream” (1978)
• “Benji Takes a Dive at Marineland” (1981, TV)
• “The Flamingo Rising” (2001, TV)