Marine Studios Florida Dolphin Show . Taken In May 1956 . Editorial Image

Marine Studios Florida dolphin show . Taken in May 1956 . A lady feeds the dolphins Marine Studios (the name Marineland of Florida would later be adopted) On June 23, 1938, Marine Studios (the name Marineland of Florida would later be adopted) began operations with its main attraction a bottlenose dolphin. Unexpectedly, over 20,000 tourists clogged Highway A1A to visit the new attraction. For many decades Marineland consisted of not only the oceanariums but several amenities including a motel (Marine Village Court, Marineland Motel and Quality Inn Marineland) Dolphin Restaurant and Moby Dick Lounge Periwinkle Snack Bar and Sandpiper Snack Bar Marineland Marina plus fruit shop and gift shop and a pier at the north end of the facility. A Texaco service station was adjacent to the Periwinkle Snack Bar, and Greyhound Bus Lines stopped regularly during its St. Augustine to Daytona Beach run.The total property area consisted of 125 acres (51 ha) sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. Originally planned for the St. Augustine area, residents of that community did not look favorably on the attraction being located there thus the new site south of Matanzas Inlet was chosen.