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Venice Mainstreet

4.5 (2 reviews)

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Radioactive Fountain of Youth

Radioactive Fountain of Youth

5.0(2 reviews)
26.7 mi

I aged in reverse immediately after drinking a small sip. It tastes terrible but the experience was…read moreworth more than 5 stars!

This gets five stars for being one of the strangest finds on my travels. Ever since Ponce de Leon…read moreset out to find the fabled Fountain of Youth 500 years ago, Florida has been awash in dozens of bodies of water that claim to be the fabled waters. The people of Punta Gorda think they have the right artesian well. In 1926 the residents raised enough money to build a fountain to tap into the aquifer below it. The green tiled fountain has tiles of ships on all four sides in honor of Ponce de Leon. For years people drank from the fountain and regaled each other with tales of the waters healing properties. In its prime the tap on the fountain had to be replaced every six months because it kept wearing out. The same water was used to fill the pool at the Hotel Punta Gorda. In 1974 Congress passed the Clean Water Act. In the 1980's the EPA finally got around to testing the fountain and found that the water was contaminated. Artesian water is low oxygen which brings out the radon. After determining that the water was radioactive officials tried to shut the fountain down but were stymied by the resistance of local residents. The radium limit on water is 5 picoCuries per liter and the water in the fountain was almost twice that, clocking in at 9.2 picoCuries per liter. The water is also high in magnesium which is good for your health and is a mineral many people are deficient in and in sulfur which makes it smell like rotten eggs. The health department slapped a warning on the side of the fountain and things have been pretty quiet for the past 15 years although some people still show up with empty gallon jugs to take the water with them. The radioactivity and smell was enough to deter me from trying the water.

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Radioactive Fountain of Youth
Radioactive Fountain of Youth
Radioactive Fountain of Youth

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The Whispering Giant Calostimucu

The Whispering Giant Calostimucu

5.0(2 reviews)
26.6 mi

The Whispering Giant Calostimucu is an art piece carved from a 20 foot Enterolobium Cyclocarpum…read moretree known as the elephant ear or monkey pod tree. The tree is said to be similar to mahogany. The piece was commissioned in 1974 by Fred Babcock who owned the Holiday Inn. He discovered the tree damaged by lightning on his land in 1973 and he had seen Hungarian artist Peter Wolf Toth's work in Georgia. Toth had experienced repression in his native country and was shuttled among various refuge camps. When he immigrated to Ohio he became interested in Native American culture because he saw a parallel in the way they were treated and what he experienced. Toth traveled the country over 20 years and donated at least one work in each state and two in Canada. His first carving was a stone Native American head in a cliff in La Jolla California in 1972. After that he switched from stone to wood. His last carving was number 58 in May of 1988 in Haleiwa, Hawaii. The collection of large works is called the Trail of Whispering Giants. According to Toth "The statue is not just to honor Native Americans; it's to represent all people who have suffered injustices." The carving took three months to make and it sits in front of the historic A.C. Freeman House. It originally resided in front of the Best Western, previously the Holiday Inn until Hurricane Charley in 2004 damaged much of the hotel. The carving includes the emerging dream of a dying bison on it's back coming out of the top and eagle with a broken wing meant to represent the prejudice and injustice Native people have faced. The sculpture also features the faces of a Native American man and woman. It was Toth's tenth piece and the only one to feature two faces. The artwork was first dedicated in 1974. It was rededicated on January 20, 2006 and a time capsule was buried at the base.

This piece of public art for display is really cool! Directions tell you to pull into the parking…read morelot behind the Italian restaurant and if you can't find it the artwork is on the corner by the road in front of the yellow house behind the restaurant.

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The Whispering Giant Calostimucu
The Whispering Giant Calostimucu
The Whispering Giant Calostimucu

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Siesta Key - Great beaches!

Siesta Key

5.0(2 reviews)
14.2 mi

Absolutely love this beach! Powder white sand for miles, clear turquoise waters, so many shells and…read morewildlife in the preservation areas. Lots of free parking areas up and down the beach, which is rare these days. I think what I love the most about this place is the commercial development has been kept off the beach! When you're at the beach there's no loud, rowdy crowds or music. Just the crashing sound of the waves and laughter of children playing. Don't get me wrong I love a good beach restaurant but I think there's something magical about it being more natural. There are restaurants and bars one or two streets over so not a far walk, trolley or cart ride away. Such a wonderful family friend place. Lots of options for vacation rentals. Just a short drive from central Florida or even closer the Sarasota airport. We will definitely be back.

I really enjoyed my day at Siesta Key Village. It's close to the beaches and has plenty of shops…read moreranging from up-scale to kitschy. Restaurant options are plentiful. You can get a nice, expensive gourmet meal or some good ole bar food. There are several shops to get a sweet treat and plenty of bars to cool down after a day at the beach and relax. In other words, there's enough variety to keep everyone in your group occupied. Parking on the street is limited and goes very quickly but you can park in the municipal lot at the end of Avenida De Mayo. This mostly pedestrian village is a great area to come and shop, eat, listen to some live music, people watch, and relax!

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Siesta Key - The most beautiful beach

The most beautiful beach

Siesta Key - Amazing shells and full sand dollars

Amazing shells and full sand dollars

Siesta Key

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Bowling Ball House

Bowling Ball House

4.9(7 reviews)
63.6 mi

The Bowling Ball House in Safety Harbor is one of the wildest, most chaotic, and unforgettable…read morethings you'll ever come across hands down a five-star experience just for the sheer creativity and madness of it. This place is packed with personality from every angle. Bowling balls are everywhere stacked, lined, and worked into the yard in ways that make you stop and stare. It feels like someone took a simple idea and just ran completely wild with it in the best way possible. Then you start noticing all the unexpected details: random statues scattered throughout the property, SpongeBob characters popping up in places you wouldn't expect, and CDs hanging from strings that catch the light and move with the breeze. It's like stepping into a fully DIY art installation where anything goes and more is more. What makes it so great is that nothing about it feels normal or restrained. It's loud, weird, colorful, and totally unique. Every time you look around, you notice something you didn't see before, which makes it feel like the house keeps changing as you explore it. Overall, the Bowling Ball House is pure creative chaos in the best way possible. It's fun, bizarre, and completely unforgettable a true local landmark that proves art doesn't have to make sense to be amazing.

Like stepping back in time. Being in the Hippy era. Cool house and decorations. Bowling balls,…read moremermaid, lots of decorations on the trees. Great for taking pictures. We didn't know you could go inside but someone later told us you could. Not sure but I bet it would be cool.

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Bowling Ball House
Bowling Ball House
Bowling Ball House

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Venice Mainstreet - localflavor - Updated May 2026

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