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Spongeorama
Categories: Shopping, Local Flavor, Museums [Edit]
510 Dodecanese BlvdTarpon Springs, FL 34690
(813) 942-3771
2 reviews for Spongeorama
It is so sad what has happened to Spongeorama! I was there just last month and the place is in serious disrepair and it appears the owners don't even care. The shop itself is small, dirty, smelly and the items for sale dusty.
The museum is falling apart. It made me sad to think about what this place once must have been. Those days are long gone. Now the museum displays are moth eaten, bug infested and I think I saw rodent droppings. It's a shame because I enjoy Tarpon Springs but I think these lean economic times are taking their toll.
Tarpon Springs feels almost like a foreign country. Sponge-o-rama, located in the heart of the "Sponge District" is like a different planet. If you haven't had enough of the natural sponges just walking through the village, you'd best try out this museum so you can learn the sometimes humorous, sometimes terrifying, and all-too true history of sponge farming. There's a great giant underwater suit helmet by the entrance. Take this space to prepare yourself, then head into the museum. Catch the film, which shows how divers find sponges, and why exactly natural sponges are superior to their artificial counterparts. Then enjoy the dioramas next door. Popular Greek Foods! How Spongers Are Paid! And my personal favorite... The Sponge Divers Nightmare. All of the dioramas have been sorely neglected over the years. Grime covers the windows. The Nightmare diorama shows some poor soul, too eager to bring his sponges to the surface, dying of the bends on his way up. He now lies on the boat floor, bleeding from all kinds of orifices. The sorrow does not end here, my friends. The sponge fields around Tarpon Springs are drying up from over-harvesting. Soon, the whole sponge industry in Tarpon may be dying out. Of course, this comes courtesy of a film that's like 50 years old, so whatever.