ST. PETERSBURG-BRADENTON, FLORIDA Ferry MANATEE Naval Cover 1941 postcard
It was sent 13 May 1941. It was franked with stamp "Liberty".
This cover is in good, but not perfect condition. Please look at the scan and make your own judgement.
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Do any of you oldtimers remember when the Bee Line Ferry crossed Tampa Bay from Bradenton to St Petersburg?
In the old days before the first Sunshine Skyway bridge was built, it was a 69 mile trip from Manatee to Pinellas County. You went up 41 through Tampa and across the bay on either the Gandy Bridge on the south or the Courtney Campbell Bridge on the north through Oldsmar.
The ferry shortened the trip from Manatee to Pinellas County to just 22 miles, and it crossed Tampa Bay in one hour.
The ferry stopped running in the early fifties after the first Sunshine Skyway Bridge opened to automobile traffic.
Too bad, because I've been told it was a fun ride.