A WHOLE Lot of Nothing

Photos of places I used to live in Daytona Beach.  Photos taken by and the property of FourWalls.
@FourWalls (70994)
United States
February 3, 2025 9:02pm CST
Be prepared: this discussion is boring. It’s about a WHOLE lot of nothing. You can’t go home again. (Thomas Wolfe) I stopped in Daytona Beach, my old stomping grounds on my way down the coast today. I found out that ol’ Tom Wolfe was correct; however, in this case, it’s only because none of the places I lived in Daytona are still standing! As a result, you see what I saw: a lot of empty lots. Almost, that is: the first photo (top left) is the sign for a motel that my parents managed in 1974. The sign is still there; however, I seriously doubt the building is used for lodging purposes. It certainly didn’t look like it. It also gave the impression that the other buildings that had been knocked down were lucky in comparison. In the top right photo you see my shadow deliberately being cast on an empty lot that used to be one of the places we lived. Where my shadow is marks where the front entrance to the house would have been. That was a really cool house, or so I thought then. I don’t know if I’d really like to have one just like it now, but back then it was sweet. Middle left is a row of palm trees and a building in the background, taken from the empty lot. The middle tree is approximately where my bed was in the “snowbird” hotel my parents ran on that site. (The building in the background was once a bank, and it’s now a bar called The Bank.) That hotel was really old fashioned. It had sleeping rooms with communal bathrooms on each floor. Of course, these were all people who stayed there year after year, so there was never any fighting over using the bathrooms. One of them had one of those old-fashioned “standing” tubs, the kind that had “feet” (or short legs) on them that were not built into the wall of the bathroom the way most tubs are these days. I loved that because it reminded me of my aunt’s house (she had one of those, and all of us kids LOVED it!!). Middle right is where my church was. I wrote about that a few years ago, when I discovered that the congregation no longer existed and the building had burned down in a likely arson fire. It was called Calvary Baptist Church, and it was a wonderful place to worship. Lower right is the where the first motel my parents managed when we moved to Daytona Beach stood. It was called the Si Sea Motel. Because of the multi-floor Ramada built the next street over, you couldn’t “see the sea” from it. It’s funny that the Steak ‘n’ Shake that used to be two doors down is also gone, but the post office two blocks down is still there. The final photo is the empty lot where my best friend in junior high lived. There’s a “for sale” sign there, because the property is right in front of a cemetery. (Hey, the neighbors are quiet! ) I did take a picture of the empty space between where her house and my house was. There was a pest control company blocking the view of our houses. One night it burned to the ground, and afterwards Brenda and I could stand on our front porches and wave to each other. (No, we didn’t start it. ) It wasn’t that I minded “going home,” even though a lot of the memories were bittersweet (my parents, Brenda, her mom, and her husband have all passed away). It’s just that progress tore the home up so I really couldn’t go home. But it was fun to remember those days. All photos described above. All photos taken 2/3/25 by FourWalls.
9 people like this
7 responses
@kaylachan (74448)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Feb
That's cool. I still live in Daytona. A lot has changed. We're seeing a lot of new go up, too.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (70994)
• United States
4 Feb
I realize that time moves on, and it’s been 50 years, blah blah blah, but I really would have expected more than one building to still be standing.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (74448)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Feb
@FourWalls I've seen a lot of buildings reduced to rubble in the recent hurricanes. We get with something tropical at least once a year, Beach side seems to take the brunt of it. And I'm going to guess, that's where you were. IF I showed George those images, I'm sure he'd know exactly where all that stuff was.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (70994)
• United States
4 Feb
@kaylachan — yes, beachside is the best side!
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (40311)
4 Feb
I honestly don't think this is boring. But I like to go on trips like this, or to step back in the past sometimes. I love the ''Tropic Aire'' sign--I remember going to Florida as a child in the summers, and those little hotels were the best. We always went with our aunt and uncle. He liked the places like this on the way and on the way back home, he always tried to stay in the roadside hotels that had attached restaurants. He let my sister and I get room service, and we felt SO grown up! So many memories...then we were either in Hollywood, Florida, or Miami Beach, or the Keys...depending on where they were going. But on the way and on the way back, we loved staying in the little hotels. It's not a whole lot of nothing if it brings back good memories.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (70994)
• United States
4 Feb
Thank you. It was a wonderful afternoon for me.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (40311)
4 Feb
@FourWalls I loved the little jailhouse!
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (184726)
• United States
4 Feb
Things change over time for sure
2 people like this
@FourWalls (70994)
• United States
4 Feb
I apologize for this discussion. I even apologized to my brother for the boring pictures. Yes, things change.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (110934)
• Marion, Ohio
4 Feb
Remembering is fun. Sorry they are all gone
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (70994)
• United States
4 Feb
I’m glad I was there when I was. It looks like the first place I worked will also be an empty space in a few months.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (30928)
• United Kingdom
4 Feb
It's strange that so many buildings are gone and haven't been replaced. Over here we have the opposite, a house is knocked down and replaced by four crammed together; a pub is closed and turned into an apartment building.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (70994)
• United States
4 Feb
I know, and especially when you’re considering a very high “tourist” area. Three of these shot are less than two blocks from the big arena in town, so you’d think that it’d be a perfect place for pre-event or post-event businesses like restaurants. The thing is, I don’t know exactly why those buildings disappeared (hurricanes, fire, abandonment, etc.) I also don’t honestly know the “condition” of the neighborhood in terms of socioeconomic conditions or crime rate. That also might have something to do with it. The fact that insurance is impossible to obtain in Florida with all the hurricanes blowing through might also have something to do with it.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (30928)
• United Kingdom
4 Feb
@FourWalls Yes I guess no-one's going to invest in an area where they might lose everything in a hurricane. And then the area goes downhill and only those who can't afford to move away stay there.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (345279)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Feb
Bittersweet indeed. I guess they call it progress but was it a bit of a shock to find so many empty blocks?
2 people like this
@FourWalls (70994)
• United States
4 Feb
Yes, especially given that the middle left photo is right on Main Street, where so much action is during Spring Break and racing season.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (170804)
• Boise, Idaho
4 Feb
How fun to go back and see it all again. I have a funny story I will post at some point about when a friend and c went back to visit a favorite teacher. Pretty funny.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (70994)
• United States
4 Feb
I will be looking forward to it!!
1 person likes this