Voodoo Room, St. Petersburg, FL (bar)

Name:Voodoo Room
Type:bar
Street:10812 Gandy Boulevard
City:St. Petersburg
State:FL
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
Cocktail lounge inside the Aquabar.

[ Edited by: Mo-Eye 2009-05-16 14:17 ]

So, this 1959 ad caught my attention...

...semi tiki graphic, but I could not find any info on it, other than that it was part of the Aquabar, and what the heck is the "pinwheel game"???

Well, I guess the Voodoo Room was not "excitingly different" enough, and by 1965 it became the Swamp Room!!!

I was able to find some "loose" descriptions of the Swamp Room from 1965, and needless to say, it sounded good, and I can kind of figure out what the pinwheel game was now.

"The coziest, smartest and happiest little lounge anywhere joins the Nightscene pages this week. I'm happy to tell you about the Aquabar on Gandy Boulevard just east of Derby Lane. It's open from 8 am until 2 on the ayem and is just reeking with atmosphere. The management with tongue in cheek has named the main room the Swamp Room. It's the plushest "Swamp" I've ever seen. "Linda" the cute barmaid during the dayy adds color and conversation. Arthur (in leopard vest) makes the night time hours hum too. When you get there ask about the two little booths "backstage." They are really whizzers. Have fun at the Aquabar anytime."

"The zing, swingy, wildly unique decor of the Swamp Room in the Aquabar has the after dark folks singing its praises. The daylight hours find the Swamp Room just as exotic and exciting. Individually intimate was the phrase Baird used to describe the Swamp Room to this writer. He's right, too. So are the shapely swamp girls, whose measurements defy the best Playboy playmate tradition."

"Wheeeeeee! That about describes a visit to the Aquabar on Gandy Boulevard. Baird's Swamp Room is really "way out." Not in statute miles ( it is just this side of Gandy bridge), but in decor and service. "Swamp Girls" rival the Playboy Bunnies or Li'l Abner's Daisy Mae. The exotic drinks are limited because of potency and the music is most wild. Be prepared for the unusual at the Aqua Bar and Swamp Room."

So, don't know if there was really any tiki there, but thought it was worth including for the first graphic and the possible quality of drinks.... and the fact that I would so be there.

i believe this turned into "daves aqua lounge". daves is still open on gandy blvd and is aprime spot to hear the blues.

Wow, thanks for that info! Here's what I found now, mostly from the Dave's Aqua Lounge website:

http://www.davesongandy.info/

Dave's Aqua Lounge is not in the same building, but is still closely related. They have a great video on their site which gives a lot of history. Turns out that the original building at 10812 Gandy is still there, but has been completely remodeled into offices. They say it dates to the 1920s and was originally called the Bucket of Blood Saloon. It sounds like this was quite a place, with liquor, gambling and prostitution being some of its offerings during the prohibition years. The building is 2 floors and had "juice and soda" bar and such downstairs with the girls bedrooms upstairs. Sometime in the late 50s it became the Voodoo Room at the Aquabar, then became the Swamp Room a couple years later in the early 1960s. Now, Dave's dad bought the Swamp Room in 1963, and built Dave's Aqua Lounge right next door. I guess all these different businesses took advantage of having he bedrooms upstairs for the girls "comfort"!

Also from Dave's site, possibly where they got the "Voodoo" - they say that both properties are haunted by the number of girls that died there when it was the Bucket of Blood...