An Arch For The History Books

Are you ready to embark on an adventure through time? Let's take a journey to the famous Southgate Shopping Center. Even if you're not a retail fan, Florida historian, or architecture buff, you've probably seen this famous arch before. And let me tell you, it's not just any arch.

The Southgate Shopping Center arch in Lakeland has been a Florida icon since the plaza was first constructed in 1957. The great arch rises 70 feet tall at its peak and is comprised of 67 tons of steel. Yes, this thing is massive! Can you imagine being the one to construct it? That would take some serious engineering skills!

The Southgate Shopping Center, designed by Donovan Dean (an architect who did multiple projects for Publix in the 1950s), gained a fair amount of notoriety just for its arch and architecture alone. The use of clean, modern lines was a departure from the more ornate styles of the time. However, Southgate's fame was solidified in Florida history as well as pop culture history when it was featured in the 1990 movie Edward Scissorhands. Imagine being able to say you visited the same place as Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder! More recently, it was the centerpiece of the film The One and Only Ivan where locals could watch the beloved shopping plaza be transformed into a Hollywood film set.

But let's get to the real reason behind the Southgate arch - Publix. In the mid-1950s, the extent of development in Southern Lakeland didn't go much past the extent of downtown, about to where Florida Southern College and Ariana Street are now. South of town, it was mostly farms and orange groves, all land that would eventually become prime for the development of new homes and shopping centers. The site of the Southgate Shopping Center was a former orange grove with not much else around it at the time.

But George Jenkins, founder of Publix, had a vision. He carefully selected the sites for his new shopping centers (including Southgate), locating them in areas where he knew massive development would soon follow. And he was right. Southgate Shopping Center opened to much fanfare on November 11, 1957, with anchors Publix (of course), a Publix Danish Bakery (the first of its kind - this would later evolve into the modern in-store Publix Bakery), Woolworth, W.T. Grant, Friendly Hardware, Horton's Furniture, Fremac's Men's Clothing store, Rexall Drugs, Thom McAn Shoes, a "Beauteria" (that sounds very 50's), a toy store, and a few other small stores.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to be there on opening day? The excitement, the crowds, the anticipation of what was to come. And yet, here we are, over 65 years later, and the Southgate Shopping Center is still going strong. It's a testament to the vision of George Jenkins and the enduring appeal of good shopping and community spaces.

So next time you're in Lakeland, make sure to stop by the Southgate Shopping Center and take a look at that iconic arch. It's a piece of Florida history that you won't want to miss!