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All the United States Florida Tarpon Springs Spongeorama Sponge Factory
AO Edited

Spongeorama Sponge Factory

This small museum gives visitors a chance to soak up the history of the "sponge capital of the world."

Tarpon Springs, Florida

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Jen Nelson
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Spongeorama sign   beelgin/CC BY 2.0
Spongeorama   Steven Miller/CC BY 2.0
Sponge boat returning from harvesting trip.   jen487 / Atlas Obscura User
Visitors can take short trips on a sponge boat.   jen487 / Atlas Obscura User
Spongeorama   psyberartist/CC BY 2.0
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Spongeorama Sponge Factory.   Leonard J. DeFrancisci/CC BY-SA 3.0
One of the shops selling natural sponges.   jen487 / Atlas Obscura User
Sponge divers unloading their haul on the dock.   jen487 / Atlas Obscura User
  Steven Miller/CC BY 2.0
A sign in Tarpon Springs, Florida, detailing the history of the town’s sponge industry.   dlc31723 / Atlas Obscura User
A memorial statue to the sponge divers of Tarpon Springs, Florida.   dlc31723 / Atlas Obscura User
Enjoy an assortment of sponges unlike anything you’ve probably ever seen before.   J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
Amazing Greek food and desserts Tarpon Springs Florida Sponge Docks   Rindy99 / Atlas Obscura User
  Rindy99 / Atlas Obscura User
The short informational video they play in the small visitor center is spectacularly vintage 1950’s.   J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
  jyackabonis / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Tarpon Springs, Florida, is a one-stop shop for all things sponges. Sea sponges, that is—not the synthetic scrubbers you use to clean your dishes.

Spongeorama Sponge Factory, which claims to contain the world’s largest collection of natural sea sponges, also houses a small museum and movie theater. The educational exhibits are perfect for anyone seeking to soak up information about the squishy sea animal (yes, sea sponges really are animals).

The factory’s colossal collection is no surprise, as the factory and museum are within the self-proclaimed “sponge capital of the world.” The Florida city has largely dominated the sea sponge scene since the early 20th century, when a man named John Cocoris introduced mechanized methods for harvesting the aquatic animals.

Cocoris, a Greek man, recruited divers from his native country. They spearheaded an industry that generated millions of dollars each year. Diving and harvesting became one of Florida’s leading maritime industries up until 1940, when a blight caused the sponge population to dramatically decline. Thankfully, the species has since recovered and the sponge harvesting business is once again booming.

Tarpon Springs has embraced both its industrial and cultural heritage. In addition to Spongeorama Sponge Factory, it boasts historic sponge docks and sponge diving boats that are open to tourists. The city, which has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the United States, pays homage to Greece via its architecture, cuisine, and traditions.

Update as of January 2020: Unfortunately, the museum found in the gift shop is currently closed due to hurricane damage. There is no current timetable for reopening as the damage to the exhibits is rather extensive. 

Related Tags

Cities Museums Museums And Collections Animals World's Largest Collections Water

Know Before You Go

The GPS coordinates and address lead to Spongeorama Sponge Factory. Note that as of April 2018 the museum inside the factory-store was closed until further notice due to damage from a recent hurricane.

Community Contributors

Added By

jen487

Edited By

J Ginsberg, dlc31723, cockroach8cincy, Kerry Wolfe...

  • J Ginsberg
  • dlc31723
  • cockroach8cincy
  • Kerry Wolfe
  • Collector of Experiences
  • Rindy99
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • jyackabonis

Published

December 18, 2017

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  • https://spongeorama.com/
  • http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/cities/tampa/discover-sponge-docks-tarpon-springs.html
  • http://www.authenticflorida.com/articles/where-to-go/tarpon-springs-sponge-capital-of-the-world/
  • https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2066
  • http://news.mit.edu/2016/earth-first-animal-simple-sea-sponge-0222
  • Spoke with the manager this afternoon.
Spongeorama Sponge Factory
510 Dodecanese Blvd
Tarpon Springs, Florida, 34689
United States
28.155825, -82.758798
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