Florida Beach Bar Art: Larger than Life!

Last Updated on June 5, 2016 by Marybeth

We Floridians are well known for our love of kitsch and color and we make no excuses. Laugh and tease us all you want – we fly our freak flag high and proudly. Our beach bars are some of the best places to find larger than life art. I almost put the word “art” in quotation marks, as if it’s not truly art. But it so very much is.

The Grove Dock Bar in Port Salerno; read more about Port Salerno, here

Larger than MY life, anyway… The Hideaway Tiki Bar in Cedar Key; read more about Cedar Key, here

We love to reach beyond pelicans and parrots (no offense, Margaritaville.) While some Florida beach bars have the expected names and mascots – there are approximately 28 Florida beach bars with some kind of fish in their name – others enjoy hauling in various and sundry statues, icons, and puzzling references to, well, hell if we know. But we love all of them.

Bluesy’s Happy Snapper, Jensen Beach; read more about Jensen Beach, here

Not sure what this come-hither roller derby gal signifies, but she welcomes you to Gilbert’s Tiki Bar in Key Largo; read about the Best-Kept Secret Keys Tiki Bars, here

I may have sat in this pirate’s lap a time or two… Squid Lips Overwater Grill in Melbourne; read about bar sampling in Melbourne, here

One of our most favorite mermaids, because she doesn’t give a damn if her hat is beat up and falling apart, Pineda Inn in Melbourne; bar sampling again, here

Beverage Boulevard! JD’s Restaurant and Lounge in Indian Rocks Beach; read more about Indian Rocks Beach, here

JD’s again – note the octopus in the background

Crabby Bill’s crab is larger than our house, Indian Rocks Beach; read more here

We’ve barely just begun in our quest to showcase more of the funky unique kitschy awesomeness of Florida beach bar art, so please let us know where to go next in the comments below. The weirder and more anomalous (like puzzling Ms. Roller Derby) the better!