Heritage Village
The Don CeSar punctuates the skyline where the Bayway meets St. Pete Beach. Saved from demolition a half-century ago, the hotel’s service as a soldiers’ convalescent center during World War II and Veterans Administration regional office from 1945 to 1969 are important chapters in its history.
A small wooden cabin at the heart of Madeira Beach also became a place where veterans recuperated. The decision by Albert Archibald and David Welch to set aside the beach it sits upon for exclusive use by veterans also played a role in Pinellas getting a VA hospital.
A Beach for Bay Pines
In January 1929, Sen. Duncan U. Fletcher drafted a congressional bill to establish a Soldiers’ Home in Florida. Local officials lobbied for this facility and the federal dollars it would bring. Archibald and Welch sweetened the offer by promising to include a 500-foot tract of beach just north of Archibald’s Madeira casino as part of the deal.
Success came in May 1931, when officials selected an area then known as Seminole Point. Two months later, the county approved a $100,000 financing plan to purchase land for the hospital that opened in March 1933. The facility became known as ‘Bay Pines’ on June 15, 1934.
Crews built a two-story cabin on the beach property. By the mid-1930s, buses from Bay Pines regularly brought wounded warriors there for helio- and hydrotherapy, hoping the sun and water would heal their bodies. The dark red cabin, white sands, and welcoming waters offered veterans an exclusive refuge for more than 30 years.
As nearby cottages and businesses appeared, authorities placed fences along the sandy boundaries of this retreat. By the mid-1950s, these fences required those walking the beach to make a detour from the shoreline to Gulf Boulevard when passing the cabin and veterans’ beach.
Gulf Beaches Public Library
A Popular Park
A chain-link fence and “No Trespassing” signs surrounded the property by the late 1960s. Following negotiations in the early 1970s, federal officials allowed Madeira Beach to manage the site and allow public access. Workers removed fences, repaired the cabin and paved an enlarged parking lot.
City leaders dedicated the park in Albert Archibald’s honor in July 1974. They had to comply with Archibald and Welch’s original covenant that prohibited commercial use of the land. Back then, a vehicle could park all day for 25¢.
A local chapter of the Disabled American Veterans sold food, drinks, and sundries in the cabin, soon known as the Snack Shack. Beginning in 1975, beachgoers enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, fish sandwiches, onion rings, and sodas served by DAV volunteers. Profits from purchases assisted local veterans.
Gulf Beaches Public Library
Saving the Snack Shack
The Snack Shack closed in 1998. A few years later, the city and a local restaurateur toyed with the idea of transforming the cabin into a signature restaurant, a violation of the original non-commercial covenant. Alex M. Archibald Jr., grandson of Albert Archibald, led efforts by his family to encourage officials to honor the original agreement. After the deal failed, the City faced a lawsuit and paid a settlement.
An unlikely champion for the long-vacant cabin emerged in early 2007. Kaitlyn Chalke, a sixth-grade student at Madeira Beach Middle School, launched her “Save the Snack Shack” campaign. She spoke at commission meetings, held petition drives, and won the support of Eddie Lee and other adults who shared her appreciation of the cabin’s historic place in Madeira.
Her involvement encouraged the commission to postpone plans to demolish the cabin in April 2007. In a March 2008 referendum, more than 70% of Madeira residents approved the “Save the Snack Shack” initiative. The Snack Shack reopened in September 2010. The building closed three years later and another vendor managed the facility after substantial renovations. The public beach and Snack Shack remain popular Madeira destinations today.
