WAKULLA SPRINGS, Fla. — From natural wonders of Wakulla Springs to the historic shuffleboard courts in St. Petersburg, the Sunshine State is enshrined in the art of cinema.

The Tampa Bay History Center’s latest exhibition, “Cinema in the Sunshine State: Florida’s Film Legacy,” open through March 2027, reminds us of the movies throughout the decades shot in the Tampa Bay area and beyond.

Registrar Mackenzie Pizzio curated the exhibition, which starts at the turn of the 20th century.

“It was supposed to be kind of like a Hollywood here,” said Pizzio.

And film crews took advantage of Florida’s wild spaces, giving them a starring role in dozens of films.

The sponge industry of Tarpon Springs stars in 1953’s “Beneath the 12-Mile Reef.”

The exhibit shows actual artifacts from the industry.

“So we’re trying to bridge a little bit of that movie history with real life,” said Pizzio.

And there’s the classic monster movie — 1954’s “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” also known as “A Florida man in a gill-man costume swimming in Wakulla Springs.”

“So not only was it filmed here, but the underwater actor for the creature was from Florida,” said Pizzio. “They needed an actor who could stay underwater for long periods of time and wouldn’t get scared by the underwater world of Florida.”

And one simply cannot talk about movies right now without the Tampa Theatre, which is about to hit its century mark.

Historian Rodney Kite-Powell is the director of the Touchton Map Library at the history center.

“And so we are very fortunate to have, among our Tampa Theatre artifacts, an original program from opening night, Oct. 15, 1926. So almost exactly 100 years ago.”

And Florida’s love affair with the movies goes back even further.

“So whether it’s sponge diving, cigar making, even just performing and singing that are all quintessential parts of Tampa and Florida’s culture,” said Pizzio.

Here’s a short, incomplete list of Florida films:

Where the Boys Are
Cocoon
Jaws 2
Edward Scissorhands
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
Tarzan finds a Son
The Punisher
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Flipper
The Bell Boy
Easy to Love
Operation Petticoat
Joe Panther Follow that Dream