Why Nobody Wants to Visit Clearwater Beach, Florida Anymore

Comments · 195

• FR

  @franceskajacobs2766 · 1 month ago

  Scientology is a cult PERIOD

  149

• MA

  @magnoliasunshine5520 · 1 month ago

  I worked in downtown Clearwater when Church of Scientology moved in.  Heart broken!

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• SH

  @ShepardOfWar · 1 month ago

  My friend owns the only autobody shop in Downtown Clearwater not bought out by Scientology. They regularly harass him trying to get him to sell. He said they would have to kill him to get his property.

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• MI

  @Miami543210 · 1 month ago

  How ironic. Scientology is opposed to mental health. When the members of the cult are more in need of it than anybody.

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• TI

  @TitotheFritoBandito · 1 month ago

  That cult needs to have its tax exemption taken away. Mark Bunker is what downtown Clearwater needs!

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• BR

  @Brembelia · 1 month ago

  The fact that the Scientologists were able to buy up so much of Clearwater is a complete failure of local government to protect those properties for small  businesses. Also, they should have had laws in place to protect the city from any kind of monopolization. The split second they realized FT. Harrison hotel had been purchased by the Church of Scientology, the city should have begun to monitored them to find out what they were up to and put roadblocks in place. Pure incompetence.

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• FM

  @fmb8793 · 1 month ago

  I was born on MacDill Air Force Base in 1946 where my dad was stationed after WW II. &nbsp;During the war he flew a B-17 and was shot down over Germany on July 26, 1943 and spent the rest of the war in a German prison of war camp. &nbsp;He returned to his home in Clearwater in September 1945.<br><br>His mother lived in Clearwater as did he and his new wife lived in the apartment building his mother owned behind her house and was her main source of income.<br><br>My dad remained in the Air Force after the war and for a while flew B-29&apos;s as hurricane hunters out of MacDill and I was born on September 3, 1946 on MacDill. &nbsp;As I grew up we visited my Grandmother at Clearwater. &nbsp;I clearly remember the Fort Harrison Hotel and the Moss Brothers department store.<br><br><br>There is a distinction between Clearwater and Clearwater Beach. &nbsp;Clearly Clearwater isn&apos;t what it used to be, primarily because of the Church of Scientology. &nbsp;It isn&apos;t anything like it used to be.<br><br>However, that is not Clearwater &nbsp;Beach. &nbsp;It is still thriving as a major tourist attraction. &nbsp;In fact it nearly impossible to find a place to park on Clearwater Beach.<br><br>I live in Tampa now and I&apos;m 80 years old. &nbsp;I remember Clearwater Beach and Tampa in the 1950&apos;s. &nbsp;The beach was great but not built up like today, and Tampa was just a small cattle town then. &nbsp;The train rails used to go through down town Tampa and there was the smell of cattle cars and &nbsp;cigars as cigar making was a major part of Tampa in the 1950&apos;s.<br><br>My dad was an Air Force B-52 pilot and so we traveled all over the US, but we always came back to Clearwater for special occasions.<br><br>One of the things I remember in the 1950&apos;s was that you could set your watch time by when the thunderstorms would roll in from the Gulf at about 4 pm.<br><br>Although I joined the Marine Corps, I retired in Tampa in 1989. &nbsp;The weather pattern has changed significantly since then. &nbsp;Today, the thunder storms are not as regular, likely because of the constructions of the tall buildings which disrupt patterns.<br><br>Anyway, Clearwater Beach is thriving. &nbsp;The town of Clearwater was pretty much dead after the Church of Scientology bought the Fort Harrison Hotel in 1975. &nbsp;For reasons I don&apos;t fully understand, the town of Clearwater essentially collapsed after that. &nbsp;What was once a thriving town is now essentially dead----but Clearwater Beach is still thriving.

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• PU

  @PurpleOpus · 1 month ago

  Grew up in the area and the only reason I return any more is for concerts at the little theater there. &nbsp;It is very different than it was and seeing the Clearwater Navy walking around always cracks me up

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• IF

  @if6was929 · 1 month ago

  The Church of Scientology does not pay property taxes on about 75% of the real estate it directly owns in Clearwater, Florida, because those properties are classified as tax-exempt for religious purposes. Around $375 million worth of prime downtown real estate is completely shielded from local property taxes. If the Church of Scientology were stripped of its religious tax exemptions and forced to pay full property taxes on all its holdings, it would owe the city of Clearwater and Pinellas County an estimated $4 million to $5 million annually.

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• MA

  @Marya.Morrison · 1 month ago

  So sad for clearwater residents

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• TH

  @thetrainwreck1469 · 1 month ago

  Basing your whole life on a random science fiction book is totally absurd!

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• LY

  @lydiayorkie · 1 month ago

  Wow...just wow! Crazy how Clearwater allowed this and is continuing to allow the sale of the city to this org.

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