History: A biography of our first round favorite, the Temptation Sign
BY KAREN GRACE
Just like the island, the neon cocktail glass at the center of the Temptation sign has survived storms for more than 75 years. As the only outdoor neon sign on the island, it has a history of its own.
In 1939, Homer Addison started constructing the building which today houses The Temptation Restaurant and Bar. “I built most of it before I had to go in the Service, but I couldn’t open it until I got back in 1945,” Addison said in a history.
But opening still wasn’t easy as bar equipment wasn’t available.
Addison continued, “I was the local barber here and I used to shave Harry du Pont. I told Harry about the problem getting bar equipment and he said, ‘Well, Homer, you make a list of what you need and I’ll see what I can do for you.’ I made him a list of all the refrigeration I needed and the various other things. By gosh, here it comes on the train through the wholesale dealer in Tampa. I had ordered these big 20-foot refrigeration boxes and ice makers.
“The man who accompanied the delivery told me that they didn’t even have one on display in their wholesale showroom. Pretty soon I was receiving half a boxcar load of beer down here every month. Everybody partied down here. I had juke boxes and a piano, and people dancing in there every night until two or three in the morning. We knew that there were no liquor agents on the island since the last ferry left at 5:00 from Placida. In 1959, the year the bridge opened, I sold The Temptation Bar and Grille to Frank and Marty (Martha) Smith.”
Photos in the Historical Society’s archive and website show a graduation party for the Class of 1958 at The Temptation, as well as the piano located where the bar and dining room connect. The four 1958 graduates were Carolyn Parkinson-Nabers, Ronald Whidden, George Denny Clemons Jr., and Gwendolyn Joyce Grantham. Carolyn continues to live on the island.
Before 1958, The Temptation had also acquired its dining room murals, again thanks to a du Pont. Deo du Pont Weymouth lived in Boca Grande for many years. She suggested the mural to Homer and then painted it with the help of several other women as well as her son, “Frolic” Weymouth.
After the construction of the bridge, the Smiths had to adhere more strictly to the rules that governed The Temp’s liquor license. One of those required that food be offered whenever liquor was served. So, Frank Smith hired John and Jean Montgomery to run a restaurant. The Montgomerys created some of the dishes still popular in the dining room. The food rule also resulted in the several signs that say, “Steak Dinner Anytime.”
At some point after the Smiths bought The Temp, the neon cocktail glass was taken out by a hurricane, perhaps Hurricane Donna. The neon was not replaced, but Frank created a wooden cocktail glass instead of the neon and lighted it with two spotlights.
After 1990, when my husband Jim and I bought The Temp, Jim was dedicated to replacing the neon in the sign because it was a tradition in downtown Boca Grande. Jim approached the GICIA, as they had instituted a rule against outside neon signs. He was able to substantiate that there had been a neon sign and the GICIA approved it as “grandfathered,” to the delight of locals who remembered it fondly.
The sign has remained ever since, even though it has been replaced twice in recent years due to damage by hurricanes. It was replaced after Hurricane Ian, just in time for The Temp’s 75th Anniversary street party. Most recently, it was damaged yet again in the fall of 2024.
The Temp’s current owners, Andy Duncan, Jeff Simmons and Kevin Stockdale report that replacing the sign’s neon has been challenging. While they hoped it would be replaced by now, they were disappointed recently when the replacement wasn’t made correctly.
But they continue to persevere and to reassure the community that it will be lighted again.
Visit bocagrandehistoricalsociety.com while the History Center is closed. Karen Grace is treasure of the BGHS. They are contributing regular columns to the Boca Beacon while the center is closed.
