The Webb's City Continental Mark II Giveaway

[Pat Marshall]

Webb's City was located in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was touted as "the World's Most Unusual Drug Store". It was founded in 1926 by James Earl "Doc" Webb in a building 17 by 28 feet and its peak Webb's City had 77 departments and measured about ten city blocks.
Doc Webb and Webb City.jpg
The lyrics to its radio ad were "There'll be no more hoppin' around the town a-shoppin', Webb's City is your one-stop shopping store". It was considered a forerunner to the shopping center.
Webb's City Billboard.jpg
Doc Webb's philosophy was "stack it high and sell it cheap." Webb's City was famous for strange promotional stunts: traveling circuses in the parking lot,
Doc Webb at the Reins.jpg
zany flash sales, a cave filled with talking mermaids, circus animals, water ski shows and a half-mile replica of the Great Wall of China. At Webb's City, ducks played baseball and bunnies kissed. A real dancing chicken performed a jig for just 10 cents a dance.

One of Doc's most famous acts was selling dollar bills for 95 cents each and then buying them back the next day for $1.35. He did it again later, but dropped the price of a dollar to 89 cents.

For more than 50 years, the St. Petersburg shopping center and tourist trap lived up to it's reputation. Webb's City made $22 million a year and pulled in 60,000 visitors every single day.

Of particular interest to Forum Members was Doc Webb's giveaway of his Continental Mark II
Doc Webb and His Mark II.jpg (VIN unknown).
Doc gave out thousands of free raffle tickets,
Doc Webbs Contest Application.jpg
then in a huge promotion a local boy, Dewey Eastridge, drew the winning ticket. The winner was Richard Young of Sarasota, Florida.
Doc Webb - July 31, 1966. Dewey Eastridge 12 draws the winning entry - and the winner is Richar.jpg

The store stopped being profitable in 1973. The next year, Doc sold his stock to Texas-based Mermaid, Inc