The Wreck Bar
Mermaid shows through an underwater window since 1956. The Wreck Bar at the B Ocean Resort is the most South Florida thing that has ever existed.
The Wreck Bar opened in 1956 in the basement of what was then the Yankee Clipper Hotel on Fort Lauderdale Beach. The bar is decorated as a sunken ship. The windows look into the hotel's pool. Since 1956, performers have been doing mermaid shows in the pool — swimming in costume, performing choreography, waving at the bar patrons through the glass.
The Wreck Bar is at the B Ocean Resort, 1140 Seabreeze Blvd in Fort Lauderdale. The bar is open nightly. Mermaid shows run on Friday and Saturday evenings — check the schedule. The bar itself is worth visiting on any night for the decor alone. Parking is validated.
The mermaid show has been running continuously for nearly 70 years, which makes it one of the longest-running live performance traditions in South Florida. The performers are trained swimmers. The costumes are elaborate. The whole thing is completely sincere, which is what makes it work.