TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — Xanthi Zembillas knows a thing or two about sponges. Not just because she’s the manager at Spongeorama, but because she has lived her whole life in Tarpon Springs — a spot known by many as the sponge capital of the world. 

“I’ve always been interested in the sponge docks. As a child we would come down here almost every day after school — and it was really just an exciting place to be and to grow up,” Xanthi said. 

In fact, the store Xanthi works in used to be an actual sponge factory when she was a kid. Now a fully enclosed space, it used to be a massive open barn where they processed sponges. Sponge divers would collect them in the waters off the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks.

Sponge beds were first discovered in the area in the early 1900s when Greek sponge divers immigrated to the area.

The Sponge Docks then opened in 1908.

While sponge divers no long dive into the waters off Tarpon Springs, the history is still very much alive through the stories of locals.

“I’m really happy that I’m in an environment that I can give people knowledge on the history of sponges,” Xanthi said. 

Spongeorama is a spot that will have you soaking up the history just like a sponge. The shop is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. They also offer daily boating and dolphin tours of the area.