In 1959, the Florida panhandle was hit with a devastating hurricane... In 1959, the Florida panhandle was hit with a devastating hurricane. Many of the buildings and homes in Destin were damaged. The "Gulfarium", which had opened a few years earlier, was largely undamaged. Their diesel generators were meant for the numerous fish and marine mammals, but could easily handle a larger load. So a tent city was set up in their parking lot for displaced families. A fish supplier in Pensacola was asked to increase shipments to feed not only the marine life in the building, but the hundreds of people in the parking lot. For all in tents and porpoises, it worked pretty well.