Fort Lauderdale
South Atlantic Coast of Florida

The city of Fort Lauderdale is named after Major William Lauderdale, the leader of a detachment of Tennessee Volunteers who marched south along Florida’s east coast in order to capture the agricultural lands of the Seminole Indians. Three Fort Lauderdales were built: the first at the fork of New River in 1838, the second at Tarpon Bend and the largest on the beach at the site of today’s Bahia Mar. With the end of the Second Seminole War, the area remained wild and unwelcoming due to the lack of transport routes. Things began to change in 1892 when the Dade County government authorized the building of a road between Lantana and Lemon City. A flourishing trading post was established at the ferry crossing on the New River under the control of young Ohioan, Frank Stranahan, whose home - now a museum - was used as the trading post, post office, bank and town hall. Trade with the local Seminoles was good and within a few years Stranahan’s Trading Post was a well known landmark. By 1896 Florida’s East Coast Railway was extended through the area and Fort Lauderdale grew rapidly, finally becoming incorporated as a town in 1911.

ARTS DISTRICT AND AND IMAGINATIVE BEACH AREA...
Fort Lauderdale’s reputation as a hedonistic playground for the nation’s youth during spring break has calmed since its 1980s' peak, when hundreds of thousands of students descended on the area to party. Hotel owners complained of large numbers of students cramming into hotel rooms - drug trafficking and petty theft were widespread and local residents were subjected to lewd wet T-shirts and banana eating competitions. City leaders, fed up with the complaints, instituted policies and restrictions to encourage the party goers to go elsewhere, which they did, and now a more subdued crowd of 50,000 gathers to celebrate on the golden sands. The area has undergone extensive redevelopment over the last couple of decades, instilling community pride and redefining the city as an international centre for business, culture, leisure and recreation. Today you will find an innovative downtown arts district and an imaginative beach area - this along with all the boutiques, restaurants, cafes and shops that you would expect from a cosmopolitan city, makes Fort Lauderdale one of Florida’s top vacation destinations.

FROM A BOATER'S PARADISE AND THE WORLD'S LARGEST BOAT SHOW...
The greater Fort Lauderdale area became known as the Venice of America in the 1920s, when its mangrove swamps were shaped into an extensive network of canals. With more than 300 miles of navigable inland waterways that wind through palatial estates, citrus groves and the unique and exotic Everglades, it is no wonder that this area is known as a boater’s paradise. Fort Lauderdale Beach stages several large events each year, including the McDonald’s Air and Sea Show in May - a two day extravaganza that features top military and civilian performances along a four mile stretch of Fort Lauderdale beach. One of the world’s largest spectator events is part of the McDonald’s National Salute to America’s Heroes, which also includes Fleet Week, bringing several Navy ships and thousands of sailors to Fort Lauderdale. The beach also plays host to the Greater Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show - this is the world’s largest boat show and features more than 1.6 billion dollars' worth of boats, yachts and super yachts.

TO THE BEAUTIES OF THE NATURAL WORLD...
The area has a large number of parks and gardens, including the Bonnet House Museum and Gardens - a 35-acre park of lush botanical beauty, wetlands, a fruit grove, lily pond, boathouse, shell museum and a theater surrounded by a moat. Built in 1920, Bonnet House was the home of artists Frederic and Evelyn Bartlett, and it remains a tribute to a bygone era. Learn about the ecosystem of the Everglades at the Museum of Discovery and Science with its bi-level ecology exhibit featuring hundreds of living plants, animals and habitats, including one of the largest living captive Atlantic coral reefs on public display. The Living in the Everglades exhibit includes an 11,000 square foot nature trail which teaches visitors about the various ecosystems found in Florida. The museum also houses an IMAX cinema with a 5 story high screen and a 42 speaker surround sound system.

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