The Long Road to the Port
Local farmers demanded it, the 1926 hurricane postponed it, and President Coolidge forgot about it. But eventually, Fort Lauderdale got a port. President to open port bay mabel screamed the…
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John Dolen
65 posts
John Dolen writes for several Fort Lauderdale area publications. Previously, he was an editor and supervisor for 27 years at the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.
Mother Lauderdale
In our community issue, we dig into the life of the woman who was a kind of founding mother to our community. At age 19, Ivy Cromartie Stranahan became our…
Troubles, Then Triumph
Fort Lauderdale’s first Jews faced anti‑Semitism, infighting and the 1926 hurricane. They endured. You don’t need to look far to find hostility toward Jews in Fort Lauderdale’s history. The attitude…
The Sky and Fogg
The pioneer aviator who gave our airport its first name. Merle Fogg wouldn’t recognize the international airport that began as a swampy municipal airport bearing his name. Tens of millions…
The Forgotten Story
African Americans have a proud and long-established place in the history of our city. Clarence C. Walker. Annie T. Reed. Sylvia Aldridge. Thomas Scott Cobb. Harry Coyne. Recognize any of…
The Compound That Became a Canvas
The birth and survival of the Bonnet House. I’m all for art, but would anyone think that building a Guggenheim Museum at Walden Pond is a good idea? How about…
Ye Olde Department Store
When we did our shopping on Las Olas and Andrews. Before there was The Galleria, Sawgrass Mills and Amazon, the free-standing department store reigned. Fort Lauderdale’s first, the Pioneer Department…
A Long, Strange Trip
Seminole history includes both tragedy and triumph. Blow, blow Seminole Wind Blow like you’re never gonna blow again I’m calling to you like a long-lost friend… Blow, blow from the…
Great Watering Holes We Have Known
Bars don’t define our city, but they are an important part of our story. In 1939, Club Brownie’s paid a large advance to a New York promoter to get the…
On With the Show
Built on the fortunes of a Hungarian-born inventor, the Parker Playhouse is still going strong after more than half a century. The city was filled with excitement and hyperbole. “The…