Old Lauderdale

A 100-year-old interview with Frank Stranahan has some surprises. From time to time, fresh information about our history turns up, and I can flesh out topics I have dealt with…

Through the adversity of centuries past, what drove the Tribe to achieve the prosperity it has today? In last month’s column, we noted a key moment in the growth of…

Much of what America had then, we didn’t. Then things started moving. One of the key epochs in our city’s early history occurred from 1915 to 1920. Before then: •…

During the height of segregation in Broward, there were just three Black high schools – and two exceptional principals. At the height of segregation in our region in the 1950s,…

Before the land boom in early Fort Lauderdale, it was all about the tomato. Yes, tomatoes were the stars amid a booming vegetable harvest, bushels by the hundreds of thousands.…

North Florida had plantations, but what did we have? With the topic of slavery in the news, you might wonder about its history in our city. There was not widespread…

The roots of downtown’s prime riverfront prison. Over the last dozen years or so, we’ve seen towering condo buildings, one after the other, sprouting up downtown along the New River.…

A passionate battle ensued in the 1950s over Fort Lauderdale’s infamous tunnel. For those of us who drive in downtown Fort Lauderdale these days, the question is, “When will they…

We are a city whose history was forged in wars with the Seminole Tribe, followed by a peaceful coexistence. Today, that tribe has blossomed into a thriving community that provides…