Ghandi Square is a half acre located in Falcon Lea Park across from the Community Center. It was…read morededicated on October 2, 2012 in a ceremony attended by Former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Davie Mayor Judy Paul. The statue of Mahatma Ghandi is 7 feet tall and weighs 800 pounds. Colored step stones leading to the statue represent the steps Gandhi took in his lifetime struggle to achieve freedom to his people. The statue of Ghandi was sculpted by Matt Glenn of Big Statues, Provo, Utah in cooperation with Sculptor's Guild. They both contributed toward the cost of the statue. The rest of the $50,000 statue was paid for by The Kerala Samajam of South Florida, a local Indian cultural group. They were also able to have the name of the road that runs past the statue changed to honor Ghandi. Mahatma Ghandi was an Indian activist famous for teaching non violent resistance. He advicated for equality for all people, Ghandi was an inspiration to Dr. Martin Luther King during the American Civil Rights movement and former South Africa President Nelson Mandela during apartheid. Ghandi led the Indian people to freedom from the British empire by using civil disobedience. He was assassinated on January 30, 1948 by a Hindu extremist who objected to his tolerance for Muslims. On August 15, 2021, India celebrated its 75th Independence Day from British rule. I loved discovering this tribute to one of the most influential men in history.

This review is mostly going to reflect on this primary topic: Pokestops…read more Yes, there are many! You will definitely get your cardio in walking laps around here to restock on your supplies. Best place to replenish your pokeballs in the area if you're running low! The last time I was there, I went with my mother for an Arts & Crafts Market. I believe I was still in my early years of college and I remember clearly buying 6 or 7 dip mixes from a spices vendor and getting free hand sanitizer from the Baptist Health booth. Other than that, the place is usually empty unless there's a carnival in town. Now, it's PACKED due to Pokemon Go. Like it's meant to be because at one part of the park, you see a big circle on the floor that resembles a Pokeball. Upside? The Pokestops. They're well-placed. Lots of benches, some of which have lamps that have external outlets so you can charge your phone while playing! Super convenient although I'm sure this place didn't intend to be a Pokestop Mall lol. Oh and I found people just walking their dogs and flying hobby helicopters too so don't feel like you need the game to come! It's open for any kind of recreation! Downside? Traffic. It is good that you can reach the stops by car also as opposed to going by foot but if you park on-site, do expect to wait awhile til a nice Pokemon Trainer gives you way to back out. You'll still have to make the slow-paced line. Oh, and there are cops. Be careful as you play & drive. It's safer to have a passenger play for you. I like how I learned more about the stops due to Pokemon Go. I found little monuments and art pieces I never knew about until now. Happy hunting! TEAM.... jk, I'm still undecided.

Excellent selection of books to check out and to buy. Staff is very friendly and courteous. Out of…read moreall the libraries in the area I like this one the best.

Stirling library is located on Stirling road west of I-95 and east of 411. They have a great…read moreselection of books , movies and cds. I like all the events they have like book reviews , quilting , story time for kids , senior exercise and all is free. I went to get movies for the week and to listen to some new music . This library is clean , employees are helpful and parking is easy. Also if senior need community hours for high school this is the place.

Established in the 1920's, North Woodlawn Cemetery is the first African American cemetery in…read moreBroward county. It was the only place people of color and people who were indigent could be buried during segregation and it is the final resting place of the African American American pioneers of Ft. Lauderdale. It is located just east of Interstate 95 near Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 29 November 29, 2017. Burials no longer take place at the cemetery. Some of the more well known family names buried here include James Sistrunk and Drs. Von D. Mizell. Veterans of both World Wars are buried here including Robert Bethel who was a 17 year old soldier in Europe during WWI when he died of a gas attack. American Legion post 220 was named for him. Also buried here is Reuben Stacey who was a victim of lynching in 1935 in Davie. The cemetery was privately managed but over time it fell into disrepair so the city of Ft. Lauderdale purchased it and took it over it's maintenance in the 1990's. In 2002 they partnered with the community and made $250,000 of improvements. One of the things the city did was to make a memorial listing the names of the known dead since many of the graves markers had decayed and crumbled. The city also added informational plaques around the cemetery explaining it's history. At one time the cemetery extended all the way to I-95. When I-95 was built in the 1970's they paved over some of the unmarked graves. In 1995 the Department of Transportation built I-95 over the western end of the cemetery. They had agreed to move the bodies but they did not and the graves of infants were paved over. In 2015, 65 bodies were found between the cemetery and I-95. It is difficult to know how many people are buried at Woodlawn and exactly where because cemetery records were destroyed in a fire. While the historic designation does not guarantee the cemetery will not be destroyed in future projects it does it make it more difficult and qualifies it for grants and tax incentives to maintain the property. While people in the community are still angry about what happened with the Department of Transportation Ft. Lauderdale has done a wonderful job of maintaining the cemetery. During my visit the grass was being watered and the lawn was well maintained. In the back of the cemetery is a beautiful sausage tree providing shade over the graves. Compared to some African American cemeteries that I have seen in Miami this cemetery is well taken care of. It is a shame that the bodies under I-95 will never be known or recovered. It is something to think of as you pass by Sunrise Blvd.

Per the marker, this tree was the "site of meetings that led to the creation of the Seminole Tribe…read moreof Florida's Constitution and Bylaws." Thus the tribe was recognized by the United States federal government as an entity. The site was place on the National Historic Registry in 2012. We knew that the site was location at the intersection of 441 and Stirling Rd. We just weren't sure which corner. It took us 3 tries to find it. We discovered the location, finally, by driving through the parking lot of the old (original) casino on the southwest corner of the intersection. A black metal fence surrounds it. A seal of the Seminole Tribe is on the fence entrance gate. There are some small benches beneath the tree for seating. The marker is not far from the tree, but is almost buried beneath foliage and ground cover. The tree, itself, is majestic. It seems magical when you pause for a moment to stand beneath it. Considering the plethora of cars, the traffic, the noise, etc. on busy 441, it stands as a breath of fresh air and greenery amongst all the concrete. It is a stark contrast between it and the guitar shaped Seminole Hard Rock Casino building.

The Council Oak Tree is a historic Live Oak tree located on the Seminole reservation in Hollywood…read moreon the intersection of State Rd 7 and Stirling Road. It is next to the old casino and is surrounded by a black fence. There are benches and a historic sign. It was a bit comical trying to locate it. I should have just listened to my friend. The Council Oak Tree is important to the Seminole people because during the 1950's a group of Seminoles met under the tree to discuss the tribes future. They were the children of the generation of Seminole's that were forced to hide in the Everglades in the mid 1880's. It is believed that the Council Oak Tree was standing in 1828 when the Seminoles first settled in the area and it was known as Big City Island. In 1957 a meeting between Florida Seminole Indians Bill Osceola, Billy Osceola, Betty Mae Jumper and Laura Mae Osceola met with Sioux Indian Reginald "Rex" Quinn, from the Tribal government branch of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was sent to help them set up their own government. With his assistance they were able to set up their constitution and by laws which prevented the U.S. government from abolishing the tribe. The meeting under the Council Oak Tree was instrumental on setting the tribe on their current path of government where there is a governing body called the Tribal Council, pursuant to the Constitution and bylaws, and a Board of Directors pursuant to a corporate charter. From a smoke shop in the 1970's the tribe has grown their business to a Hard Rock empire with more than 500 million dollars a year in gambling profits from their casinos. The documents that purchased the hotel and casino were signed under the Council Tree. The Council Oak tree was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 2012. The tree is so important to the Seminole Tribe that it serves as one of their logos. They also named two of their restaurants, one in Hollywood and one in Tampa after the tree.

Southwest Regional Library is located in the eastern portion of the 77-acre Academic Village, which…read morealso houses Pembroke Pines Charter School and Broward College Pines Center. Dedicated in 2000, it was the first library built with funds from the $139 million library bond issue approved by Broward County voters in 1999. This 78,000-square-foot, two-story library is a joint-use facility of the Broward County Library System and Pembroke Pines. It's open to the public while also serving as the school library for charter high school students. Broward College students have access to a computer lab on the first floor. The library's collection includes over 100,000 lending items for children and adults in multiple languages, including books and multimedia. Amenities include a teen activity room, children's storytime room, 300-seat auditorium, gift shop, classrooms, quiet study rooms, conference rooms, tutoring rooms, and a computer lab. Programs for all ages are offered regularly--details are available at the front desk or on the library's website. On my visit, there was a holiday model train exhibit. More recently they had a St. Patrick's Day photo op on the second floor and an Easter Peeps diorama contest. Broward County truly excels at libraries, and Southwest Regional is no exception. The space is large, clean, modern, and welcoming. The lobby floor features a terrazzo design that gives the illusion of the Everglades, while the ceiling shows the sky from an alligator's underwater perspective--a really fun touch. Whether you're studying, working remotely, or just browsing, there's plenty of room to spread out. Quiet areas are genuinely quiet, and community spaces feel relaxed and inviting. If you haven't visited a library in a while, Southwest Regional might surprise you with how much it can enrich your day.

This is my favorite library in Broward to bring my baby. When he was really young we would come to…read morethe classes and the librarians leading the classes are amazing. The layout of each corner of the library really caters to each group, with the entire upstairs being nice and quiet for adults. All the staff are really friendly and helpful. We had a ball at the ArtLit festival today - West African drums & dancing, green screen photo shoot, flower painting, giant alligator characters, Everglades improv show, food trucks, small business tents. All the volunteers were so friendly, found out about so many community, and enjoyed all the activities and booths. Can't wait for next year when baby is older and can enjoy even more. The miniature railroad display put on a couple weeks ago, was so impressive. Highly recommend keeping a pulse on all their events.

Located on the corner of Sample and University, this regional library is fairly quiet and large but…read moreseemed to have a lot of open space, rather than space filled with books. They have a decent sized, nicely organized Friends of the Library right outside the main the library and Debbie was a pleasure to talk books with there. They also have a small Friends of the library section inside the main library. Outside are a few drive up drop boxes to return books. There are also some nice monument/memorials outside the entrance.

Just tried to drop off many Genealogy books. The idiot behind the desk apparently know nothing…read moreabout Genealogy. The books she said were texts books. These books were research books. Anyone with knowledge about Genealogy knows this. She also said they were out of date,DAH. So I took them to Margate Library on Park Street where they takes all books.

The historic Hallandale School House was built in 1910. It is believed to be the oldest school…read morehouse building in Broward County. This school house was built to replace a school that was destroyed by a 1910 hurricane. The Broward County School Board was not created until 1915 so the town had to petition the Dade County School Board for the materials to build the replacement school. Volunteers went to Miami and picked up the supplies and then built the two room building. The last classes were held in the school in 1916. The school sat abandoned before being sold to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in 1921 where it served as the church learning center. In 1966 the church expanded and donated the building to the City of Hallandale who moved it from 214 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. to it's present location in the public works compound next to the water plant where they used it for records storage. Through the years the wooden frame became damaged by termites. In 2011 the city spent $175,000 to renovate the building. Around $78,000 of the funding came from the Broward County Historic Preservation Challenge Grant. On February 18, 2015, the school house had a grand opening. The west room of the building was staged to look like a period school house. The east room and patio can be rented for private events of up to 31 people. Unfortunately the city has stopped giving tours since Covid of this property and the historic Curci house. Part of the problem was the Hallandale Historic Society faded away after its peak of 114 members in 1977. They never had a historic building like the school to call their own. Now without them, the ability to share the history of Hallandale has slipped away. I love that something this old still exists but it is a shame that it stays locked up behind a fence instead of open and shared.