I recently had my baby shower here and it was perfect! The size of the parking lot worried me , but…read moreno one complained to me about parking. The staff was very accommodating. We needed to be in a little earlier to decorate and the gentleman was kind enough to come early for us. The facilities were spotless! Everything was super clean! I would certainly recommend using this venue and I myself hope to use it again! Thank you so much!

As a history fan I sought out this park to learn a little more about the town of Lauderdale. Walter…read more"Wally" Elfers who the park was named for was a longtime Lauderdale commissioner. Born in 1929, he was a retired Navy Vet and businessman from Ohio when he moved to Lauderdale and decided to run for the city commission in 1973. He ran 8 times before finally winning in 1991.He served the next 13 years until 2004. The park was named in Mr. Elfers honor and he was named Lauderdale's pioneer of the year in 1996 which is an honor given to those who have contributed to the community for at least 25 years. Mr. Elfers passed away from cancer in 2016. Elfers Park contains the site of the first Lauderdale City Hall which was built by the Flair Land Company in 1959. The city used the building as City Hall until 1993 and at one time or another almost every city office was located here. Parks and Recreation was the last city department to move out in 1991. A 3,000 square foot Cultural Museum on the foot print of the City Hall was built in 2012. It was funded through the Great Neighborhoods Bond, a $35 million general obligation bond passed by voters in 2004. The Cultural Museum cost $500,000 and is LEED certified, meaning it is environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The building is a small museum housing photos and other relics of the city. It can also be used for private and city events. The site of the first City Hall was declared a historical site on May 8, 2017. On the day I visited the museum was closed even though it said it should be open. Also in the park is a fountain (not working), benches, a mosaic wall, and some small play equipment that includes a replica of town hall. The landscaping in the park is very lovely but the park itself is quite small. There isn't anything here that you need to come out of your way to see, especially with the museum closed. The park playground equipment is best suited for very young children. If you live in the neighborhood it might be a nice place to take your children to play otherwise there are much better parks nearby with far more amenities. Still it is nice that the city honored someone who did a lot for them and they did preserve some of their history.

Awesome Sunrise complex center for sports: pickleball and racquetball. Friendly check-in customer…read moreservice. Cleanliness. $5 entrance fee each time or you can join annually for $75. Make sure to bring your ID or driver license since it's needed at check-in.

I have rented this facility for a client the last two consecutive years. It is a solid facility…read morethat has clean grounds and bathrooms and is affordable to rent. About 65 people attended the event tonight and there was sufficient parking, although, if anymore people would have attended I'm not sure there would have been more spots. The Village Civic Center is located in the City of Sunrise's police substation. I'd recommend holding an evening event for more parking spot options. The fellow who sets up the room is always friendly and helpful. I'm docking a star due to the facility not notifying us that it didn't have a microphone. It has in the years past but apparently it went missing. If we had known prior, we would have improvised and brought our own mics. When it's an important part of a business program, it hinders the guests' experience. It was preventable for our program had we known and renters of the facility should be informed.

I've lived here for most of my life and somehow I don't think I've ever been to the Stranahan…read moreHouse, despite passing right by it a million times. They recently started offering free tours for locals on Wednesdays, so I decided to take advantage. It's a free self-guided tour, and they give you an audio device that gives you all the information on each room. The volunteer who checked me in was super sweet. Stranahan House is the oldest structure in Broward County, and I really enjoyed learning more about the history of the area, and especially about Ivy Stranahan's activism. It really gave me a new appreciation for the area. My favorite part was the upstairs porch, with a beautiful, relaxing view of the New River. I took the volunteer's advice and sat up there for a minute enjoying it instead of rushing through, and I'm so glad I did. Be aware that upstairs isn't air conditioned, so half of the tour is really hot. Dress accordingly or bring a fan! Overall, I'd highly recommend stopping by! It's something fun to do that's a nice change of pace.

My husband and I finally took a self-guided tour here since we saw they recently made it free…read moreadmission on Wednesday's for locals and it's definitely worth the visit! The tour took about 45 minutes and was super interesting and informative. Just a heads up that the second floor isn't air conditioned so it was just a little warm up there!

If you want to learn about the history of Pompano Beach this park is a great place to start. The…read morePompano Beach Historical Society maintains a building here but this park contains several historical buildings too. There is the two restored Kester Cottages that were moved to the park in the 1980's, a 1926 firehouse that contains the cities first fire truck, a 1926 American LaFrance and a 1948 American LaFrance, and Pump House No. 1, also from 1926. Other park amenities include tennis courts, a playground, and a shuffleboard court. On September 11, 2019, a 9/11 memorial was dedicated at the park. Founders Park was chosen for the memorial because it contains the cities first fire house and the memorial pays tribute to the 343 first responders killed on 9/11. The Pompano Beach Historical Society launches a lot of events from this park. They hold dinners in their building, operate historical trolley tours that leave from the park, and give tours of the Kester cottages. Besides the historical value, this is a great park to play tennis. It is nice to see Pompano working so hard to embrace their past.

It's here at "City of Fort Lauderdale Transportation and Mobility" offices that you can get your…read moreresident rate parking program rates permits, pay parking tickets or contest them. A word of caution on the resident parking permits. They are fir specific designated areas and you may find them sold out. They also address matters of boat ramp and recreational parking. I went to this office to obtain a resident parking permit, only to find out it can be done online, but it was nice to get their instructions. The office itself is really small, sort of an afterthought hole in the wall place, but the window attendants are polite and pleasant

Found this so called "Park" to walk my dog off STRD 84 along the North New River canal which…read moreconnects Okeechobee to Fort Lauderdale maintained by Broward County Parks and Recreation. Plenty of parking spaces and a picnic table under a huge tree as shading from the intense western sun. Just a tiny grassy area to walk my dog with giant iguanas roaming. Looks like a great fishing hole though and boats no longer can travel this canal. FYI, the entrance is small and must make a quick turn in from STRD 84 so not to get slammed in the rear by oncoming vehicles. NOT recommended for dogs or kiddies.

I love to discover history and there is something interesting in a park located south of Plantation…read moreon State Road 84 just west of the Davie Road Extension. In the park is Lock No. 1, also known as Sewell Lock and Broward Memorial Lock. A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats through different levels of water. This wooden lock is Broward County's oldest water control structure. Many people race by without ever noticing it is there but here lies one of the oldest structures in Broward County. Sewell Lock was built for the Everglades Drainage District in 1912 by the Furst-Clark Construction Company on the man made North New River Canal. The canal was built to drain the Everglades to allow for farming. It is a single lock that is 149 feet long and the entry controlled by wooden gates. The lock consisted of six-foot-thick concrete walls and large wooden gates that were operated by a hand-driven rack-and-pinion mechanism. The lock was built to to increase agricultural traffic along the North New River Canal. During this time the Everglades was being opened up to settlers and farmers. The canals linked the Everglades to the coast, not roads. The North New River Canal was a major transportation route for produce and catfish to travel from Lake Okeechobee to Ft. Lauderdale. In order to make the canal useful for boat transportation, locks had to be constructed in order to move the boats from one elevation of the water to another. Lock No. 1 at the south end of the canal was the first to be built in South Florida. Once the produce reached Ft. Lauderdale it was transported by train. Steamboats also used the lock to travel between Fort Lauderdale, the lake and Fort Myers via the Caloosahachee River. The steamboats carried passengers, cargo, and tourists up and down the river. After the 1920's highways and the railroad became the preferred mode of transportation. In 1926 the lock was closed permanently and allowed to deteriorate. Today boat traffic on the North New River Canal is limited and the lock is inoperative. Instead of a lock there is a spillway which keeps the area from flooding in a heavy rain by having three underwater gates that open by radio signal from the South Florida Water Management District in West Palm Beach when the water level in the river becomes too high. Excess water flows into the New River and out into the ocean. The Broward County Historical Commission worked with the the South Florida Water Management Department of Natural Resources to add the lock to the National Register of Historic Places in March of 1978. In the early 1990s the Historical Commission partnered with Broward County's Engineering and Parks and Recreation divisions, the state's Department of Transportation and South Florida Water Management District, and Department of Natural Resources to restore the gates on the west end of the lock. The lock now sits as the centerpiece of a park where it is a reminder of a time when people first started messing with the Everglades with unintended consequences. People have been trying to fix it ever since.

Thankfully this is my closest library because it is one of the best in the area when I think about…read moreit! The people that work here are always friendly and very knowledgeable when it comes to the new books, old books and where to find virtually any of the books on the racks! This library is always so clean and they always have a nice amount of copies of new releases so I don't need to be put on a waitlist to check the book out. I love that the library is two floors and the second floor is always so nice and quiet. The bathrooms here on both floors are always very clean as well and the tables are nicely spaced out in the library so I don't feel like I am ever hovering over other patrons while I am here! They have a friends of the library where you can buy second hand books and the deals they have on them are wonderful. I usually end up walking out with a stack of books way too high, for less than ten dollars. The best part is the money goes directly towards the library and helping run events that are open to the general public!

Cute and quaint. Easy to walk in, get something, and leave. I have checked out numerous books,…read moremovies, shows,and games. Can't beat free and they are generous with the amount they let you get.

This place caught us by surprise. We were invited to a party and we were expecting a banquet hall,…read morebut this was right next to a fire station. There was free and plenty of parking. As soon as you walk in (not through the fire station side), the room was to the left. It was very spacious and had a stage. There was a door that led to a different hall way where the restrooms were. They were pretty clean, but outdated. Not a bad location for a semi casual party. After a quick Google search, I saw that you can rent hourly. $25 alcoholic beverage permit, $200 security deposit, and $30/hour for residents, $55/non resident. Four hour minimum for rentals and an additional $20/hour after 10pm. Food, drinks and catering are allowed.

Omg...great place to have a party, meeting, or whatever you desire. It has a stage, plenty or…read moretables, and even food tables with splash guards. Hats off to the facility worker(sorry forgot name) that helped throughout the whole process. He was amazing and set up everything in a timely manner and took care of us.