I love to explore the history of south Florida. There are so many grand houses and buildings from…read morethe 1920's during Florida's land boom years before hurricanes and the Great Depression robbed many of their fortunes. One such 1920s beauty is the 1924 Curci House built by Frank and Rosina Curci, a pioneer family who came to the area in 1907 with their three small children. The house is located in the city of Hallandale which has four heritage and one historic site. The family struggled when they arrived at SW 5th Avenue and West Dixie Highway but they put in work and became prosperous from farming tomatoes and fruit and later on they opened a construction business. The Curci's eventually had eleven children and Mr. Curci spoke five languages and was an accomplished musician. "Villa Providence" was the couples dream home which they built on their eleven acre property. It was constructed from concrete filled terra cotta block walls with termite impervious Dade pine floors. They added Cuban tile details can be found throughout the house and there is glass from Italy imbedded in the outside stucco finish. The house was so well built that it was able to withstand the Great Hurricane of 1926 when it served as a refuge for many in the community. The family remained in their home until the 1950's. The home is listed on the Hallandale website as being open on the first Saturday of every month between 11am and 4pm but they have shut it down to tours since the pandemic and never bothered to reopen although it appears that it can be rented for private events. There is a huge fence surrounding the property so for now you can only view the home from the street. It is such a disappointment to see it closed. Nearby Hollywood reopened their historic Hammerstein House and Hallandale should consider doing the same.

This unique "castle" began as a concrete block house that was built in the 1920's. The coral rock…read moreon the outside and the spires were added later -- in the 1970's. In 1985, the City of Fort Lauderdale listed it as a possible candidate for historic preservation; However, it wasn't until 2022 (after the current owner purchased the property) that the City commission gave it landmark status. The miniature "castle" is located in the Tarpon River neighborhood on the banks of the New River. To the west of the property is the tiniest city park you'll ever see. A small buffer area where the ground is covered with small stones. You wouldn't know it was even an "official" park except for the Parks & Recreation sign. Two City employees were taking measurements of it when we stopped by to see the "castle". Along the River, there is dockage for four large boats. The property has a lovely tree shaded area with stone lions and seating. Per Zillow, it's two lots together with a total area is just under 18.000 square feet. The "castle" itself is only a one-bedroom, one bath house with just under 900 square feet. There is a fence around the property, but you can see over and through it; and when we visited you could walk just inside the open part of the fence even though there were construction workers right next to it. It still is private property so you must be respectful. It's not technically open to the public. So glad we got to see Fort Lauderdale's only "castle".

The Bank of Dania is a historic Neoclassical building built in 1923. The building has a gold brick…read moreexterior and white fluted columns along the front of the building. The building was designed by architects John Peterson and J. L. Hardgrove. Cost of construction was $35,000. After the bank moved to s new location the building sat empty until 1966 when the city purchased it. Along with several other Dania Beach pioneers, A.C. Frost founded the Bank of Dania on May 1, 1912. The first location for the bank used to be where the Pirates Inn was. It moved to 2 South Federal in 1926 where it remained until 1956. Most recently the building was an antique store. There is a sign in the window that says it will become a window treatment business. It's a shame that the city doesn't turn into a historical museum like some of the other cities have done with their historic but small town halls and courthouses. It would be the perfect place to put in a display about the history of Dania Beach.

I love discovering the historical markers around Ft. Lauderdale which give insight into its rich…read morehistory. This marker is along A1A in front of Bahia Mar at the spot where Native Americans used to haul over their canoes from the New River into the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the other history related to this site includes a fort built in 1838 during the Second Seminole War named for Major William Lauderdale, a House of Refuge in 1876, and a Coast Guard base in 1926 that was active against Rum Runners during prohibition and which searched for U boats off the Florida coast during WWII. In 1947 this land became a public yacht basin and park. Marker F-285 was erected in 1978 by Bahia Mar Hotel and Yachting Center and Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, Inc. in cooperation with Department of State.

A twelve foot tall solid steel 19th century British Admiralty Anchor (possibly from the wreckage of…read morethe British cartel ship sunk November 1, 1804) proudly standing along the historic Riverside park with amazing river views. It was placed in honor of Capt Peter Throckmorton the father of Marine Archaeology - THE END

Along Riverwalk Plaza in front of the historic New River Inn which is now a museum is another bit…read moreof interesting history. Mounted along the river is an British boat anchor that may have belonged to the L'Athenaise, a British cartel ship that sunk November 1, 1804. On the boat were 174 French prisoners of war. The anchor was discovered in 1967 off the Barefoot Mailman hotel in Hillsboro Beach. Given credit for the discovery along with several other people including his wife Deo, is Mel Fisher who famously discovered the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. The anchor was placed by the Marine Archaeological Council in honor of Capt Peter Throckmorton (1928-1990) "father of marine archaeology An admiralty anchor is a type of large vessel fluke anchor also known as a fisherman. This type of anchor has been used since ancient times. On one end of the shank of the anchor is a ring for attaching rope or chain through it to the boat. On the other end of the shank are the two flukes that once dropped, will dig into the sea floor to anchor the boat in place. One fluke digs in and one remains up which sometimes dislodges the boat and then it needs to be reset. I have watched people pass by without giving the anchor a second glance but if you stop and read the plaque you will see what a cool piece of maritime history this is. There is quite a bit of the past to be discovered along Ft. Lauderdale's Riverwalk.

This made me sad. Apart from a sign to state its history, there was nothing else to see. This…read moremade me sad, really? all that history, all these pour should and bodies that were originally buried here, and that's the best you can do? Very sad. Nothing to see apart from an area, taken over, possibly avoiding the truth the history just be forgotten in the name of what? progress? life? life carrying on? According to records there were 525 people buried in the land, many of whom were Black and Bahamian labourers that helped develop Miami in the early 1900's. Discovered in 2008, the Lemon City Cemetery is believed to be one of the oldest burial sites of people of color in Miami and was designated a historical site in November 2009. In April 2009, Carlisle Development Group and Biscayne Housing Group were in the beginning stages of developing a series of low-income housing buildings, when human remains were found while digging the land. At the time, the city had no records of the cemetery's existence. An examination of the remains and the land concluded that the construction site was indeed a cemetery, believed to date back to the early 1900s. (This is so freaken sad - how can this be so????) Further examination of the human remains concluded 525 souls were interred in the cemetery, the majority of whom were of Black American and Bahamian descent. Many of them were laborers who helped with the construction and development of Miami. see this for more information - https://www.miamitimesonline.com/faith_family/to-be-laid-to-rest-historical-markers/article_93f90568-bc1d-11e8-a548-fbaebc0ed876.html

Lemon City is an unincorporated area that predates Miami. It was a farming community that sprang up…read morein the 1850's, 26 years before the founding of Miami. The community took their name from the unusually sweet lemon trees that grew in the area. By the time Miami was incorporated, Lemon City already had a population of 300. Lemon City had the areas oldest school, the Lemon City School, and the first library, the Lemon City Library. Lemon City was segregated with Black families living in three neighborhoods, Nazarine, Boles Town, and Knightsville. The exact boundaries of Lemon City have been lost to time since it was never incorporated. During the 1980's many Haitian immigrants made what was once Lemon City their home. The area has now been designated as Little Haiti which upset some of the descendants of the pioneers of Lemon City who thought the name change was insulting to their history. To be more inclusive of all of the history of the area, 10 historical signs marking the history of Lemon City were erected by the Mayor's office. Markers were placed at the Lemon City Train Station, Lemon City Pharmacy, Lemon City Library, the Lemon City Port, and here at the Lemon City Cemetery. In April 2009 while doing construction on the Village Carver Apartments, an affordable housing development off Northwest 71st Street near Fourth Avenue, workers who were digging discovered bones. According to the city, they were not aware that the 2.4 million dollars worth of land held a cemetery. It turned out that a total of 525 lemon City residents were buried there, most of whom were black Americans of Bahamian descent. Burials in the Lemon City Cemetery are documented from 1911 until 1935 when African-Americans were buried here during segregation. Eventually the city lost track of the location of the cemetery. Concerned citizens united to prevent building from taking place on the cemetery. Led by local historian Enid Pinkney, they formed the Lemon City Cemetery Community Corporation. In November 2009, the City of Miami designated the cemetery a historical site. The developers offered to move the remains buried here but ultimately gave in to the demand to leave them. Instead a memorial was constructed in 2011 and the cemetery was left as a garden. The memorial is on private property and contains 500 names but where everyone is exactly buried is lost to time. In 2018 a historical marker was placed her to explain the history of the cemetery. It is one of the sadder chapters of Lemon City but thanks to the City of Miami and community leaders this cemetery was rescued from being a housing development. It now provides 2 acres of green space to an area that is otherwise paved over.

I was checking out the new signs that are part of Sailboat Bend walking trail when I noticed this…read morehistoric marker for Rivermont. It is part of the Historical Marker Program, one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. The markers raise awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of buildings, schools, forts, roads, battlefields, cemeteries, churches, historic districts, and archaeological sites like this one. Historic marker F-1228 was installed in 2023 by the City of Ft. Lauderdale and the Florida Department of State. Rivermont is an archaeological site on the north bank of the New River in the Sailboat Bend Historic District. Around 700 BCE this was a thriving village and ceremonial complex for the Tequesta, the prehistoric inhabitants of this area. The Tequesta were an indigenous people who inhabited southeast Florida from Boca Raton to Key West, and in the Everglades. They lived on fish, shellfish, berries and small game and were well adapted to the environment of South Florida. They thrived for 2,000 years until they were victims of war and disease brought by Europeans in the 1500's. By the 1800's they had all died out. In 2006, a Seminole blue glass trade bead was discovered indicating that Seminoles used this area during their trips on the New River in the 1800's. Rivermont is the best preserved prehistoric site in eastern Broward County. It has one of the deepest surviving black earth middens on the New River. Middens are a kind of ancient garbage dump that can tell you a lot about the people who lived here. Rivermont's existence has been known since the 19th century. It was mentioned in an 1896-1897 guidebook for Dade County, which later became Broward County. Prominent American archaeologist Mark Raymond Harrington, who conducted some of the earliest archaeological investigations in Broward County, visited the site in 1908. In 2016, the Rivermont House from which this site takes its name was demolished. You can still see the masonry wall, gate posts, and paved tracks of a road. The City of Fort Lauderdale designated Rivermont as a local archaeological site in 2021 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. Today Rivermont is Tequesta Park across the street from another significant historical site, the first Fort Lauderdale.

If you ever walk along the Ft Lauderdale Riverfront in Esplanade Park near the performing arts…read morecenter, you have probably come across this statue. The Lone Sailor is a seven foot, 809 pound statue of a sailor along the Riverwalk in Ft.Lauderdale. The sailor has his back to the city as his gaze looks out to the New River. He wears a sailors signature pea coat with his duffel sack at his feet. City commissioners along with volunteers from the Navy League of the United States spent four years raising funds for the statue. It was dedicated on October 14, 2006. The original Lone Sailor is at the Navy Memorial Plaza in Washington DC. There are now 18 Lone Sailor statues around the world. The statue signifies all of the men and women who have served or are serving in the Navy, past , present, and future. The statue stands for honor, courage, and commitment. Ft. Lauderdale was a major military base during WWII and many former military personnel retire here for the warmer climate, This statue recognizes their contributions and our history as a seafaring community. You can learn more about Ft. Lauderdale's role in WWIi at the Naval Air Station Museum in Ft. Lauderdale.