The National Park Service has announced the 2007 National Historic Landmarks Photo Contest. Basically, you can submit a photograph of a National Historic Landmark along with the entry form available on their website. There will be a national winner and six regional winners.
A searchable database of all the National Historic Landmarks is available online -- if you choose Florida from the drop down menu, you'll see that there are nearly 40 sites to choose from in this state alone. (The results will include a link to an address and brief description of each) That list includes big fancy buildings, modest houses, a train car, a schooner, a battlefield, indian mounds, and a wildlife refuge. Something for everyone!
These landmarks struck me as being particularly photogenic, but this isn't a complete list.
Mary McLeod Bethune House, Daytona Beach
Bok Tower, Lake Wales
Cathedral of St. Augustine
El Centro Espanol de Tampa
Fort San Carlos de Barrancas, Pensacola
Fort Zachary Taylor, Key West
Ernest Hemingway House, Key West
Hotel Ponce de Leon, St. Augustine
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings House, Cross Creek
Miami Biltmore Hotel
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Florida News Stories
"Dr. Fleas: As the 50-year-old market closes, so does a way of life" (Palm Beach Post, April 29, 2007 -- developer buys flea market, plans to build townhomes)
"Dough! Not my job: Cuban bread maker" (Tampa Tribune reporter spends day making bread at Ybor City's La Segunda Bakery)
"Drought has varied effect on Lake O life" (Naples Daily News, April 29, 2007. How Lake Okeechobee's low water level affects people and animals)
"Historic house on the move-Again" (April 24, 2007, Miami Herald -- Annie Beck bungalow in Fort Lauderdale)
"Parkway designation gone with Ivan's winds" (opinion piece in Pensacola News Journal about scenic highway in the Panhandle)
"Dough! Not my job: Cuban bread maker" (Tampa Tribune reporter spends day making bread at Ybor City's La Segunda Bakery)
"Drought has varied effect on Lake O life" (Naples Daily News, April 29, 2007. How Lake Okeechobee's low water level affects people and animals)
"Historic house on the move-Again" (April 24, 2007, Miami Herald -- Annie Beck bungalow in Fort Lauderdale)
"Parkway designation gone with Ivan's winds" (opinion piece in Pensacola News Journal about scenic highway in the Panhandle)
Friday, April 27, 2007
Map My Florida
Here's an idea -- using Google's My Maps for historical sites or events. See how they explained it over at Tulsa Preservation Blog, including a link to a great example.
There's even blogs about Google Maps, like Google Maps Mania, which has a side bar section of links to historically themed Google maps.
But where are the Florida maps?! There are so many possibilities, like swamp ape sightings, a literary tour of the Keys, historic house museums, Jim Morrison in Florida.
Has anybody seen any Florida art/history/culture maps made using Google's My Maps?
There's even blogs about Google Maps, like Google Maps Mania, which has a side bar section of links to historically themed Google maps.
But where are the Florida maps?! There are so many possibilities, like swamp ape sightings, a literary tour of the Keys, historic house museums, Jim Morrison in Florida.
Has anybody seen any Florida art/history/culture maps made using Google's My Maps?
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Tampa Architecture - MOSI
I'm a historian, I study buildings, I live in Tampa. Not surprisingly, people ask me what interesting buildings there are in Tampa. Of course there is the Tampa Bay Hotel (University of Tampa Plant Hall), which is probably my favorite, and there are cigar factories. I also like the "Beer Can Building," although that's not an opinion everyone shares.
I've also come to appreciate MOSI (that's the Museum of Science and Industry, near the University of South Florida). MOSI started as a small youth museum funded by Hillsborough County in 1962. In 1982, the museum moved to its current location, in a building designed in 1978 by Dwight Holmes of Rowe Holmes Associates of Tampa. In 1995, a 135,000+ square foot addition opened, designed by Antoine Predock working with Robbins Bell and Kuehlem Architects of Tampa. Recently the museum added another building to the west to house Kids in Charge!
At first I thought MOSI's building was jumbled and messy, and sited too close to a busy road. But it also has little things to discover, like tubes through walls to let you peer outside, and the crushed scallop shells in the concrete sidewalks. And it's like a game to count how many triangles you can find. The tiered seating area under the dome was built with lines in the concrete to coincide with shadows from the columns on the summer and winter solstices (for the curious, summer solstice is June 21 this year). Indeed, in July 1995 Predock said of his work, "It's a building that has as its purpose science, the answering of questions, the exploring of the mysterious. That's what science and this museum is all about. That's what the building had to be."
The most prominent part of the building is the big sphere that holds the IMAX theater. It's covered with panels of polished blue steel that reflect the sky and the clouds, and can be quite beautiful depending on the weather. The blue is for the ever-present Florida sky, water, and rain. The architect, Antoine Predock, said he got the idea for a ramp circling the sphere while peeling an orange. In his words, the idea was to make the sphere unique: "We didn't want to do just another sphere or geodesic dome. We wanted to express a sphere in a way that was very unusual. we kind of unpeeled it and we thought of a sherical Rubik's cube and kind of distorted it." Also, "The building itself is a sign, the icon of the dark blue reflective metal Omnimax. You won't have any trouble finding this building."
MOSI is pushed next to Fowler Avenue, and an entrance drive passes under a walkway connecting the museum and the sphere. A large courtyard and butterfly garden building separate the museum from its wooded natural area behind, away from the street. Again, in Predock's words, "We thought a great way to engage the site was to block it, in a way, with the building. We deny the view to the site beyond, so when you move through the building in your car, you experience a wonderful surprise." The berm on the front of the building, by the street, is supposed to be a visual clue or link to the natural land out of view, but it seems to me that the greenery struggles against the baking heat of Fowler Avenue's six lanes of heavy traffic.
Sources
"Antoine Predock in Tampa" Florida Architect Nov/Dec 1982
Tampa Tribune June 12, 1992 "Science museum plans a big step 'beyond'"
Tampa Trubune March 13, 1995 "Architect visits his MOSI building vision"
Tampa Tribune July 1, 1995 "Magnificent MOSI; Science museum expansion opens today"
Tampa Tribune March 22, 2004 "MOSI Jr."
I've also come to appreciate MOSI (that's the Museum of Science and Industry, near the University of South Florida). MOSI started as a small youth museum funded by Hillsborough County in 1962. In 1982, the museum moved to its current location, in a building designed in 1978 by Dwight Holmes of Rowe Holmes Associates of Tampa. In 1995, a 135,000+ square foot addition opened, designed by Antoine Predock working with Robbins Bell and Kuehlem Architects of Tampa. Recently the museum added another building to the west to house Kids in Charge!
At first I thought MOSI's building was jumbled and messy, and sited too close to a busy road. But it also has little things to discover, like tubes through walls to let you peer outside, and the crushed scallop shells in the concrete sidewalks. And it's like a game to count how many triangles you can find. The tiered seating area under the dome was built with lines in the concrete to coincide with shadows from the columns on the summer and winter solstices (for the curious, summer solstice is June 21 this year). Indeed, in July 1995 Predock said of his work, "It's a building that has as its purpose science, the answering of questions, the exploring of the mysterious. That's what science and this museum is all about. That's what the building had to be."
The most prominent part of the building is the big sphere that holds the IMAX theater. It's covered with panels of polished blue steel that reflect the sky and the clouds, and can be quite beautiful depending on the weather. The blue is for the ever-present Florida sky, water, and rain. The architect, Antoine Predock, said he got the idea for a ramp circling the sphere while peeling an orange. In his words, the idea was to make the sphere unique: "We didn't want to do just another sphere or geodesic dome. We wanted to express a sphere in a way that was very unusual. we kind of unpeeled it and we thought of a sherical Rubik's cube and kind of distorted it." Also, "The building itself is a sign, the icon of the dark blue reflective metal Omnimax. You won't have any trouble finding this building."
MOSI is pushed next to Fowler Avenue, and an entrance drive passes under a walkway connecting the museum and the sphere. A large courtyard and butterfly garden building separate the museum from its wooded natural area behind, away from the street. Again, in Predock's words, "We thought a great way to engage the site was to block it, in a way, with the building. We deny the view to the site beyond, so when you move through the building in your car, you experience a wonderful surprise." The berm on the front of the building, by the street, is supposed to be a visual clue or link to the natural land out of view, but it seems to me that the greenery struggles against the baking heat of Fowler Avenue's six lanes of heavy traffic.
Sources
"Antoine Predock in Tampa" Florida Architect Nov/Dec 1982
Tampa Tribune June 12, 1992 "Science museum plans a big step 'beyond'"
Tampa Trubune March 13, 1995 "Architect visits his MOSI building vision"
Tampa Tribune July 1, 1995 "Magnificent MOSI; Science museum expansion opens today"
Tampa Tribune March 22, 2004 "MOSI Jr."
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
All Hail the Conch
Yesterday the Conch Republic turned 25, and there's a party going on! The excitement seems to have overwhelmed the official Conch Republic website. While you're waiting for that to return, enjoy "Rubber Chicken Does the Conch Republic."
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Linoleum and Touch of Tung Oil
This may not seem like it's about Florida at first, but bear with me.
Recently I read Linoleum, by Jane Powell and Linda Svendsen (Gibbs Smith, 2003). It's a coffee table book--oversized, glossy photos, not too much text. Yes, an actual entire book about linoleum, the floor covering of the hoi polloi. The photographs really make this book, transforming linoleum into abstract pieces of art. The text covers much the same territory as other books and journal articles on the topic, but with a welcome sense of humor. The last part of the book recounts the author's experiments to determine whether linoleum can withstand cat pee. (We're not to the Florida part yet.)
Frederick Walton, an Englishman, invented linoleum in 1855. It was basically canvas or burlap coated with oxidized linseed oil, cork dust, and resin. There have been variations on this over the years, but the key point is that linoleum uses natural products and is not vinyl.
Linoleum originally was made from linseed oil, which came the name. But later other kinds of oils were used, among them, tung oil. Tung oil comes from the nuts of the tung tree, which is native to China. The oil has other industrial uses, including as an ingredient in varnish.
Heading into the twentieth century, China was the leading producer of tung oil, and had cornered the market. So some Americans looked around for where tung trees might grow well in the United States, and came up with north central Florida. The first tung trees were planted in Florida in 1906, and the first oil was produced from their nuts in 1913.
Wars disrupted supplies of tung oil from China, which in turn encouraged increased production in Florida. The zenith of Florida's tung industry was during World War II. Jefferson County claims to have been the center point of this industry, with over 12,000 acres of tung oil trees in the 1950s.
But the tung trees weren't the only thing happening in Jefferson County at the mid-century mark. A young man named Homer Formby used some of that oil to make his own line of furniture finishing products. His first store was in Jefferson County, in the old Monticello Opera House.
Storms, freezes, and competition put an end to Florida's tung oil industry in the 1960s and 1970s. Formby made a pile of money, sold his company, and in the 1970s/80s owned some islands down in the Keys.
Florida just may be the Kevin Bacon of the 50 United States.
Recently I read Linoleum, by Jane Powell and Linda Svendsen (Gibbs Smith, 2003). It's a coffee table book--oversized, glossy photos, not too much text. Yes, an actual entire book about linoleum, the floor covering of the hoi polloi. The photographs really make this book, transforming linoleum into abstract pieces of art. The text covers much the same territory as other books and journal articles on the topic, but with a welcome sense of humor. The last part of the book recounts the author's experiments to determine whether linoleum can withstand cat pee. (We're not to the Florida part yet.)
Frederick Walton, an Englishman, invented linoleum in 1855. It was basically canvas or burlap coated with oxidized linseed oil, cork dust, and resin. There have been variations on this over the years, but the key point is that linoleum uses natural products and is not vinyl.
Linoleum originally was made from linseed oil, which came the name. But later other kinds of oils were used, among them, tung oil. Tung oil comes from the nuts of the tung tree, which is native to China. The oil has other industrial uses, including as an ingredient in varnish.
Heading into the twentieth century, China was the leading producer of tung oil, and had cornered the market. So some Americans looked around for where tung trees might grow well in the United States, and came up with north central Florida. The first tung trees were planted in Florida in 1906, and the first oil was produced from their nuts in 1913.
Wars disrupted supplies of tung oil from China, which in turn encouraged increased production in Florida. The zenith of Florida's tung industry was during World War II. Jefferson County claims to have been the center point of this industry, with over 12,000 acres of tung oil trees in the 1950s.
But the tung trees weren't the only thing happening in Jefferson County at the mid-century mark. A young man named Homer Formby used some of that oil to make his own line of furniture finishing products. His first store was in Jefferson County, in the old Monticello Opera House.
Storms, freezes, and competition put an end to Florida's tung oil industry in the 1960s and 1970s. Formby made a pile of money, sold his company, and in the 1970s/80s owned some islands down in the Keys.
Florida just may be the Kevin Bacon of the 50 United States.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
The Carpenters' Home
The Carpenters' Home in Lakeland was a retirement home for members of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, before Social Security. Built between 1926 and 1929 at a cost of $1,000,000, the home could accommodate 400 retired carpenters. There is also a Carpenters' Home Cemetery in Lakeland.
Several unions have built homes or communities in Florida for the benefit of their retired members (see previous posts about Salhaven and Nalcrest, for example).
(1920s photographs of the Carpenters' Home and gateway from the State Archives Florida Photographic Collection)
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Lake Wauburg
One of the perks that come along with being part of the student body, faculty, or staff at the University of Florida is the Lake Wauburg Recreation Center. This is an outdoor facility with picnic pavilions, canoes, paddleboats, sailboats, water skiing, a ropes course, trails, and more, all just a few miles south of Gainesville on US 441. It's beautiful, and historic, nestled on the edge of Paynes Prairie, north of Micanopy.
Prehistoric Native Americans, Spanish cattle ranchers, Seminole chiefs -- all are part of the story. The lake and the park take their (misspelled) name from Frederick Warburg, a European merchant who, with Moses Levy, established a Jewish settlement near here in the 1820s.
In 1918, the University YMCA bought some land on the west shore of Lake Wauburg to be used as a student recreation center. When the YMCA closed, the University of Florida took over the Camp Wauburg property. In the 1930s, several buildings -- including a house, lodge, and boathouse -- were built on a hill overlooking the lake. In the 1960s, the University acquired some additional property on the south side of the lake, which was developed as Lake Wauburg South recreational area in the 1980s. In 1971, the state's first preserve, Paynes Prairie, opened across Lake Wauburg from the University's facility.
The Lake Wauburg Recreation Center continues to operate today, funded with student fees, and administered by the College of Health and Human Performance.
Please let me know if you have any information to add about Lake Wauburg's history!
Lake Wauburg History (University of Florida)
Additional Reading:
Moses Levy of Florida: Jewish Utopian and Antebellum Reformer, by Chris Monaco (Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 2005)
The Story of Historic Micanopy, by Caroline B. Watkins (The Alachua County Historical Commission, Gainesville, Florida, 1976)
Paynes Prairie: The Great Savanna: A History and Guide, by Lars Anderson (Pineapple Press, Florida, 2004)
NOTE: Even though "Wauburg" is itself an incorrect spelling, it has become the preferred name, not "Wauberg."
Prehistoric Native Americans, Spanish cattle ranchers, Seminole chiefs -- all are part of the story. The lake and the park take their (misspelled) name from Frederick Warburg, a European merchant who, with Moses Levy, established a Jewish settlement near here in the 1820s.
In 1918, the University YMCA bought some land on the west shore of Lake Wauburg to be used as a student recreation center. When the YMCA closed, the University of Florida took over the Camp Wauburg property. In the 1930s, several buildings -- including a house, lodge, and boathouse -- were built on a hill overlooking the lake. In the 1960s, the University acquired some additional property on the south side of the lake, which was developed as Lake Wauburg South recreational area in the 1980s. In 1971, the state's first preserve, Paynes Prairie, opened across Lake Wauburg from the University's facility.
The Lake Wauburg Recreation Center continues to operate today, funded with student fees, and administered by the College of Health and Human Performance.
Please let me know if you have any information to add about Lake Wauburg's history!
Lake Wauburg History (University of Florida)
Additional Reading:
Moses Levy of Florida: Jewish Utopian and Antebellum Reformer, by Chris Monaco (Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 2005)
The Story of Historic Micanopy, by Caroline B. Watkins (The Alachua County Historical Commission, Gainesville, Florida, 1976)
Paynes Prairie: The Great Savanna: A History and Guide, by Lars Anderson (Pineapple Press, Florida, 2004)
NOTE: Even though "Wauburg" is itself an incorrect spelling, it has become the preferred name, not "Wauberg."
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Florida's History in the News
"Minneola Seeks Help to Restore Builing" (city's first schoolhouse, Sun-Sentinel, April 15, 2007)
"Martin County Road's Possible Scenic Designation is a 'Feel-Good' Effort" (15-mile segment of Highway 714 between Palm City and Okeechobee, also called Historic Martin Grade, Vero Beach Press-Journal, April 15, 2007)
"Project Parramore" (series about historic African-American neighborhood in Orlando, Central Florida News 13, April 13, 2007)
"Local PTA History is Needed" (Tallahassee Democrat, April 12, 2007)
"Main Street Put Spark into Dade City" (St. Petersburg Times, April 11, 2007)
"Residents Don't Want Cedar Key to lose its Character" (Sun-Sentinel, April 9, 2007)
"Old Boynton High Faces Peril Again" (Palm Beach Post, April 10, 2007)
"Martin County Road's Possible Scenic Designation is a 'Feel-Good' Effort" (15-mile segment of Highway 714 between Palm City and Okeechobee, also called Historic Martin Grade, Vero Beach Press-Journal, April 15, 2007)
"Project Parramore" (series about historic African-American neighborhood in Orlando, Central Florida News 13, April 13, 2007)
"Local PTA History is Needed" (Tallahassee Democrat, April 12, 2007)
"Main Street Put Spark into Dade City" (St. Petersburg Times, April 11, 2007)
"Residents Don't Want Cedar Key to lose its Character" (Sun-Sentinel, April 9, 2007)
"Old Boynton High Faces Peril Again" (Palm Beach Post, April 10, 2007)
Friday, April 13, 2007
They're Cooking Up Some BBQ
Tomorrow, Saturday, April 13, 2007 is Mosquito County Barbeque Society Cook-Off and the Osceola County Historical Society's Collector Day at the Spence-Lanier Pioneer Center at 750 N. Bass Road in Kissimmee.
According to their website, the Mosquito County Barbeque Society's mission is: "to preserve the art and subtleties of slow cooked BBQ."
At the Pioneer Center, you can also visit several old Florida buildings interpreted by the Osceola Historical Society, and visit their museum. I was over there yesterday, and they are really very nice people, and a great group of volunteers. The Pioneer Center is a nice break from theme parks, and they offer school field trips as well.
According to their website, the Mosquito County Barbeque Society's mission is: "to preserve the art and subtleties of slow cooked BBQ."
At the Pioneer Center, you can also visit several old Florida buildings interpreted by the Osceola Historical Society, and visit their museum. I was over there yesterday, and they are really very nice people, and a great group of volunteers. The Pioneer Center is a nice break from theme parks, and they offer school field trips as well.
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