Don't Look Down

On display in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center is the service arm used by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to get aboard the Apollo 11 command module on July 16, 1969. Just days later, Armstrong and Aldrin were walking on the Moon.


















This service arm stood more than 30 stories above the ground when it was attached to the massive Saturn 5 rocket. The black no-slip walking surface was not there in 1969, and if the astronauts looked down when they crossed, they could have seen through the metal grate to the ground. The gantry led to the White Room where crew men checked the astronauts' suits and helped them into the module. After making sure everything was hooked up correctly, the crew men shut the door and descended the launch tower, leaving the three astronauts to their historic journey.

Googie Space Ship

Check out the antennas on this old Soviet space craft on display at the Kennedy Space Center visitor center:



















Space travel and technology was a major inspiration for the Googie style popular in the 1950s and 1960s.

Florida News

"Ormond Firehouse Converting to Office Building" Daytona Beach News-Journal Oct. 1, 2007

"Wright's Stuff" Florida Trend Oct. 1, 2007

"From Bondage to Great Brooksvillian Nominee" Hernando Today Sept. 30, 2007

"Get Ready for Some Fun at the Old Ice House" Punta Gorda Herald Oct. 3, 2007

"New Finds among the Old: Historian is First Full-time Paid Venice Archive Manager" Herald Tribune Oct. 2, 2007

"Orange City Water Museum" DeLand-Deltona Beacon Sept. 28, 2007

"Library Photo Archives One of Putnam’s ‘Little-known Treasures’" Palatka Daily News

"Railroad Shop: The Day a Black Community Died" Miami Herald Sept. 23, 2007

"Florida's Space Coast was Sparked by Sputnik" St. Petersburg Times Sept. 30, 2007

"Landmark Hotel Adds a New Page to its History" Tallahassee Democrat Sept. 30, 2007

"Diversity's Good Business for Longtime Skating Rink" Miami Herald Oct. 4, 2007

"Martha Makes a House" Orlando Sentinel Oct. 7, 2007

"To Them, It's Joyful Noise" St. Petersburg Times Oct. 5, 2007

Recent News Items

"Pembroke Pines Mayor Wants to Save Historic WWII Building" (Sun Sentinel August 4, 2007)

"UCF Creates Virtual World" (Florida Today, August 1, 2007)Students work on website documenting Cape Canaveral's history.

"After Ups and Downs" (Tampa Tribune, August 2, 2007) Hortense Sotomayor retires after 26 years of operating the elevator in Tampa's historic city hall.

"Dog Days Are Over" (Tampa Tribune, July 27, 2007) Mel's Hot Dogs is up for sale.

"Mural Celebrates Community" (St. Petersburg Times, August 3, 2007) New mural draws on West Tampa history.

"Mermaids' Last Splash? Debt Imperils 60-Year-Old Weeki Wachee" (Orlando Sentinel, July 28, 2007)

"Weeki Wachee Turf War Still Murky" (St. Petersburg Times, July 29, 2007)

"Sisters of the Sea" (St. Petersburg Times, July 28, 2007)

"Teresa Giles Runs PJ's Sandwich Shop" (Bradenton Herald, July 31, 2007)

This Week's Florida Happenings

"Rosen Shingle Creek Opens New A Land Remembered Restaurant" World Golf News, June 22, 2007. Resort opens upscale restuarant inspired by Patrick Smith's novel about Florida Crackers.

"Forgotten Indiana Jones Was Man of Many Mysteries" The Villages Daily Sun. The story of archaeologist Dr. Edgar J. Banks, who discovered ancient relics and made bad movies.

"Treasure Island Resident Wants to Protect Architecture." Beach Beacon, June 20, 2007. Will Treasure Island be the next South Beach?

"Reviving Rose Bay: Port Orange Estuary's Rebirth" Orlando Sentinel, June 23, 2007. Remains of old bridge pulled out of bay as part of restoration project.

"Present Meets Past at FSC -- A Cyber Cafe Coexists with Frank Llyod Wright Buildings." Orlando Sentinel, June 23, 2007.

"Explosions Demolish Towers" Florida Today, June 17, 2007. Cape Canaveral Air Force Base demolishes two launch towers. Includes links to video.

"Study Casts a Light on Shade." St. Petersburg Times, June 17, 2007. Study completed to analyze shadow that would be cast by proposed 32-story building.