About Fort Lauderdale

Called the "Venice of America", Fort Lauderdale stretches for 23 ocean-front miles along the center of Broward County's famed Gold Coast. A vacation and corporate forerunner in the state of Florida, this city lies directly in the middle of Miami and Palm Beach and sprawls over 1200 square miles.

Early Fort Lauderdale

Inhabiting the region before recorded history, the first known residents Relaxing on Fort Lauderdale Beach

of Fort Lauderdale were the Tequesta Indians. The next periods in the history of the area are dominated by Spanish explorers, most notably Ponce de Leon, and increases in the area's shipping lanes. The first actual settler in the Fort Lauderdale region was a Bahamian by the name of Charles Lewis. During the 1820s, this New River area grew into an agricultural settlement. The mid-1800's was a period of war among the settlers and the native Seminole tribes. Major William Lauderdale, a leader of the established New River fort, provided the eventual name by which we now know the city of Fort Biking on Fort Lauderdale Beach

Lauderdale.

The city was so named and incorporated in 1911, with William Marshall as the city's first mayor. Beginning as primarily an agricultural community, the first Fort Lauderdale hotel was opened in the 1920's. This one hotel eventually blossomed into a thriving tourism economy. The 1950's and 1960's, for example, ushered in thousands of college students seeking refuge for Spring Break. Today, Fort Lauderdale is a strong financial and commercial center, distinguished as a leader in international trade. At the same time, however, Fort Lauderdale has continued to broaden and strengthen is definition as a premiere vacation locale.

Fort Lauderdale, Venice of America

Water seems to play the strongest part in Fort Lauderdale's transportation system. Due to the intricate system of canals and waterways, the 150,000 citizens of this city choose boating for their transportation of choice. There are over 165 miles of navigable waterways and inlets in Lauderdale, giving rise to its standing as a major yachting center. Hence, Lauderdale has received the nicknames the "Venice of America" and the "Yachting Capital of the World." For commercial purposes, nearby Port Everglades, the deepest port in the southeastern United States, is one of the most important Sunbathing on Fort Lauderdale Beach

shipping ports along the Atlantic Coast. In fact, Port Everglades is the second largest cruise port in the world.

Contrary to its former image of rowdy college students and all-night parties, the majority of residents in contemporary Fort Lauderdale are white-collar workers, middle-aged, and married. Most have at least some college education and the average household income rests at a comfortable $37,613. Population growth has occurred steadily throughout the 1980's and 1990's. Drawn by a healthy business climate and paradise-like weather (Over 3,000 annual recorded hours of sunshine and average year-round temperatures at 77 degrees!), it's easy to see why so many are choosing Fort Lauderdale as their home or vacation destination.