Broward County, Florida
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...
, United States. As of the
2020 U.S. census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, the population was 91,750. It is a principal city of the
Miami metropolitan area
The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the Everglades Plantation Company, and their unsuccessful attempts to establish a rice
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
in the area.
History
Land acquisition and drainage (1855–1930)
Before the start of the twentieth century, the area that became Plantation was part of the
Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
wetlands, regularly covered by 2–3 feet of water. In 1855,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
state passed the Internal Improvement Act and established the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, the trustees of which act as a government agency to oversee management, sale, and development of state land. In 1897, the
Interior Department
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
submitted 2.9 million acres to the Florida Land Office; however, the submission was revoked the following year, due to fears it would "impinge upon the rights and interests of the Seminole Tribes." The Seminole people regularly used the area for hunting, fishing and camping, and also used the nearby
Pine Island Ridge
Pine Island Ridge was a census-designated place (CDP) in Broward County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,199 at the 2000 census. Formerly a part of unincorporated Broward County, Pine Island Ridge was annexed into the town of Davie, Fl ...
as a headquarters during the second and third Seminole Wars.
In 1899,
Florida Governor
The governor of Florida is the head of government of the state of Florida and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florida ...
William Sherman Jennings began an initiative to drain the Everglades. To establish Florida's entitlement to the land, Jennings obtained a new patent (known as the 'Everglades Patent') for land "aggregating 2,862,280 acres." Following his election in 1905, Jennings' successor,
Napoleon Bonaparte Broward
Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (April 19, 1857 – October 1, 1910) was an American river pilot, captain, and politician. He was elected as the 19th governor of the U.S. state of Florida, serving from January 3, 1905, to January 5, 1909. He was mos ...
appointed Jennings as general counsel of the Internal Improvement Fund and continued the initiative for complete drainage of the Everglades (which was a core theme of his election campaign). Broward described the drainage as a duty of the trustees, and promised to create an "Empire of the Everglades".
The first attempts to drain the Everglades began in 1906, with the building and launching of two
dredges
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
into the New River: ''The Okeechobee'' (commanded by Captain Walter S. Holloway of the
US Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
) began cutting from the river's south fork (establishing the South New River Canal), and ''The Everglades'' began cutting from the north fork up to Lake Okeechobee (establishing the North New River Canal). The first waterway opened after the drainage attempts was named The Holloway Canal, after Captain Holloway.
Following a meeting at the
1908 Democratic National Convention
The 1908 Democratic National Convention took place from July 7 to July 10, 1908, at Denver Auditorium Arena in Denver, Colorado.
The event is widely considered a significant part of Denver's political and social history.
The Convention
The 1 ...
, Broward and Jennings established a deal with Richard 'Dicky' J. Bolles: The fund trustees granted Bolles of overflowed state lands at $2 per acre, with an agreement for the State to use 50% of the $1 million proceeds purely for drainage and reclamation, and another agreement to establish 5 main canals. Following this, Bolles founded the Florida Fruit Lands Company, becoming the Everglades' first private developer.
The Everglades Plantation Company was established in January 1909, following entry into a 2-year contract with the Internal Improvement Fund trustees by Adam A. Boggs (attorney and
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
of the
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
Bank and Trust Company) and A.B. Sanders (engineer and later president of the Miami Engineering and Construction Company) to create a rice
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
in the Everglades. The agreement enabled Boggs & Sanders to rent a significant amount of land around the (then work-in-progress) North New River Canal, and also subsequently purchase the land for between $3 and $15 per acre.
It was later discovered that the area leased to Boggs & Sanders already belonged to Dicky Bolles, as part of the 500,000 acres he had purchased; however, the Everglades Plantation Company was able to retain the land, despite Bolles' claims. Sanders led further reclamation efforts for the area, including the digging of 60 miles of ditches. Boggs & Sanders were also granted extensions to their 2-year contract, on the grounds that the land remained under water.
In 1911, Bolles held a land lottery (known as the 'Progresso Land Auction') at $20–24 per acre, granting residential lots in the 'Town of Progresso' (now the area known as Wilton Manors) to anyone purchasing farmland of five acres or more in the drainage land;'''' however, no auction actually took place and the purchased land remained under water. As a result, a
lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
was brought against Bolles.
In 1912, the North New River Canal opened, and the Sewell Lock (also known as Lock No.1), the first lock in Florida, and one of the oldest remaining structures in Broward County, was built on it, just outside of what is now Plantation. The new lock enabled access between the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee by water.
The lawsuit against Bolles was settled in November 1913, with Bolles retaining the $1.4 million already received, but prohibiting any further collection until the land was drained and surveyed. Bolles was also arrested in December of that year, but was subsequently found innocent.
Drainage of the land largely failed, with most of it reverting to the state for taxes; however, two local farmers, O. L Daniel and Dewey Hawkins began buying it, acquiring approximately 6,000 acres and 4,000 acres respectively.''''
In the years following their original agreement, contract negotiation escalated into legal battles between the Everglades Plantation Company and the Internal Improvement Trustees. These disputes ended in 1914, in the company's favor. The Trustees no longer insisted on continuation of the rice plantation attempts and, from this point, the company focused primarily on land sales.Broward county (originally planned under the name 'Everglades County' but ultimately named after former governor Broward), was created by Florida legislature in 1915, by combining portions of Dade county and Palm Beach County.
Driven by the success of the drainage projects, the Florida Land Boom took place between 1920 and 1925, seeing rapid growth in population and land sales. The boom reached its peak in the fall of 1925 and subsequently collapsed in 1926.
The land boom was closely followed by two severe hurricanes striking the area, significantly impacting the established communities and killing thousands. The first, in September 1926 (known as the
1926 Miami hurricane
The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...
), reached wind speeds of 140 MPH, and the second, in September 1928 (known as the
1928 Okeechobee hurricane
The Okeechobee hurricane of 1928, also known as the San Felipe Segundo hurricane, was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the recorded history of the North Atlantic basin, and the fourth deadliest hurricane in the United States, only behind the ...
), reached wind speeds of 135 MPH. In response, additional flood control laws were established, and millions of additional dollars were spent on drainage efforts across the Everglades in the subsequent decades.
Initial development (1931–1952)
Future Plantation founder, Frederick C. Peters, the millionaire heir to a St. Louis shoe business, moved to
Goulds, Florida
Goulds is a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, within the U.S. state of Florida. The area was originally populated as the result of a stop on the Florida East Coast Railroad. The railroad depot was located near the current Southwe ...
in 1931 (following doctor's advice to seek a warmer climate for his son), beginning both potato and cattle businesses; however, in 1939, Peters received advice from Stephan Zacher (a Davie ranch-owner) to find better land for his cattle in the Davie area. With most large tracts of land in Davie already established as groves, Peters (following extensive testing by the United States Soil Conservation Service) purchased further north for approximately $10–25 per acre, financed with a $350,000 mortgage. The land was previously owned by Dewey Hawkins (who held the majority) and by Boggs' and Sanders' Everglades Plantation Company. Peters road, in Plantation, is named after Frederick Peters.
With the aim to create a farming-cooperative-based, rural alternative to suburban Dade Country, Peters built the city's first ranch buildings, which were designed by Stephan Zacher. In 1942, he had Leslie E. Bitting (son of Ben Bitting, who worked at Peters' previous Dade County farm) begin moving Peters' cattle to the area, and look after the building.''''
Between 1944 and 1945, Peters shifted from the idea of building a farming cooperative, hiring architect Russel T. Pancoast to assist with creation of the city master plan, and C. Kay Davis to establish a water control system. In 1946, a special-purpose local government, named the Old Plantation Water Control District, was also chartered by the state (led by civil engineer John Brendla) to commence drainage of the area previously intended for plantation development, and oversee its secondary canals.''''
Chauncey Clark Jr. (originally of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, but living in
Miami Beach
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...
) was told by Peters that, in exchange for an effective development plan, Peters would provide land options and complete drainage & access as needed. Clark Jr.'s plan for 40 acre ranches, clubs, golf courses and an airfield failed to attract investment, but his father, Chauncey Clark Sr., established an alternative plan for single-acre lots with 2-bedroom houses and a 20-tree orchard in each. Miami's Robert Law Weed designed the first homes, which were then built in 1947, on East Acre Drive under the name ''Plantation Homes Inc.'' The development's name (which went on to become the name of the entire city) came from that by which the area had become known, including its Water Control District subdivision, 'Plantation'.
Clark's advertising referred to Plantation as "the Dream City" with "Rich Living at Small Cost" and Peters' advertising described "A Full Acre With Every Home."'''' A two-bedroom home with an acre of land and 20 fruit trees was sold for $10,241, and property was valued at $200 an acre;'''' however, early into construction, many of the homes were destroyed by flooding, caused by 93 consecutive days of rain and two hurricanes.'''' Despite the setbacks, 15 houses were under construction at the time the hurricanes passed.'''' Clark also repaired and restored all of the homes damaged at his own personal expense. During this same year, road-builder Finley Smith began plans to expand Broward Boulevard from State Road 7 to the Holloway Canal.''''
In 1948, Chauncey Clark Jr.'s home was the first completed, and Clark moved into the house with his family.'''' Construction operations expanded, alongside a dedicated sales group, with approximately three houses being completed and sold per week.'''' A total of approximately 120 homes were built that year,'''' and the city's population grew to 30 families in size.'''' That year, Ann Carter (wife of Claude E, Carter) also gave birth to Eugene Carter, the first child born in the city.'''' 1948 also saw completion of new dikes and a pumping station on the East Holloway Canal,'''' and formation of The Plantation Community Church (which held its first services in the construction trailer office of Frederick Peters).
In September and October 1948, two further hurricanes impacted the area, causing further flooding and the breakage of a work-in-progress dike during the second hurricane.'''' Rapid repairs and extensions to the dikes, new
cofferdam
A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for construction or re ...
s, and pumping were used to end the flooding;'''' however, house sales halted in 1949, due to the repeated flooding. Although work continued on new roads, dikes and houses, Clark's ''Plantation Homes Inc.'' was dissolved, with the assets going to Frederick C. Peters.''''
1949 also saw the opening of Plantation Pumping Station No. 2 (allowing the pumping of 126 million gallons per day into the North New River Canal), the founding of the Plantation Women's Club (by Mrs. Helen Hoffman), and the founding of the Plantation Homeowners' organization (by Dr. Abram Hoffman). At this time, there were 40 occupied homes in the area.
1950 then saw completion of the Plantation Golf Course and Country Club, which was built with the intent to encourage extension of Broward Boulevard further west.
City incorporation (1953–1963)
Plantation was incorporated as a city on April 23, 1953 (with a population of 300 and a budget of less than $2,000 at the time). The Plantation Homeowners Association appointed Ellsworth D. Gage (then president of the Homeowners' Association) as the city's first Mayor, with Paul Stoner, Winslow Freeman, George Bartold, Walter Bartels, and Wilfred J. Perry Lohman elected to the City Council; however, none of these early city officials took any salary from the position. A building originally intended as a community center, but being used as a warehouse, was used for the first city council meeting, city hall, fire station, and police station. This building, originally known as the Hoffman Building, is now the kitchen area of Deicke Auditorium.
On August 1, 1954, the
Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
publicly unveiled the new city plan, calling Plantation "The City of the Future".
In 1955, S. Robinson Estey was elected as the city's second Mayor (and the first elected to the position). Plantation Police Dept. was also organized in the same year, with the first police car and officer (Henry C. 'Hank' Donath), who ran the department alone for several years, on call 24 hours a day. At that time, the city population remained less than 800 people.
The city's fire department's
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
fundraiser began in 1956, and remains one of the city's annual traditions. Plantation's Volunteer Fire Dept. was subsequently formed in 1957, with Richard Stephenson appointed as the first Fire Chief. The city's first industrial plant (Airpax Products, Co.) opened on Sunrise Blvd in 1957 (in what is now Plantation Technology Park), as did Plantation Community Church's first sanctuary (now known as Missions Prayer Chapel) and the Sunshine State Parkway (now known as
Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike, designated as unsigned State Road 91 (SR 91), is a toll road in the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). Spanning approximately along a northwest–southeast axis, the turnpike is in two s ...
), which connected Miami and
Fort Pierce
Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Suns ...
. By 1958, construction was completed on the new City Hall. A new fire station was also built on Broward Blvd, with Frederick T. Peters (son of Frederick C. Peters) appointed as the new city Fire Chief.
Plantation's budget had grown to over $170,000 by 1959. That year, the city's first school was dedicated: Berenice Todd Peters Elementary School (named after the wife of city founder Frederick C. Peters; known today as Peters Elementary) was a 24-classroom, 725-child school, built on ten acres of land gifted by Frederick Peters. Hank Donath was also appointed as the city's first Police Chief, with the operating costs of the police department covered by cigarette taxes.
In 1960, the city adopted the slogan "The Dream City", including matching
license plates
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificat ...
.
The Plantation Library, based out of Peters Elementary School, was founded in 1961, with Mrs. Helen B. Hoffman as chairwoman and members of the Plantation Woman's Club as volunteer workers. In 1962, Edwin Deicke donated $100,000 to the city for expanding and renovating the Hoffman Building (which was later, in 1973, renamed to the Deicke Auditorium). Also in 1962, the city's Chamber of Commerce was founded and the Doctors General Hospital was opened.
The city's population reached 8,500 in 1963,'''' and its original motto, "From the Wilderness, this City", was made official, with adoption of a corresponding city seal (designed by Mayor Robinson Estey and architect A.T. Hardel). The Latin translation of this motto was later found to include a spelling error; however, future mayor, Frank Veltri opted not to change it. The city's Community Center, designed by original city master plan architect Russell Pancoast, was also built in 1963, becoming the site of the first city library (which had been previously housed in Peters Elementary).
Gulfstream developments (1964–1979)
Following the death of Frederick C. Peters in July 1964, the Peters family sold of undeveloped land west of University Drive (originally named Annapu Road), at approximately $3,000 per acre, to the Gulfstream Land Development Company, led by president John H. Cleary. The land is purchased for development of the Jacaranda community, the intent of which was to build a Broward County equivalent to
Coral Gables
Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248.
Coral Gables is known globally as home to the U ...
.
Other expansions during this time included Plantation Elementary School in 1965, The Florida Air Academy in 1969, Plantation High School (the city's first high school) and Plantation General Hospital (at the time, a 264-bed hospital) in 1966, and a new facility for the telecommunications company
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
in 1969.
The city's population reached 23,523 by 1970, and in 1972, a $1.03 million construction bid was accepted for a new city hall, alongside
groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...
for construction of the Deicke Auditorium.
Plantation Acres (which is designated a 'Special Public Interest' Rural District to protect the natural landscape) and Melaleuca Isles were annexed into Plantation in 1973. Deicke Auditorium and the new Plantation City Hall were dedicated in May and December of that year respectively. Also in 1973, the Gulfstream consortium acquired the remaining land from the Peters family holdings. Moving away from Plantation's original rural direction, Gulfstream instead targeted commercial, industrial and home office establishments, beginning agreements with
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
,
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
, and those who would build the
Broward Mall
Broward Mall (previously known as Westfield Broward) is a shopping mall in Plantation, Florida.
History
The mall was opened in August 1978, with the name Broward Mall. Original anchors were Burdines, Sears, and Jordan Marsh (the latter made its d ...
. The Plantation Historical Society was founded the following year by Genevieve Veltri, Dorothy O'Hare, Lois Brickhouse, and Marilyn King, with their first meeting held in the Veltri home, and Veltri elected as the first president.
Frank Veltri was elected as the city's Mayor for first time in 1975. Veltri would go on to become the city's longest-serving mayor, completing six terms over 24 years. That same year, the financial services company,
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
moved its 'Southern Region Operations Center' to a newly constructed building in Plantation, beginning with 1,000 employees.
During the
US bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...
celebration in 1976, a 45-foot oak tree was planted in Plantation's Fifth Street Park to represent the Liberty Tree. The park was renamed to Liberty Tree Park as a result. In 1977, the city and Broward County jointly acquired land which was previously a part of the Peters family farm, and began work on the Plantation Heritage Park, using a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The Broward Mall opened in 1978, on what had previously been cow
pasture
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...
land. At the time, it was the largest mall in the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, spanning 1 million square ft. 1978 was also the year of the city's silver anniversary, which was celebrated with three days of events and included the burying of a time capsule, to be updated every 25 years.
In 1979, the Florida Air Academy closed, and the land was sold to the Jewish Community Center.
The final home of mobster
John Roselli
John "Handsome Johnny" Roselli (born Filippo Sacco; July 4, 1905 – August 7, 1976), sometimes spelled Rosselli, was an influential mobster for the Chicago Outfit who helped that organization control Hollywood and the Las Vegas Strip. In the ea ...
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
and the
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...
was, until June 28, 1976, at his sister Enid and brother-in-law Joseph Daigle's residence at 5220 SW 10th Ct., Plantation, before his murdered body was found in a steel drum in Dumfoundling Bay at Easton Shores,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
The Miami News
''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...
'', p.4., August 10, 1976. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
Recent history (1980–present)
By 1980, Plantation's population had reached 48,653. This year is when the city was first designated as a 'Tree City' by the Arbor Day Foundation. The Plantation Library was renamed to the Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library in the following year.
In 1983, the city opened Plantation Central Park: a 77-acre recreation complex, including an Olympic swimming pool, gym, and spaces for
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
,
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
. That same year, the former Plantation Chamber of Commerce building (a 1,000 square foot office building) was moved over a mile by truck to a new location. The intent was for the building to be used as a museum building by the Plantation Historical Society; however, it was subsequently vandalized and fell from its foundation, requiring demolition as a result. Instead, an alternative, Plantation Historical Museum (founded by Genevieve Veltri) is dedicated in June 1985.
The city's landscape department established the 'Plantation Landscaping Award for Nurturing our Town' (PLANT) awards in 1984, developed as part of the
Tree City USA
The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities ...
program to reward outstanding landscaping and maintenance. The same year also saw the first opening of the Plantation Heritage Park to the public.
In 1988, 10 years after the opening of the Broward Mall, two new shopping malls were opened in the city: The Fountains Shopping Mall (450,000 sq ft., at a cost of $60 million) and the Fashion Mall at Plantation (660,000 sq ft, featuring
Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
anchor store
In retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are typically located at the ends of malls. Wit ...
s).
The population reached 66,116 by 1990. The following year, Plantation's PLANT awards recognized Marjory Stoneman Douglas (then 100 years of age) as the "First Lady of Conservation" for her efforts to preserve the
Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
.
The insurance company Kemper National Services first opened operations in Plantation in 1993, and in the following year, announced plans to double its office space in the city and hire up to 800 additional employees. At the time, the city's largest employers were American Express, followed by Motorola.
During the 100th anniversary of the modern
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
in 1996, the relay run of the Olympic Flame passed through Plantation city center. In September of that year, a fire at the Plantation Towne Mall became the city's largest fire to date, impacting 56,000 square feet of the mall. Following the fire, the area was re-built as Plantation Towne Square, including a new
Publix
Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...
anchor store
In retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are typically located at the ends of malls. Wit ...
.
The year 2000 census established the city population at 82,934, spanning 15 distinct ethnic groups. New city developments around this time included the Volunteer Park Community Center (1999), the Park East Multicultural Garden (2001), the Community Bus Service (2001), Jim Ward Community Center (2002), Jack Carter Harmony Park (2002), Happy Tails Dog Park (2002), the Plantation Equestrian Center (2005), and the Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club (2006).
Plantation celebrated its 50-year
golden anniversary
A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations.
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...
in 2003, with a one-week celebration and updating of the city's time capsule.
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma was an extremely intense and destructive Atlantic hurricane which was the most intense storm of its kind and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part ...
hit Plantation on Monday, October 24, 2005, causing significant damage and power outages. The resulting damage led to the subsequent closure of the Fashion Mall in 2006.
In 2007, the Broward Mall was acquired by the
Westfield Group
Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio; ...
, received a multimillion-dollar renovation, and was renamed to Westfield Broward.
The city was first named one as of the nation's "100 Best Communities for Young People" by
America's Promise Alliance
America's Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest cross-sector alliance of nonprofit, community organizations, businesses, and government organization dedicated to improving the lives of young people.
The organization was founded on the idea ...
in 2008. It has won this award on other subsequent years, including 2010 and 2011
The 2010 census established the city's population at 84,955 people. During this year, the vacant former Fashion Mall was planned for auction, but the auction was cancelled after the property owner paid a court judgement.
In 2011, Diane Veltri Bendekovic, daughter of previous long-running mayor Frank Veltri, was elected as mayor of the city.
The city's 60th anniversary in 2013 saw the publication of a new book dedicated to its history: ''Images of America: Plantation''.
The developers of the previously closed Fashion Mall filed for bankruptcy in October 2014. The property was then sold in a bankruptcy auction in April 2015 for $37.7 million. Demolition of the former Fashion Mall then began in 2016 (leaving the existing hotel, office and parking areas), to make way for '
Plantation Walk
Plantation Walk is a mixed-use complex in Plantation, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. The complex includes the office tower, hotel and parking decks from the demolished Fashion Mall, a three-level shopping mall that opened in 1988 and closed ...
' (previously known as '321 North'): a new $350 million complex including 700 apartments, 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, and remodeled versions of the existing 160,000 square foot office tower and Sheraton hotel. In September 2018, a settlement was reached, dismissing legal conflicts between the area's bankruptcy trustee and other parties previously involved in the redevelopment. The development is now targeting completion in 2021.
The
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
office in Plantation closed in 2017, when company relocated to a newly built facility in neighboring Sunrise. In response to the move, committee review began on 'Plantation Midtown': a new
mixed-use development
Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...
, encompassing the site of the former American Express office.
On July 6, 2019, 23 people were injured, two seriously, by a gas explosion at The Fountains shopping plaza on South University Drive, which caused extensive damage to it and nearby buildings.
In June 2020, following the
George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...
some residents called for the city itself, along with certain local schools whose names include the word "plantation", to be renamed due to the connotation of the word "plantation" with slavery in the American South. The city's name has no direct links to slavery and other residents expressed opposition to renaming.
In 2021, Westfield Mall returned to its previous name of Broward Mall following the fall of the
Westfield Group
Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio; ...
.
Geography
Land size
As of the 2010 census, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.87%) is water.
Location and surroundings
Plantation is in central Broward County and is bordered by
Lauderhill
Lauderhill, officially the City of Lauderhill, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census,the city's population was 74,482. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,01 ...
to the northeast, Sunrise to the north and west, Davie to the south, and
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
to the east.
Climate
Plantation has a
tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...
(''Af''), bordering a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
(''Am'') due to the driest month of December's precipitation being near the 60mm threshold separating these categories.
On average, August is the hottest month, with an average high of , whilst January is the coolest month, with an average low of and a record low of .
Full monthly statistics for the city are as follows:
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 U.S. census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 91,750 people, 36,203 households, and 22,771 families residing in the city.
2010 census
Population and race
Age and gender
As of 2010, the median age of the city's population was 39.7 years, with the age distribution of 23.5% 19 years or younger (21.5% under the age of 18); 26.9% from 20 to 39 years; 30.0% from 40 to 59 years; 17.5% from 60 to 84 years; and 2.1% 85 years or older.
The population was 52.6% female, with a 53.5% female population aged over 18 years.
Language
As of the 2000 census,
first language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
distribution in the city was 78.01%
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, 0.72%
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, 0.46%
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and 2.40 for all others.
Employment and income
According to a 2013–2017
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
estimate, the
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city (in 2017
inflation-adjusted
In economics, nominal value is measured in terms of money, whereas real value is measured against goods or services. A real value is one which has been adjusted for inflation, enabling comparison of quantities as if the prices of goods had not c ...
dollars) was $35,897, the median household income was $69,531, and the median family income was $78,839. The median earnings for a full-time, year-round male worker was $54,188, compared to $44,537 for the female equivalent.
The estimate also identified 9.0% of the city's population (6.7% of families) below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
The largest area of occupation (for
civilian
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...
s aged 16 and older) was in management, business, science, and arts occupations (43.4%), followed by sales and office occupations (28.9%).
Households
As of 2010, there were a total of 37,587
housing unit
A housing unit, or dwelling unit, (at later mention often abbreviated to ''unit'') is a structure or the part of a structure or the space that is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person or more people who maintain a common hous ...
s in the city (with a density of 1,728.8 per square mile of land), 9.0% of which were vacant.
Also as of 2010, 66.0% of the 34,190 total households were family households, 47.7% were husband-wife households, and 28.5% included a child under 18 years. 26.3% of all households were made up of individual householders living alone, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01.
Economy
A 2012 survey of business owners identified a total of 13,674 companies within the city. An economic census, also from 2012, determined that total retail sales in the city amounted to $1.72 billion.
Specific companies with operations in Plantation include
DHL
DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DHL ...
(Express Head Office: United States), the
University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree lev ...
(South Florida Campus), and
TradeStation
TradeStation Group, Inc. is the parent company of online securities and futures brokerage firms and trading technology companies. It is headquartered in Plantation, Florida, and has offices in New York; Chicago; Richardson, Texas; London; Sydney; ...
. Companies with former locations in Plantation include
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
(1975 to 2017), and
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
(1969 to 2015).
Malls
Plantation was home to two malls, situated across the street from one another: the Westfield Broward Mall (south of Broward Boulevard), and the Fashion Mall (north of Broward Boulevard); however, the Fashion Mall was closed in 2006 and is currently in the process of being re-developed for the
Plantation Walk
Plantation Walk is a mixed-use complex in Plantation, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. The complex includes the office tower, hotel and parking decks from the demolished Fashion Mall, a three-level shopping mall that opened in 1988 and closed ...
project.
Golf and country clubs
The oldest club in the city is the 293 acre Fort Lauderdale Country Club, which was first founded in 1926 (despite setbacks caused by the
1926 Miami hurricane
The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...
). When first opened, the 6,661 yard course was known as the West Side Golf Course, and was owned by the city of
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
; however, the course was renamed in December 1928 when it was leased by Fort Lauderdale. In 1951, the club was expanded with a second 18-hole, 6,915 yard 'North Course'. Though originally a public club, it became a private club in 1957, when it was sold by the city of Fort Lauderdale. The club's original 'South Course' was designed by Joseph A. Roseman, Hebert Charles Tippet, and George Richardson Sr., and subsequently re-designed by Charles Ankrom (1991) and Kipp Schulties (2006). The North Course was designed by Robert 'Red' F. Lawrence, then re-designed by Tom Pearson (1999) and Kipp Schulties (2006).
The first club not owned by Fort Lauderdale, the Plantation Golf Course and Country Club, was designed by Robert 'Red' F. Lawrence and original city master plan architect Russell Pancoast, opening in 1950. Following discovery of a Native Americanburial mound on the site of the 14th hole during construction, each hole on the course was given a different Native American name to honor the area's previous Seminole and
Tequesta
The Tequesta (also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos) were a Native American tribe. At the time of first European contact they occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans a ...
residents. In addition to the golf course, the club included a
swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
,
tennis court
A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...
s, and a clubhouse.
Another of the city's private golf courses is the 162 acre Lago Mar Country Club (not to be confused with Mar-a-Lago). Established in 1969, Lago Mar was purchased from its original builders in 1980 and re-designed in 2009 by Kipp Schulties, reopening on January 1, 2010. The club includes teeing grounds from 5,811 to 6,756 yards and other facilities such as private tennis courts.
Another public (though privately owned) club within the city is the Jacaranda Golf Club: a 285-acre, 7,247 yard course designed by Mark Mahannah and built 1970, then redesigned by
Bobby Weed
Robert C. "Bobby" Weed, Jr. (born April 13, 1955), president of Bobby Weed Golf Design, is a golf course designer and builder specializing in design, renovation and repurposing. A protégé of Pete Dye, he resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Wee ...
in 2006.
Work on a new city-owned golf course began in 2002, when the city purchased the property of the original Plantation Golf Course and commenced the new 'Plantation Preserve' development. This development work resulted in the Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club: a 214-acre, 7,148 yard course, designed by
Robert von Hagge Robert von Hagge (April 27, 1927-September 17, 2010, born Robert Bernhardt Hagge) was a golf course architect credited with the design of more than 250 courses in over 20 countries.
After working for a time as a commercial artist, Robert entered Pu ...
, Michael Smelek, and Rick Baril, which was dedicated in April 2006.
Education
According to a 2013–2017
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
estimate, 93.4% of the city have attained high school graduation or a higher level of education. 25.4% have a
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
Plantation High School
Plantation High School (commonly referred to as PHS) is a high school located in Plantation, Florida, part of the Broward County Public Schools district. As of 2022, the school serves 1,931 students in grades 9 through 12. It was originally loca ...
*
South Plantation High School
South Plantation High School is a four-year public high school located in the city of Plantation, Florida in the United States.
SPHS is part of the Broward County Public Schools school district, which is the sixth-largest district in the nation w ...
Plantation middle schools
* Plantation Middle School
*Seminole Middle School
*Bair Middle School in Sunrise (serves parts of Plantation)
Public elementary schools
*Central Park Elementary School
*Mirror Lake Elementary School
*Peters Elementary School
*Plantation Elementary School
*Plantation Park Elementary School
*Tropical Elementary School
*Sawgrass Elementary School in Sunrise (serves parts of Plantation)
Private schools
* American Heritage School and American Academy
* The Blake School
*Our Savior Lutheran
*St. Gregory's Parish School of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami
Higher education
*
University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree lev ...
Media
Plantation is part of the
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
-
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
-
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
media market, which is the sixteenth largest media market, the eleventh largest radio market, and the sixteenth largest television market in the United States.
The city's primary daily newspapers are the ''
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...
'' and ''
The Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.El Sentinel'' and ''
El Nuevo Herald
''El Nuevo Herald'' is a newspaper published daily in Spanish in Southeast Florida, United States. Its headquarters is in Doral. ''El Nuevo Heralds sister paper is the ''Miami Herald'', also produced by the McClatchy Company.
About ''el Nuevo H ...
''.
Plantation has also been used as a filming location for
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
s, such as '' Caddyshack'' in 1980 (the Plantation Country Club was used for the film's pool scenes), and ''
There's Something About Mary
''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men who ...
'' in 1998 (the film's high school is actually Plantation City Hall, located at 400 NW 73rd Avenue).
Notable people
* XXXTentacion (full name Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, 1998–2018), rapper
*
Somy Ali
Somy Ali ( ur, سومی علی, ar, سومي علي; born 25 March 1976)Singh, Prashant (30 April 2012Salman helps Somy Ali's charity foundation ''Hindustan Times'' is a Pakistani-American actress, writer, filmmaker, model and activist who has ...
, former
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
actress, writer, model, filmmaker, and activist
*
Melanie Amaro
Melanie Ann Amaro (born June 26, 1992) is an American singer who won the first season of ''The X Factor USA'' in 2011, securing a $5 million recording contract with Syco Music and Epic Records. Amaro was also the youngest contestant to win the c ...
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
golfer
*
Randy Bernsen
Randy Bernsen (born July 15, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist.
Career
Bernsen was born in Needham, Massachusetts and grew up in Florida. He attended high school in Plantation and was active in the clubs of South Florida, starting at age 1 ...
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
Valeri Bure
Valeri Vladimirovich "Val" Bure (; rus, Валерий Владимирович Буре, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj bʊˈrɛ; born June 13, 1974) is a Russian-American former ice hockey right winger. He played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League ( ...
,
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
player
*
Candace Cameron
Candace Cameron Bure (; born Candace Helaine Cameron; April 6, 1976) is an American actress, producer, author and television personality. She is known for portraying D.J. Tanner on ''Full House'' and its sequel series ''Fuller House (TV series), ...
Audra Cohen
Audra Marie Cohen (born April 21, 1986) is an American former professional tennis player and current college tennis coach. She was the # 1 collegiate female tennis player in the United States in 2007. At the University of Miami in 2005-2006 she w ...
, tennis player
*
Steve Curry
Stephen Thomas Curry (born September 13, 1965) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the season. Listed at 6' 6", 217 lb., he batted and threw right-handed.
In thr ...
, MLB player
*
Alberto Cutié
Alberto R. Cutié (born April 29, 1969, in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican Episcopal priest who is also known as Padre Alberto. He was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1995. He has an internationally recognizable name, due to his work as ...
,
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
and pastor of St. Benedict's Parish
*
Wayne Federman
Wayne Federman (born June 22, 1959) is an Emmy Award winning American comedian, actor, author, writer, comedy historian, producer, and musician. He is noted for numerous stand-up comedy appearances in clubs, theaters, and on television; his book ...
, actor, comedian, and ''
Pistol Pete Maravich
Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised in ...
'' biographer
*
Blake Geoffrion
Blake Daniel Geoffrion (born February 3, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He last played with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. He was a second round selection of the Nashville Predators, 56th overal ...
, NHL player
*
Mike Gioulakis
Michael Gioulakis (born September 17, 1982) is an American cinematographer, best known for his work with directors David Robert Mitchell, M. Night Shyamalan, and Jordan Peele.
Early life
Gioulakis was born in Plantation, Florida, and grew up ...
Rob Hiaasen
Rob Hiaasen (February 9, 1959 – June 28, 2018) was an American journalist and assistant editor at ''The Capital'', a newspaper published in Annapolis, Maryland. He also taught at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalis ...
Ty Law
Tajuan Edward "Ty" Law (born February 10, 1974) is an American former American football, football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football a ...
Jake Long
Jake Edward Long (born May 9, 1985) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Michigan, where he was a two-time consensus All-American, and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins first overall in the 2008 NFL Dr ...
Bob Norman
Bob Norman (born April 12, 1969) is a journalist in South Florida who joined WPLG-Channel 10 in 2011 as an on-air investigative reporter. Previously he worked for several years as a weekly newspaper and online columnist. He broke the corruption st ...
, journalist
*
James Randi
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. Rodrigues 2010p. ...
,
stage magician
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...
John Roselli
John "Handsome Johnny" Roselli (born Filippo Sacco; July 4, 1905 – August 7, 1976), sometimes spelled Rosselli, was an influential mobster for the Chicago Outfit who helped that organization control Hollywood and the Las Vegas Strip. In the ea ...
Seymour Schwartzman
Seymour Schwartzman (December 7, 1930 – January 18, 2009) was an American cantor and opera singer. He was a principal baritone at New York City Opera where he sang over thirty roles and also performed internationally in opera houses and on the ...
,
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
Ryan Shazier
Ryan Dean Shazier (; born September 6, 1992) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Shazier had a successful fi ...
, NFL player
* Sloane Stephens, professional tennis player
*
Patrick Surtain
Patrick Frank Surtain Sr. ( ; born June 19, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. ...
, NFL player
*
Zach Thomas
Zachary Michael Thomas (born September 1, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for Texas Tech University, and was ...
Broward County, Florida
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...
*
Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...