Florida History

From America's first city, St. Augustine, to the financial capital of Miami, Florida history.

September 7, 2025

Frank Sinatra’s Quintessentially Miami Beach Movie, ‘Hole in the Head’

If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing Miami Beach in its mid-century heyday, Frank Sinatra’s 1959 film A Hole in the Head offers a perfect time capsule. Directed by Frank Capra, this heartwarming

Culture·Florida History

August 22, 2025

Frederick Delius: The Ultimate Florida Composer

Ask a Floridian about a favorite Florida piece of music, and it is the rare person who will mention the Florida Suite, by Frederick Delius, the English composer. While Frederick Delius gets

Florida History

August 17, 2025

Martin Caidin: Florida’s Greatest Modern Science Fiction Author

Back in the Bicentennial year of 1976, a celebrated science author flew across Florida in Adolf Hitler’s airplane, a Junkers JU-52. This unique craft belonged to Martin Caidin — daredevil pilot, historian,

Yes, There Is Oil In Florida. A Quick History

IMMOKALEE – While there has been a long discussion about whether or not to drill of of Florida’s coast, few remember that Florida has also been home to actual oil wells. Pictured here, Blanchard’s

February 22, 2025

Florida History

Elvira Garner’s Ezekiel of Sanford, Florida

Of the literature of early 20th-century Florida, the late Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Zora Neale Hurston stand out for their ability to evoke disappearing Florida. However, there were other authors that spoke

September 2, 2022

Florida History

Billy Graham Related Sites In Florida

As we celebrate the life of the late Billy Graham, some of the most important spiritual events in his maturity in Christ occurred in Florida. Graham grew up near Charlotte, North Carolina,

February 21, 2018

Florida History·Uncategorized

Route 66’s Visit to St. Pete’s Tierra Verde

ST. PETERSBURG – From moonshots to Miami Vice, television helped create, promote and define modern Florida. In some rare and elegant instances, that programming survives as a documentary of the earlier time and

September 28, 2017

Florida History·Uncategorized

History: First Broadcast & History of Miami’s WTVJ

MIAMI WTVJ was the first television station in Miami; it was started by Wometco Enterprises, the theater and entertainment company of the Wolfson family. The station, first a CBS at 4, went

June 18, 2016

Florida History

Larry Vita, Houseboat Innovator of Ft. Lauderdale

SURFSIDE – If you’ve watched enough television, living on a boat and solving crimes is one of the possibilities of life in seafaring states like California and Florida. From Rockford to Crockett

June 17, 2016

Florida History

The Fat Spy: Phyllis Diller in Cape Coral

CAPE CORAL – So many movies have been filmed in Florida. One oddball comedy is The Fat Spy, a comedy starring Phylis Diller. It not only functioned as a movie but a

February 29, 2016

Florida History

Correct Craft, Boating to the Glory of God

ORLANDO – Florida has many great boatbuilders and a strong marine industry, both in services and manufacturing. One of the most historic is Correct Craft, maker of Centurion towboats, Bass Cat, Yar-Craft

February 27, 2016

Florida History

History: Video of Ivan Tors Miami Studio

NORTH MIAMI – Florida’s motion picture history is more than Universal and Disney. One of the early pioneers was Ivan Tors, best known for Flipper In the 19760s, a number of series

January 23, 2016

Florida History