Florida
FLA 1 2 3

[Prev] [Index] [Next]

../Images/florida-123.jpg


More Viewmaster Reels for Sale
Sample of Booklet OCR text

John Gorrie, of Apalachicola, inventor of mechanical refrigeration;

Marjorie Kinnar Rawlings, whose Pulitzer prize novel,"The Yearling"
dealt with the Florida backwoods; and Joseph W. "Vinegar Joe"
Stilwell, commander of the China-Burma-India Theater of War.

Highlights of History

After discovering Florida, Ponce de Leon landed two shiploads of
colonists at Charlotte Harbor in 1521, but constant clashes with the
Indians resulted in his death and the abandonment of the colony.

Tales of fabulous cities of gold (which were not to spring up until
the 20th century) lured other Spanish explorers. Hernando de Soto
landed in the Tampa area in 1539 to begin a four year march.

Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Captain General of the Spanish
treasure fleets, came to Florida in 1565 to found St. Augustine and a
line of posts from Tampa Bay to -Port Royal, South Carolina.

After the British captured Havana, Cuba, in 1763, Spain agreed to
trade Florida for the Cuban capital. But after the American Revolution, the British were squeezed in by the new United States and Spanish strongholds to the south. They ceded Florida to Spain from whom
the United States bought it in 1819 for $5 million.

With the creation of the Florida Territory in 1822 came Indian
trouble. The Seven-Year Seminole Wars ending in 1842 cost the lives
of 1,500 American soldiers but brought eventual peace paving the
way for statehood which was granted on March 3, 1845.

SCENES OF FLORIDA
View-Master Reel FLA-1

1. STATE CAPITOL AT TAU.AHASSEE

The site of Florida's capital was chosen midway between St. Augus-
tine on the Atlantic coast and Pensacola on the western border. When
the territorial legislation met for the first time in 1824, there was no
town, just a log cabin in a forest clearing. The original, central portion

of the statehouse was completed in 1845, the same year Florida was
admitted to the Union. This capitol has the distinction of being the
only Southern capitol that did not fall into Northern hands during the
War between the States.

2. FLORIDA BEAUTY AMID THE ORANGES

Florida is the home of the'orange. It produces over half the U. S.
supply — over a quarter of the world's supply! Besides its 90 million
boxes of oranges, the state produces 35 million boxes of grapefruit
5 million boxes of tangerines, and 350,000 boxes of limes. Winter
Haven and Orlando in central Florida are the centers of this great,
frost-free citrus district.

The Florida orange differs from the California orange in being
thinner-skinned, juicier, less acid, paler in color, and cheaper to produce since the groves, blessed by the state's ample rainfall, do not need
to be irrigated. Once the entire crop was shipped fresh, but now 30
million gallons of orange juice leave the state canned or frozen.

3. GETTING A WINTER TAN AT MIAMI BEACH

Across Biscayne Bay from Miami is the Manhattan of Florida's Gold
Coast, Miami Beach. This "sunsational" (Walter Winchell) winter
resort has erected 370 gigantic luxury hotels each with its own palmfringed swimming pool, dance pavilion, and shipping arcade.

Half a century ago, Miami Beach (1950 pop. 46,282) was a deso-
late sand bar cut off from the mainland, and surrounded by swampy
mangrove islands. Nevertheless, the sun shone 6 days out of 7, the
average year-round temperature was 75°, and the Gulf Stream curved
in closer here than anywhere else on the coast bringing warm waters
for swimming, cooling breezes for sleeping, and the big fish within
casting range of the beaches. No wonder this became the American
Riviera, the mecca for the great of show business, the favorite "lazing"
place to acquire the highly-prized winter tan!

4. WORLD'S LARGEST BOUGAINVILLEA — CYPRESS GARDENS

Four miles east of Winter Haven, in the citrus belt of central Florida,




is "America's Tropical Wonderland" — Cypress Gardens. Its flower-banked canals, lakes reflecting moss-hung cypress, models dressed in
the hoop-skirted fashions of the Old South, and acres of flaming
azaleas, camelias, and magnolias justify its title as "the finest outdoor
color studio in the world."

Cypress Gardens is the water skiing capital of the nation. Daily,
national champions put on daring exhibitions of jumping, backward,
tandem, and barefoot skiing over the blue waters.

5. SHUFFLEBOARD AT CLEARWATER

About half way down the Gulf coast of Florida a south-pointing
peninsula forms Tampa Bay. While St. Petersburg occupies the tip of
the peninsula, Clearwater, on its neck, looks out across the blue waters
of the Gulf of Mexico. The Elizabethan manors, Florentine villas, and
Spanish casas of the wealthy winter residents crowd the landscaped
bluffs. The more numerous tourists fill the Municipal Trailer-Car
Camp on Clearwater Island. Young and old indulge in shuffleboard.

6. SUNSHINE-SKYWAY BRIDGE—ST. PETERSBURG

The first road into this city was built by a Russian engineer who
named the site after St. Petersburg (now Leningrad), Russia. The
latest road is a 13-mile, $22 million system of bridges and causeways
that crosses Tampa Bay to the mainland.

On the tip of Pinellas peninsula, the "Sunshine City" (96,738) is
the fourth largest city in the state but second most important winter
resort. Its 28 miles of shell-strewn beach, million-dollar recreation
pier, sanitariums, and hundreds of hotels and apartments attract 500
million tourist dollars annually. Home building is the city's largest
industry as more and more visitors decide to become residents.

7. THE BAHIA MAR AT FORT LAUDEROALE

Halfway between Miami Beach and Palm Beach is the "Venice of
America" where rivers, canals and waterways are lined up and named
like streets — where, if your boat is out of commission, you visit by
water taxi. Over 140 miles of waterways interlace the city limits and