By Gary McKechnie I have a fascination with aviation history, especially the initial years of Wilbur and Orville Wright and Glen Hammond Curtiss. It amazes me how rapidly aviation changed. In less than 50 years it went from wood, wire and canvas biplanes to jets that could break the sound barrier…
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The cultural and spiritual landmark, shipped from Spain and reconstructed in Florida, takes visitors back 12 centuries. By Steve Winston Miami’s known for many things. But 12th-century monasteries are not one of them. Yet amid the urban bustle of North Miami Beach sits a piece of medieval…
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By Jon Wilson A museum with thousands of artifacts from many of our nation’s wars, a Civil War-era fort with surprises and a museum billed as unique in honoring all the sea services highlight south Florida’s military tourism sites. Punta Gorda - Military Heritage Museum At Punta Gorda’s Military…
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By Martin Merzer It’s an image that lingers in the American consciousness like a soft, warm dream: Oak-lined courthouse squares. Gazebos and band shells. One-chair barber shops. Vest-pocket cemeteries. The town café, gossip for breakfast and meatloaf for lunch. Old-time movie theaters, with one…
Read MoreBy Gary McKechnie You’d think that Stewart Paquette had a passion for tractors all of his life. But you’d be wrong. After decades of running a paving company in Leesburg, Fla., and in New Hampshire, he was winding down his career when he realized he finally had time to reflect on what helped build…
Read MoreForts, museums and a sky full of stealth fliers secure northwest Florida’s rank in military history. By Chelle Koster Walton I could feel trembling in my chest as the first cluster of sleek F/A-18 Hornets took to the air. The roar vibrated the stands, and my very bones, as the Blue Angels went…
Read MoreBy Sandra Ketcham Some historians believe the artsy, seaside city of New Smyrna Beach is the original St. Augustine, the Spanish-colonized town in Northeast Florida known as the nation‘s oldest city. While claims that New Smyrna predates St. Augustine delight or frustrate history buffs, depending…
Read MoreBy VISIT FLORIDA staff Inside the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce is an unassuming, glass-topped display case, containing just a small sampling from the hundreds of letters received here since Special Operation Forces killed Osama bin Laden during Operation Neptune Spear. "I am truly…
Read MoreThe Mala Compra Plantation once was home to Joseph Hernandez, who helped select Tallahassee as the state capital. By Amy Wimmer Schwarb Palm Coast – When Flagler County purchased an old waterfront fish camp 20-plus years ago, it had big plans for the site. The eyesore property, with its…
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By Terry Tomalin After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the number of military installations in Florida increased tenfold. Even before statehood, the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy had of strong presence in this natural jumping-off point to the Caribbean and South America, but when World War II broke…
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