Fort Lauderdale is the county seat of Broward County, 28 miles (45 km) north of MiamiMiami, with a population of 180,000. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to an estimated 6,2 million people. Today, Fort Lauderdale is a major yachting center, one of the nation’s largest tourist destinations, and the center of a metropolitan division with 1.8 million people. Since the 1990s, Fort Lauderdale has increasingly become a location that caters to those seeking the resort lifestyle seasonally or year-round and is often a host city to many professional venues, concerts, and art shows. As is true of many parts of Florida, the city’s population has a strong seasonal variation, as snowbirds from the northern United States, Canada, and Europe spend the winter and early spring in Florida. The city is known for its beaches, bars, and nightclubs.
Fort Lauderdale’s economy has diversified over time. From the 1940s through the 1980s, the city was known as a spring break destination for college students. However, the college crowd has since dwindled, with the city now attracting wealthier tourists. Cruise ships (Port Everglades) and nautical recreation provide the basis for much of the revenue raised by tourism. There is a convention center located west of the beach and southeast of downtown, with 600,000 square feet (55,742 m2) of space, including a 200,000-square-foot (18,581 m2) main exhibit hall. Approximately 30% of the city’s 10 million annual visitors attend conventions at the center.
Fort Lauderdale’s arts and entertainment district, otherwise known as the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District (home to cultural attractions, shops, parks and restaurants), runs east-west along Las Olas Boulevard, from the beach to the heart of downtown. The district is anchored in the West by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, and runs through the city to the intersection of Las Olas and A1A. This intersection is the “ground zero” of Fort Lauderdale Beach, and is the site of the Elbo Room bar featured in the 1960 film Where the Boys Are, which led in large measure to the city’s former reputation as a spring break mecca. Other attraction in this part of the city are Museum of Discovery and Science with its AutoNation 3D IMAX Theater, Florida Grand Opera, Fort Lauderdale Historical Center, Stranahan House and the Museum of Art. The city and its suburbs host over 4,100 restaurants and over 120 nightclubs, many of them in the arts and entertainment district. The city is also the setting for the 1986 movie Flight of the Navigator, and host of Langerado, an annual music festival. In 2013, the county welcomed about 1.3 million LGBT travelers who spent about $1.5 billion in area restaurants, hotels, attractions and shops, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Fort Lauderdale is a major manufacturing and maintenance center for yachts. The boating industry is responsible for over 109,000 jobs in the county. With its many canals, and proximity to the Bahamas and Caribbean, it is also a popular yachting vacation stop, and home port for 42,000 boats, and approximately 100 marinas and boatyards. Additionally, the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, one of the world’s largest boat shows, brings over 125,000 people to the city each year.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame is located on Fort Lauderdale beach, and houses a large aquatic complex as well as a museum, theater, and research library. Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is a 180-acre (0.73 km2) park along the beach, with nature trails, camping and picnicking areas, canoeing, and features the Terramar Visitor Center, with exhibits about the ecosystem of the park. Hugh Taylor Birch came to Florida in 1893. He purchased ocean-front property for about a dollar per acre, he eventually owned a 3.5-mile stretch of beachfront. Bonnet House‘s modern history began when Birch gave the Bonnet House property as a wedding gift to his daughter Helen and her husband, Chicago artist Frederic Clay Bartlett in 1919. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic places in 1984 and declared a historic landmark by the City of Fort Lauderdale in 2002. The Florida Everglades is one of the most popular sites of interest among visitors to Fort Lauderdale. There are numerous services available to bring visitors from Fort Lauderdale Beach to the Everglades.
Las Olas Boulevard is a popular thoroughfare in downtown Fort Lauderdale that runs from Andrews Avenue in the Central Business District to A1A and Fort Lauderdale Beach. The boulevard is a popular attraction for locals and visitors, being ideally situated close to Fort Lauderdale beach, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades. It is considered to be South Florida’s most architecturally unique, authentic, and eclectic shopping and dining district. In addition to its museums, beaches, and nightlife, Fort Lauderdale is home to the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop, a large indoor/outdoor flea market and the site of the world’s largest drive-in movie theater, with 13 screens.
