Stiltsville is a group of wood stilt houses located one mile south of Cape Florida, on sand banks of the Safety Valve on the edge of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The structures stand on wood or reinforced concrete pilings, generally ten feet above the shallow water, which varies from one to three feet deep at low tide. Most sources claim the first stilt shack was built in the early 1930s, but some Dade County historians say that there were a dozen shacks in “the flats” as early as 1922. Today there seven houses remaining. Stiltsville’s frontier era ended with Hurricane Betsy in 1965. Beginning in August 1965, the state of Florida required building owners to pay $100 annually to lease their quarter-acre circular “campsites.” No permits for new construction were issued, and structures that sustained more than 50-percent damage could not be rebuilt. Building codes were implemented and the state banned commercial operations after 1969. read more…
Ponte Vedra Beach is an unincorporatedseaside community in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located eighteen miles (29 km) southeast of downtown Jacksonville and 26 miles (42 km) north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jacksonville Beaches area. The area is known for its resorts including the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, the Lodge and Club, and the Marriott at Sawgrass. It also lies within St. Johns County, which is the wealthiest county in Florida. Ponte Vedra Beach is an upper-income tourist resort area best known for its association with golf and is home to the PGA Tour and The Players. read more…
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, also known as “The Guitar Hotel”, is a casino resort near Hollywood, Florida, United States, located on 100 acres (40 ha) of the Hollywood Reservation of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The property currently has one hotel tower, a 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m²) casino, large poker room, a 4 acres (1.6 ha) lagoon-style pool facility with a center bar and many private cabanas, restaurants, shops, spa, bars and nightclubs, and the Hard Rock Event Center. A large expansion project has been completed, with new facilities open since October 2019. read more…
Pompano Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just to the north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The city’s population is at 112,000. Located 35 miles north of Miami, it is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to an estimated 6.2 million people. Pompano Beach is currently in the middle of a redevelopment process to revitalize its beachfront and historic downtown. The city has also been listed as one of the top real estate markets, being featured in CNN, Money and the Wall Street Journal as one of the country’s top vacation home markets. Pompano Beach Airpark, located within the city, is the home of the Goodyear BlimpSpirit of Innovation. read more…
Bal Harbour is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population is at 3,000. Since the 1920s, the Detroit-based Miami Beach Heights Corporation – headed by industrialists Robert C. Graham, Walter O. Briggs, and Carl G. Fisher – owned 245 acres (0.99 km²) of undeveloped, partially swampy land that stretched from the bay to the Atlantic. Mr. Graham assumed the duties as the developer for Bal Harbour. In the 1930s, city planners Harland Bartholomew & Associates were called in to design the Village. The company made several plans, and they were submitted to the Miami Beach Heights for review. read more…
Stock Island is a census-designated place (CDP) & Unincorporated community on an island of the same name in the Florida Keys in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The population of the CDP was 4,410 at the 2000 census. It is located on the portion of the island south of US 1. It is supposedly named for the herds of livestock formerly kept there. Alternatively, some local historians suggest that it may be named for an early settler. Due to the quiet peripheral location compared to the tourist hustle and bustle on and in Key West, it is now an insider tip and because of its relative naturalness called the “real Key West”. read more…
