The History Of Fort Lauderdale High School
If you are going to be looking at homes in the Fort Lauderdale area, you are going to want to know about the schools here in town. The first school opened here was Fort Lauderdale High School. On October 2, 1899, this first school would open in what was then Dade County. Ivy Cromartie (later to become Ivy Stranahan) welcomed nine students into a wood-framed schoolhouse located on South Andrews Avenue, south of the New River.
By 1901, there were 18 students enrolled at Fort Lauderdale with only 997 enrolled in all of Dade County. It was also during 1902 that the School Board began offering transportation to students who needed to attend school; each day, students would climb aboard wagons for the ride.
By 1910, Fort Lauderdale’s population had grown enough to require the building of a new school so, the old two-room schoolhouse was moved slightly northward to make room. The “modern” two-story concrete school was constructed for a total cost of $7,000.
The first graduating class in 1915 and was comprised of just five boys. In 1916, the school had the unique distinction in that all nine of its teachers had college degrees. In 1923, Fort Lauderdale established its first Honor Society. Some 40 years later, Fort Lauderdale High School opened at its present location on NE Fourth Avenue.
The past few years have seen tremendous changes to the FLHS campus, most notably the opening of a new three-story classroom building, a modern library, and a two-story cafeteria. Read more
Local Artists Find Affordable Fort Lauderdale Homes
Artspace is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create, foster and preserve, affordable housing for local artists. Artspace is able to succeed in their objectives by working to develop affordable live/work space in communities across the Country.
Recently Artspace opened a new space providing housing for local artisans here in the Fort Lauderdale real estate market. Thanks to Artspace in association with Lennar Corp, many artists can call Fort Lauderdale home.
Artspace supports the continued professional growth of artists and enhances the cultural and economic vitality of the surrounding community.
Finding and retaining affordable live/work space is an age-old problem for artists, painters, sculptors, dancers, and others who require an abundance of well-lit space in which to work. Many artists gravitate to old warehouses and other industrial buildings, but their very presence in an industrial neighborhood often acts as a catalyst, setting in motion a process of gentrification that drives rents up and forces the artists out.
Here in Fort Lauderdale, the local market has not had an abundance of the types of properties suitable for an Artspace environment. It has also been quite costly to live here as well.
Why Does Artspace Work To Provide Affordable Housing For Struggling Artists?
As the nation’s leading nonprofit real estate developer for the arts, Artspace has had the relative experience to lead the organization to the following conclusions: Artspace’s experience in facilitating space development for artists has led us to the following conclusions:
- Aesthetically pleasing spaces create a safe working environment that helps artists grow professionally and achieve financial stability.
- Live/work projects help increase pedestrian traffic in urban areas, while streetscapes take on a new, lively character. Read more
Why We Call Fort Lauderdale Home
When you wake up every day in a place that is like living in paradise you can forget how lucky you are to live here. Being involved in the Fort Lauderdale real estate market I get to meet so many people and I get to see so many things on a daily basis. Today I wondered, if someone asked me, what would I say is the reason I call Fort Lauderdale home.
No I’m not going Euell Gibbons on you or anything and I’m not hugging any trees, but when you can be in a 45 story office building in a big business meeting in one instance and literally just minutes later be on a boat navigating through a mangrove, or enjoying watching dolphins swim by while you’re having lunch, or watch a sea turtle being born…you know you’re living in a real special place and you definitely have many reasons to call Fort Lauderdale home.
Foreclosures With The Stars
Although it sounds like it would make for a pretty good reality television show, the problem with the premise is that it’s actually ..well…too real. Well many people have adored celebrities. People beome obsessed with celebrity and want to know what celebrities are wearing, where are they eating, what are they wearing, who are they dating, even who has been arrested.
So in an effort to have the Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Blog be a little like the “Smoking Gun” crossed with TMZ, I bring you today, “Celebrity Foreclosures”.
The clubhouse of foreclosure is not an exclusive one. No all access passes needed here. Foreclosures are’nt just for middle or urban America. Foreclosures have gone Hollywood!
“Celebrities just like normal American citizens can be living paycheck to paycheck too and can get in over their head,” said RealtyTrac Inc. Vice President of Marketing Rick Sharga. Read more
Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Foreclosure Expert Offers Free Consultations
I just heard about a foreclosure support group that was featured on CNN. It’s Called “Moving Forward”. Moving Forward is a non-profit peer-based support group for distressed homeowners whose goal is to goal is to help homeowners cope with the stresses created by the foreclosure process, and to educate homeowners of available options when navigating through the foreclosure process.
What is really interesting about Moving Forward is that it was created by was created by homeowners who are losing their house to foreclosure for other homeowners in very similar situations.
Each month, Moving Forward hosts meetings for the entire group wherein guest speakers, who are industry professionals, make presentations and hold prominent discussions on real estate, tax liability, short sales, personal finance, bankruptcy, and how to avoid foreclosure scams.
After hearing about this group I realized that it is an absolute shame that groups like these across the Country are not formed and spearheaded by real estate agents. After all, if we use the National Association of Realtors own statistics, nearly 90% of those in foreclosure had their homes sold to them by Realtors. Where are the agents who are lending a hand to help these distressed homeowners?
I am not by any means blaming ALL Realtors for the state of the housing industry but let’s be realistic. Read more
See Jerry Seinfeld Live In Concert!
Jerry Seinfeld is live in South Florida this evening. Seinfeld brings his comedy stand up routine to the The Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason in South Beach, for one night only, tonight July 26, 2008.
Jerry Seinfeld brought his humor about everyday situations to the ever-popular sitcom “Seinfeld,” which ran from 1990-1998 and still holds cult status through syndication. You loved Jerry Seinfeld in “Seinfeld,” and true fans must see Jerry Seinfeld perform LIVE.
According to Tickets Now, the online premium ticketing service, Seinfeld’s show has been rated a 4.5 out of 5 by those attending. You can read some of the reviews here.
The most successful and influential comedian of his generation, Jerry Seinfeld’s brilliant observational riffs on the minutiae of everyday life formed the basis of the television classic Seinfeld, the quintessential sitcom of the 1990s and one of the most beloved series in the history of the medium. Born April 29, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York and raised in nearby Massapequa, he began his comedy career the very night he graduated from Queens College; struggling throughout his early years, Seinfeld often performed for free in order to hone his skills, working by day in a variety of odd jobs which included selling light bulbs over the phone and hawking fake jewelry on the streets. His breakthrough arrived when he was tapped to serve as master of ceremonies at the famed New York City club the Comic Strip, and soon he was also regularly performing on the west coast. Read more
Lobster Mini Season In The Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Market
Florida Lobster Mini Season begins and ends next weekend. Delicious Florida lobsters are a tasty treat that are available to divers within the short yet hugely popular 2 day mini season.
The lobster mini-season gives divers a 2 day sneak into the water to grab lobster within the legal limits before the commercial boats go set traps and start their fishing a week later.
Here in the Fort Lauderdale real estate market and throughout South Florida and the Florida Keys, this area is known as a hot bed of lobster mini-season activity for divers in shallow water. The natural and artificial reefs found off of the coast of Fort Lauderdale are home to these lobsters.
The lobster mini-season can also be very hectic as many boaters are anxious to get out on the water and only do so this time of year. Their boats may not be maintained and their boating / diving skills may not be up to par. For this reason it is best to be defensive minded and have safe outing.
The Mini-lobster, also known as the spiny lobster will have to endure the mini sport season which this year will fall on July 30th and 31st. Read more
Hot Bods, Big Name Fashion Designers, Celebrities, The Beach, What Else Do You Need
Did you miss it? Many fashionistas here in South Florida are just recovering from this past weekend’s celebrity fashion show blow out. Yes, the parties went on ALL night, ALL weekend.
Our trendy, chic, neighbors to the south turned up the heat this week with a dazzling display of hot bodies, big name designers and red-carpet celebrities at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim.
If South Florida needed any extra sizzle this past weekend it certainly turned up the heat with an invitation only bash that had many an eye popping and many a head turning. Beauty was everywhere. The only thing missing was Hugh Hefner himself.
The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim is presented annually in Miami Beach, Florida, at The Raleigh Hotel. Known worldwide as “South Beach”, SoBe is located just 40 minutes south of the Fort Lauderdale real estate market. This was the fourth year of the event and it did not lack in star power whatsoever.
The MB Swim event coincides with the swimwear industry’s largest trade show, the invitation only event provides a runway platform for designers’ swimwear and resort collections with exposure to national and international media, style setters and fashionistas. Fashion, beauty, supermodels and celebrities come together in South Beach to celebrate the sexiest swimwear designs in the world.
Ever Wonder What Those Flags Mean On The Lifeguard Stands On Fort Lauderdale Beach?
Don’t worry if you don’t, you’re not alone. Many tourists and locals alike could use a refesher course on beach safety. We get to live here in paradise in the Fort Lauderdale real estate area but living in paradise has its price and its responsibilities.While the ocean is beautiful and a day at the beach is one of the most enjoyable activities here in the Fort Lauderdale real estate area, a good day can come to a tragic ending in a hurry if you are not prepared.
Fort Lauderdale Beach has some of the best lifeguards and safety personnel anywhere. They routinely win awards for their unparalelled level of service and commitment to safety.
Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue supervises three miles of continuous public beach. In the lifeguard-supervised areas of Fort Lauderdale Beach, drowning is very rare. There has not been a drowning in a supervised beach area in over 20 years. Most water-related fatalities occur in unsupervised waters distant from lifeguard towers.
Accident prevention is the key to your safety. That leads me to today’s question. Do you know what those colored flags mean? Well if you don’t , this could be some very useful advice. This information is so important that it could save your life. Here is what the colors mean: Read more
Free Things To Do In The Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Market
If you’re looking for something to do with the kids that is both educational and entertaining, try the Museum Of Art located Downtown in Fort Lauderdale. All summer long admission to all of the exhibits is free for kids under 5. Children older than that are still admitted free but they need to have a valid library card.
That should be no big deal as the library card is free as well and if your children don’t have a library card then now you have the makings of a great outing for you and your children. Of course you can apply online but that’s no fun.
Head over to the Fort Lauderdale library on Andrews and then it’s a block or two walk to the Museum of Art. Wow..what a day for the kids. When they visit the library they will be astounded by the size of the library and the volumes of books available for just about any interest your child may have.
With books in tow it’s off to the MOA to see some classic works ranging from:
Unbroken Ties: Dialogues in Cuban Art
Unbroken Ties, as the title suggests, focuses on the survival and perpetuity of Cuban values and the Cuban character beyond the island. The thesis is put forward by way of pointed comparisons and contrasts between works of art created by immigrants and works by nationals. Read more