Florida
The Sunshine State
Olrando
The City Beautiful, O-Team, Theme Park Capital of the World
Olrando is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Orange County. Located in Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released in July 2017. These figures make it the 23rd-largest metropolitan area in the United States, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the third-largest metropolitan area in Florida. As of 2015, Orlando had an estimated city-proper population of 280,257, making it the 73rd-largest city in the United States, the fourth-largest city in Florida, and the state’s largest inland city.
The City of Orlando is nicknamed “The City Beautiful,” and its symbol is the Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain, commonly referred to as simply the “Lake Eola fountain” at Lake Eola Park. Orlando is also known as “The Theme Park Capital of the World” and in 2018 its tourist attractions and events drew more than 75 million visitors. The Orlando International Airport (MCO or OIA) is the thirteenth-busiest airport in the United States and the 29th-busiest in the world.
The Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando, formerly Universal Studios Escape or simply ”Universal“, is an American theme park and entertainment resort complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operated by Universal Parks & Resorts. It is wholly owned by NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast. Universal Orlando is the second-largest resort in Greater Orlando, after the Walt Disney World resort, covering 541 acres of land. Universal Orlando consists of two theme parks (Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure), a water park (Volcano Bay), a night-time entertainment complex (Universal CityWalk Orlando), six Loews Hotels (Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Cabana SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, near Orlando, Florida. It is owned Bay Beach Resort, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, Universal’s The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt DisAventura Hotel), and an upcoming park, Epic Universe. All and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. ney World and Disney World, is an entertainment of the hotel resorts offer Early Park Admission into The Wiz- When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, arding World of Harry Potter and Universal’s Volcano Bay. and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts in the United States, near the cities Orlando and KisAdditionally, the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Ho- Orlando, an entertainment complex consisting of simmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is tel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort offer free unlimited Uni- the three parks and many hotels. In 2018, SeaWorld owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences versal Express Pass for use at participating rides at Universal Orlando hosted an estimated 4.594 million guests, and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Comranking it the 10th most visited amusement park Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. pany. It was first operated by Walt Disney World in the United States. SeaWorld Orlando opened on Company. The property, which covers nearly 25,000 December 15, 1973 as the third of the chain and acres (39 sq mi; 101 km2), of which only half has just 2 years after Walt Disney World Resort’s Magic been used, comprises four theme parks (consisting of Kingdom. This made Central Florida a multi-park Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, vacation destination. SeaWorld was sold in 1976 to and Disney’s Animal Kingdom), two water parks, 27 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich then to Anheuser-Busch, themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several owners of Busch Gardens, in 1989. golf courses, a camping resort, and other entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs.
Miami
Magic City, The Gateway to the Americas, Capital of Latin America
Miami is a major center and leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. The metro area is by far the largest urMiami, officially the City of Miami, is an American city that is the seat of Miban economy in Florida and the 12th largest in the United States, with a GDP of ami-Dade County, and is the cultural, economic and financial center of South Florida. The city covers an area of about 56 square miles (150 km2) between the $344.9 billion as of 2017. In 2018, Miami was classified as an Alpha level global city Everglades to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east. Miami is the sixth most dense- by the GaWC. In 2019, Miami ranked seventh in the United States and 31st among global cities in terms of business activity, human capital, information exchange, ly populated major city in the United States with an estimated 2018 population cultural experience, and political engagement. According to a 2018 UBS study of of 470,914. The Miami metropolitan area is home to 6.1 million people, the second-most populous in the southeastern United States and the seventh-largest in the 77 world cities, the city was ranked as the third-richest in the United States and the nation. The city has the third tallest skyline in the U.S. with over 300 high-rises, 55 eighth-richest in the world in terms of purchasing power. Miami is nicknamed the “Capital of Latin America� and is the largest city with a Cuban-American plurality. of which exceed 490 ft (149 m).
The Miami Tower is a 47-story, landmark office skyscraper in Miami, Florida, United States. It is located in central Downtown. It is currently the 8th tallest building in Miami and Florida. On April 18, 2012, the AIA’s Florida Chapter placed it on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places as the Bank of America Tower. Built for CenTrust Bank in 1987, the 47-story building ranks in the top ten tallest skyscrapers in Miami and in Florida at a height of 625 feet (191 m) and is known for its elaborate night-time illuminations and its dramatic three glass tiers.
The Arsht Center is a performing arts center and is located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The Center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building constructed in 1929, pre-dating the Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive. It was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1997 as Sears, Roebuck and Company Department Store. However, by 2001, the only surviving part of the original structure was the seven-story tower designed by Sears as its store’s grand entrance. The department store space itself had been demolished and developers decided to preserve the tower and incorporate it into the new performing arts center. It has been adaptively restored as a bookstore-café called the Café at Books & Books.
The American Airlines Arena (AAA) is a sports and entertainment arena located in Downtown Miami, Florida along Biscayne Bay. It was constructed beginning in 1998 as a replacement for the Miami Arena and designed by the architecture firms Arquitectonica and 360 Architecture. The Arena is home to the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association.
Virginia Key is an 863-acre (3.49 km2) barrier island in Miami, Florida, United States in Biscayne Bay, south of Brickell and north of Key Biscayne. It is accessible from the mainland via the Rickenbacker Causeway. The island is mainly occupied by the Virginia Key Beach Park, Miami Seaquarium, Miami-Dade’s Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Other facilities include the former Miami Marine Stadium, the National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center, and an office of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Jacksonville
“Jax”, “The River City”, “J-ville”, “The Bold New City of the South”, “Duval”
Jacksonville is centered on the banks of the St. Johns River in the First Coast region Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida, the most populous city in the of northeast Florida, about 25 miles (40 km) south of the Georgia state line and 328 miles (528 km) north of Miami. The area was originally inhabited by the Timucua southeastern United States and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated people, and in 1564 was the site of the French colony of Fort Caroline, one of the in 1968. Consolidation gave Jacksonville its great size and placed most of its met- earliest European settlements in what is now the continental United States. A platropolitan population within the city limits. As of 2018, Jacksonville’s population ted town was established there in 1822, a year after the United States gained Florida was estimated to be 903,889. The Jacksonville metropolitan area has a population of from Spain; it was named after Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida Territory and seventh President of the United States. 1,523,615 and is the fourth largest in Florida.
The Dames Point Bridge (officially the Memorial Park is a 5.85-acre (23,700 Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge) is a m2) public park, located on the St. cable-stayed bridge over the St. Johns RivJohns River in Riverside, one of the er in Jacksonville, Florida on the Interstate most historic neighborhoods near 295 East Beltway. Construction began in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. It is 1985 and was completed in 1989. The main the third-oldest park in the city, and span is 1,300 feet (396.2 m), and is 175 feet was listed on the National Register of (53.3 m) high. The bridge was designed by Historic Places in 2017. Memorial Park HNTB Corporation and RS&H, Inc. The is situated on the north bank of the St. Johns River, bounded by Riverside AvThe Florida Theatre is a historic Ameri- Massman Construction Company built the enue. Shortly after World War I ended, can movie theater located in Jacksonville, bridge. The bridge’s cables are arranged on Florida. Opened in April 1927, it was multiple vertical planes in a slight modifica- Hemming Park is a 1.54-acre (6,200 m2) the Rotary Club of Jacksonville sugadded to the U.S. National Register of tion to the harp (parallel) stay arrangement. public park, located in the heart of the gov- gested building a park in honor of the Historic Places on November 4, 1982. On Main span cables are paired to anchor into ernment center in downtown Jacksonville, 1,200 Floridians who died in the conApril 18, 2012, the AIA’s Florida Chapter the tower in a vertical plane while side span Florida. Originally a village green, it was flict, and the following year, the City the first and is the oldest park in the city. acquired the land. The park project was placed the building on its list of Florida cables pair up to anchor in a horizontal Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places. The plane such that four cables anchor in each The area was established as a public square embraced by Jacksonville residents, theatre is one of only four remaining tower at approximately the same elevation. in 1857 by Isaiah Hart, founder of Jackson- and 31 civic groups were involved in high-style movie palaces built in Florida Until the 2003 completion of the Sidney ville. After Hart’s death in 1861 and the end raising money and planning. The Olduring the Mediterranean Revival ar- Lanier Bridge in Brunswick, Georgia the of the Civil War, the Hart family deeded the msted Brothers were commissioned to chitectural boom of the 1920s (the other Dames Point Bridge was the only bridge in land to the city for $10. It was first known design the park. The firm also laid out three being the Saenger Theatre in Pen- the United States to feature the harp stay as “City Park”, then “St. James Park” after the Biltmore Estate, several National sacola, the Polk Theatre in Lakeland and arrangement. It remains one of the largest the grand St. James Hotel was construct- Parks and numerous college campuses. cable-stayed bridges in the United States, ed across the street in 1869. The following They worked with local architect, Roy the Tampa Theatre in Tampa). with 21 miles (34 km) of cable. A. Benjamin. year, another major hotel was built across from the park.
Tourism makes up one of the largest sectors of the state economy, with nearly 1.4 million people employed in the tourism industry in 2016 (a record for the state, surpassing the 1.2 million employment from 2015). In 2015, Florida broke the 100-million visitor mark for the first time in state history by hosting a record 105 million visitors. The state has set tourism records for eight consecutive years, most recently breaking the 120-million visitor mark for the first time in 2018 with 126.1 million visitors reported. Many beach towns are popular tourist destinations, particularly during winter and spring break. Twenty-three million tourists visited Florida beaches in 2000, spending $22 billion. The public has a right to beach access under the public trust doctrine, but some areas have access effectively blocked by private owners for a long distance. Amusement parks, especially in the Greater Orlando area, make up a significant portion of tourism. The Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited vacation resort in the world with over 50 million annual visitors, consisting of four theme parks, 27 themed resort hotels, 9 non–Disney hotels, two water parks, four golf courses and other recreational venues. Other major theme parks in the area include Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa. Today, Walt Disney World is the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an average annual attendance of over 52 million. Florida’s many state parks and protected areas receive a lot of visitors as well with 25.2 million visitors visiting Florida State Parks in 2013