Scenes from the View-Master packet Florida-East (A 958) from the State Tour Series.
Featuring:
Packet cover
Booklet cover
From the 16-page booklet:
LAND OF FLOWERS
Juan Ponce de Leon, Spanish governor of Puerto Rico, landed north of present-day St. Augustine, April 3, 1513, claimed the new land for the King of Spin, and named it La Florida (Land of Flowers). Seeking gold and a legendary fountain containing an elixir of everlasting youth, he found neither one. But the Florida of today is both prosperous and youthful. It is the nation’s subtropical playground, drawing 20 million visitors each year; it is making great strides in agriculture and industry; and, since the establishment of John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Kennedy, it has become man’s threshold of space.
It is a state of endless variety: swamps, fishing villages, cattle ranches, industrial plants, luxurious hotels, popular tourist attractions, orange groves, and long, white beaches. Its history has been just as varied. In 1565 the Spanish founded St. Augustine, first permanent European settlement in what became the United States. England gained control of Florida in 1763, but lost it back to Spain in 1783. In 1821 the United States took it over from Spain as payment of a $5-million war debt, and it became a state in 1845.
Since World II, Florida has boomed in both population and wealth, and even greater gains seem to lie ahead.
A FEW FACTS AND FIGURES. Tourism is Florida’s leading industry, providing up to $4 billion annually. Florida produces nearly 75% of the nation’s oranges, almost all of its frozen orange juice, and nearly 90% of its grapefruit. Surprisingly, the growing livestock industry is beginning to edge out citrus crops as a source of income, with vegetables not far behind in total value.
GEORAPHICALLY SPEAKING. Florida is the southernmost state except for Hawaii; its northern border is farther south than the California-Mexican border. It ranks 22nd in area among the states (58,560 square miles), yet has a 1,350-mile coastline, second only to Alaska’s. It is a flat peninsula, ranging in elevation from sea level to 345 feet.
THE HUMAN SIDE. Florida is growing in population twice as fast as the rest of the United States. In two decades it moved from 27th rank among the states to 9th (an estimated 6 million). It has been said that the northern half of the state is inhabited by Southerners; the southern half, by transplanted Northerners. Original Floridians are called Crackers, descendants of pioneer farmers in the northern uplands; or Conchs (pronounced Conks), coastal and key dwellers, who like a seafood diet with a “squizzle of lime juice” on it.
05 Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach
From the 16-page booklet:
DAYTONA BEACH
As this view from the top of Daytona Beach’s Observation Tower shows, the beach is still open to cars—but now they are held to a sedate 10 miles per hour. The racing is done at the Daytona International Speedway, a 2 1/2-mile oval track in the city proper, where some of the world’s greatest speed events are held each year.
A feature of what Daytonans call “The World’s Most Famous Beach” is the Broadwalk, almost as long as Atlantic City’s Boardwalk but spelled slightly different. In the distance is the Main Street Fishing Pier.
06 Lake Eola at Dusk, Orlando
Lake Eola at Dusk, Orlando
From the 16-page booklet:
ORLANDO AT NIGHT
Leaving the ocean for awhile, we travel southwestward to Orlando, Florida’s largest inland city (pop. 105,900). At dusk, the lights of downtown Orlando and Centennial Fountain are mirrored in lovely Lake Eola—one of 54 lakes within the limits of the scenic city.
Orlando is the hub of the Florida citrus belt; one of its chief products is frozen orange juice. It is the seat of Orange County, fifth fastest-growing area in the nation. Sixteen miles from Orlando, on a 43-square-mile tract, the $600-million Walt Disney World, which will be larger than California’s Disneyland, is nearing completion.
12 Breakers Hotel, Palm Beach
Breakers Hotel, Palm Beach
From the 16-page booklet:
BREAKERS HOTEL, PALM BEACH
On an island between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth lies Palm Beach, a city which for three-quarters of a century has been synonymous with beauty, style, and wealth.
Its story began in 1893, when it was an undeveloped island decked with palm trees that had sprouted from a cargo of coconuts washed ashore from the wreck of a Spanish bark. Henry Flagler, one of the great developers of Florida during the early boom days, laid out the city. Soon Palm Beach had become the winter version of Newport for America’s richest families. Across the lake lies West Palm Beach, a “suburb” that is now 10 times larger than its neighbor city.
Lake Okeechobee
Sugar cane and more than 30 varieties of high quality vegetables are grown in south central Florida, the region surrounding Lake Okeechobee. Belle Glade, largest city of the area, is called “Winter Vegetable Capital of the World.” Lake Okeechobee, 730 square miles in area, is the second largest fresh-water body wholly within the U.S.
13 Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale
From the 16-page booklet:
FORT LAUDERDALE
A boat is almost as handy—and indispensable—as a car for getting around in Fort Lauderdale, the “Venice of America.” It is a city of neat, attractive islands laced by 165 miles of inland waterways—rivers, canals, inlets, and bays. Its Bahia-Mar Yacht Basin is one of the largest in the world. Three million tourists visit the city each year, and it is the New York Yankees’ training spot.
21 Southernmost House, Key West
Southernmost House, Key West
From the 16-page booklet:
SOUTHERNMOST HOUSE, KEY WEST
A sunny, leisurely place with a flavor all its own is Key West, the southernmost city in the United States outside of Hawaii. The conversation you hear may be Spanish, or the cockney-like “Conch Talk” of the fishermen of English descent. Taste the unusual foods—the green turtle soup, turtle steaks, and key lime pie. Take a scenic ride in the Conch Train or in the Sea Horse, an amphibious vehicle. Visit the home of the late Ernest Hemingway, or the Audubon House, where John James Audubon, the artist-naturalist, lived and painted in the 1830’s. Go to the south end of Duval Street, where stands this house (the old Harris home), known as the southernmost house in the Continental United States. Or—just take it easy in the sun.
Perhaps, in the relaxed setting of Key West, Ponce de Leon would have found the secret of how not to grow old.
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