Fort Lauderdale Celebrates 100 Years as a Beach Resort

  • March 7, 2011
Fort Lauderdale Celebrates 100 Years as a Beach Resort
To commemorate Fort Lauderdale's Centennial, the City of Fort Lauderdale has arranged a weekend of upcoming events starting on Saturday, March 26 with the Centennial BeachFest extending from Las Olas Boulevard to The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, which will take place from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. offering free music, street performers, and fireworks at midnight. The big commemorative event takes place on Sunday, March 27, 100 years to the date when Fort Lauderdale was made a city. The free, family-friendly event will have live entertainment on the Riverwalk from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Since its inception in 1911, Fort Lauderdale has grown 75 percent, making it the fastest growing city in the state. Known initially as a small, sleepy village, the City of Fort Lauderdale experienced a real estate boom in the 1920s. The beach was recognized as a tourism asset, Las Olas Isla was dredged, Port Everglades opened and development continued. Then, Fort Lauderdale weathered the Depression, war and hurricanes and floods through the next few decades. In the 1960s, when the known comedy film “Where the Boys Are” premiered, stars and starlets along with 50,000+ young fans came to check out this destination where the film took place. Meanwhile, oceanfront condos were built, and marinas opened.

In the 80s, more than 300,000 young people were invading Fort Lauderdale -- America's first Spring Break destination-- annually. Over the next decades, more upscale hotels, luxury shops and high-end eateries opened and Fort Lauderdale, as part of Greater Fort Lauderdale, transformed from Spring Break to posh beach chic, attracting more than 10 million annual visitors from around the globe year-round. Today, visitors come to enjoy the wide range of accommodations, the limitless dining options, shopping and the activities offered by a vast and vibrant waterways culture. For more information about the Bicentennial events, visit https://www.sunny.org/centennial/ .