Florida Living

From museums to beaches, parks to small towns, Florida hosts many unique spots throughout the 67 counties. Florida Living explores these locales.

Palm Cottage—Naples's Testament to Historic Preservation

Historic Palm Cottage in Naples was built in 1895 by Kentuckian Walter N. Haldeman, then owner and publisher of The Louisville Courier Journal. Haldeman at one time owned the Naples Pier, the Naples Hotel, a schooner and 10,000 acres of land in what would become Collier County. Haldeman is considered the founder of Naples, having arrived in 1885 when lots sold for a mere $10 each.

City of Falling Angels

Travelers through the back country roads of Pasco County look up into the clear Florida sky and see... a duck? a blimp? a guy in tights and a red cape?...Most likely it's none of these, but rather an adventurous patron of Skydive City in Zephyrhills.

Crowns of the County—Sarasota's Surrounding Gems

While Sarasota is proud of its rich history, its surrounding communities possess their own great heritage—steeped in opulent architecture, noble ventures and pioneering spirits.

Longboat Key was incorporated as a city in 1955, but by then a striving village had been in place for years. The first permanent white settler on the key was Thomas Mann, a farmer who had left Bradenton to escape a yellow fever epidemic.

Isolated from the mainland, the island depended on boat contact for further development. Tampa businessman, John Savarese, began a regular shipping route between Sarasota and Tampa. The steamer made regular stops on Longboat Key at the Longbeach pier, on the north end of the island, and Corey’s pier on the southern end. By the mid-1910s, Longbeach had homes, a hotel and a bathhouse. However, the settlement near Corey’s pier was destroyed by the 1921 hurricane.

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