Timeline of Broward County
See Greater Fort Lauderdale transform before your eyes, from the breakout success of Where the Boys Are in the 60s and the peak of Spring Break in the 80s to the luxury hotels, booming downtown district and diverse community of the new millennium.
Alligator Wrestling, Dania Beach
1956 Chevy Bel Air, Spring Break on Fort Lauderdale Beach
Dania Jai Alai
World's famous Elbo Room packs in the crowds.
Filmed locally in Fort Lauderdale and premieres in December at the Gateway Theatre.
50,000 college students invade local beaches in the "Spring Break" phenomenon.
Marilyn Monroe visits the Yankee Clipper Hotel.
The Mai-Kai Mystery Girl serves Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show."
Broward International Airport is renamed Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame aquatic complex replaces the Fort Lauderdale Casino Pool.
The Pier Sixty-Six Hotel's 66-spire tower is built.
The Queen Elizabeth comes to Port Everglades as a tourist attraction.
Holiday Park becomes a center of tennis activity, attracting the state's best players including a young Chris Evert.
I-95 is completed and the population influx shifts west.
Sawgrass Recreational Park becomes a one-boat airboat attraction.
Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is added to the historical registry.
The Water Taxi arrives in Fort Lauderdale.
The Galleria Fort Lauderdale Mall opens to the public adjacent from the beach.
The Winterfest Boat Parade begins in Fort Lauderdale, gaining national television recognition.
350,000 Spring Breakers invade Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale's famous Beach Wave Wall is constructed on A1A.
Fort Lauderdale's Museum of Art moves to a new building at Las Olas Boulevard and Andrews Avenue.
Sawgrass Mills opens in Sunrise, eventually becoming the largest single-story outlet mall in the U.S.
First section of Riverwalk completed
Butterfly Garden and Tram Station at Flamingo Gardens
The Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center opens.
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts opens with The Phantom of the Opera.
Coral Springs Aquatic Center Opens
Hollywood Arts & Culture Center in downtown Hollywood.
Spirit Airlines becomes a "hometown airline," moving to FLL.
The Florida Panthers move to Broward County.
Miramar Cultural Center breaks ground, created to celebrate local creativity and diversity.
The African-American Research Library & Cultural Center opens as one of the only three of its kind in the nation.
Goodyear Blimps "Spirit of Innovation" takes its first flight in Pompano Beach.
Newly renovated Broward Mall becomes "Westfield Mall."
Central Broward Regional Park and Central Broward Stadium opens in Lauderhill, drawing international cricket fans.
Broadwalk becomes part of Florida East Coast Greenway, which is part of the national East Coast Greenway, an urban trail network that extends from Key West to Maine.
National Car Rental Center becomes the BB&T Center in Sunrise.
Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort breaks ground on the Hollywood Broadwalk.
The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show celebrates its 62nd anniversary, Oct 27-31.
The South Runway at FLL opens, paving the way for more domestic and international carriers such as Emirates Airlines.
Broward County celebrates 100.
John U. Lloyd State Park is renamed for civil rights activists, becoming "Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park."
The very first Riptide Music Festival comes to Fort Lauderdale beach, now a Broward County Signature event.
The first FATVillage Artwalk takes place in Flagler Village.
The nearly twelve-acre Young Circle in the heart of downtown Hollywood has been transformed into a regional, interactive ArtsPark where all Broward County residents and visitors may partake in arts and cultural activities day and night.
World AIDS Museum & Educational Center opens first AIDS museum in the world in Wilton Manors.
Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach hosts the first running of the Pegasus World Cup.
Sistrunk Boulevard undergoes a revitalization period.
The EMMY award-winning "Greater Together" campaign launches.
The Brightline/Virgin Train opens to the public.
The Guitar Hotel opens at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.
The Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center Expansion begins.
The Diplomat Beach Resort completes a $100 million renovation.