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Top Attractions in Polk County

Lakeland

Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located just outside of Tampa. According to the 2013 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 100,710. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 623,009 in July 2013 based on data from the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research. It is twinned with Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada; Imabari, Ehime, Japan; Balti, Moldova; Portmore, Jamaica; and Chongming County, Shanghai, China as part of the Sister Cities program. The area was home to Native American tribes. Lakeland was settled in the 1870s and expanded in the 1880s with the arrival of rail service. Lakeland is home to the 1,267 acre Circle B Bar Reserve.

Bartow

Bartow is the county seat of Polk County, Florida. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow the first brigade commander to die in combat during the American Civil War. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2000 Census, the city had a population of 15,340 and an estimated population of 16,959 in 2009. It is part of the Lakeland−Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 584,383 in 2009. As of 2012, the mayor of Bartow is Leo E. Longworth. Located near the source of the Peace River, Bartow is approximately 39 miles east of the Tampa Bay Area and 50 miles southwest of the Greater Orlando area. The city is near the center of "Lightning Alley" and has frequent afternoon thunderstorms in the summer, but typically has sunny and mild winters. Government, mining, and agriculture are the major sectors of the areas economy. The primary roads in the Bartow area are U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 98 and State Road 60 which provide access to locations throughout Central Florida. The official city nickname is the "City of Oaks and Azaleas", but informally it is often called "the Tow". Three districts within the city are on the National Register of Historical Places. Other historic landmarks include the Old Polk County Courthouse built in 1909 and Bartow High School, formerly Summerlin Institute, the oldest high school in the county. The current school within the school, Summerlin Academy, is named in honor of the former school name. Although Bartow has been eclipsed in population, importance and name recognition by other cities in the county, particularly Lakeland and Winter Haven, the city has retained its small city heritage and its distinctive Southern culture. With the annexation of 18,000 acres of former phosphate mining land owned by the Clear Springs Land Company, Bartows population is projected to increase to over 25,000 by 2015 and over 45,000 by 2030.

International Market World

International Market World is a very large flea market just west of Auburndale, Florida. This flea market is on the north side of U.S. Highway 92. Just to its southwest is the intersection of US 92 and Polk Parkway . International Market World is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the year. Its website posts hours of 8 AM to 4 PM. However, it is evident most vendor stalls are closed by 3:30 PM. Nevertheless, this flea market is the largest one in Polk County, Florida, and it is also one of the largest in central Florida. This flea market has a huge variety of vendors selling a huge variety of new and used items. A number of food concessions offer a variety of foods to eat. One large section is devoted to a number of produce vendors. International Market World offers some entertainment. At times musicians perform and there are sometimes alligator and other animal shows. The Florida State Championship Bluegrass and Clogging Festival is always held at the flea market the third weekend in March.

Fantasy of Flight

Fantasy of Flight is an aviation-related attraction in Polk City, Florida, USA that takes visitors back to the pioneering days of early flight, World War I, World War II and beyond. The attraction opened in November 1995, and houses the worlds largest private aircraft collection on display. It became the new home for much of owner Kermit Weeks collection of aircraft that were previously housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Tamiami, Florida and were damaged to varying degrees by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. On April 6, 2014, the attraction was closed to the public, though is still being maintained and is available for private events. On January 30, 2015, Fantasy of Flight opened a scaled-down museum attraction to display some of their aircraft to the public in the interim while the rest of the facility is upgraded and planned to reopen sometime between 2017 and 2020. Fantasy of Flight was the only attraction in the world to offer daily aerial demonstrations of aircraft in its collection. Most of Weeks aircraft are airworthy and may still be seen flying from one of the facilitys grass runways or its seaplane runway. In fact, Fantasy of Flight fields more airworthy aircraft than the air forces of Austria, Cuba, Denmark, Kuwait, Portugal or South Africa. Counting strictly fixed-wing aircraft, Fantasy of Flight fields more airworthy fixed-wing aircraft than either the Royal Navy or the Indian Navy.

Child of the Sun

Child of the Sun, also known as the Florida Southern College Architectural District is a group of buildings designed for the campus of the Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, USA, by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright from 1941 through 1958. The buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and together form one of the largest collections of buildings by the architect. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on March 2, 2012. On April 18, 2012, the AIAs Florida Chapter ranked it eighth on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places. Annie Pfeiffer Chapel first completed Frank Lloyd Wright structure on the campus, dedicated 1941 Seminars completed 1941 Buckner Building completed 1946 Watson/Fine Building completed 1949 Water Dome partially completed 1949, completed and restored in 2007 to Wrights original plans Danforth Chapel completed 1955 Ordway Building completed 1952 Polk County Science Building completed 1958 The Esplanades various completion times, currently undergoing restoration around the campus

Chalet Suzanne

Chalet Suzanne is a historic site in Lake Wales, Florida. It is located at 3800 Chalet Suzanne Drive. On July 24, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Originally envisioned as a magnificent residential resort appealing to people who enjoyed golf and tennis, the Carleton Club was a vision of cheese baron James L. Kraft and Carl and Bertha Hinshaw. Kraft soon bowed out of the enterprise. When Carl Hinshaw died in 1931, Bertha Hinshaw opened her home as a restaurant and inn to travelers, serving exotic recipes on fine china that she had gathered around the world. Among those who visited and helped to publicize the restaurant and inn was Duncan Hines. In 1943 the Chalet was largely destroyed by fire. Hinshaw quickly rebuilt it using salvaged parts from the horse stables, a game room, servants’ quarters and a chicken house. This unusual design, consisting of 14 different levels, is still in use today. The Chalet has been featured in many publications, among them The New Yorker, Vogue, Life, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, National Geographic, Forbes and Time magazines. Bertha Louise Hinshaw died in 1973 at the age of 90; the Chalet continues under the ownership and management of the Hinshaw family. On July 10, 2014, it was announced that with the retirement of the Hinshaw family, the Chalet would close on or about August 4. The business and property are up for sale as a result.

Dixie Walesbilt Hotel

The Dixie Walesbilt Hotel is a historic hotel in Lake Wales, Florida, United States located at 5 Park Avenue West and/or 115 North 1st Street. The Walesbilt Hotel was renamed the Hotel Grand by the New York owner Victor Khubani during the 1980s. The structure was built in 1926 after a stock-sale campaign in the local business community. It opened on January 14, 1927, two years before Edward Bok's famous Bok Tower was completed nearby. Original owners included then Governor Martin of Florida and silent screen star Thomas Meighan along with a consortium of other actors/actress' including Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson and Clara Bow as well as famous Hollywood attorney Nathan Burkan and Hollywood Producer Victor Heerman. The interior of the building was even more ornate than the exterior. It featured shopping arcades, Italian-made ceilings and column capitals, a drinking fountain by Ernest A. Batchelder, Georgia Pink and Vermont Verde antique marble floors by Georgia Marble Company, a wrought iron balustrade, and a central mezzanine. Construction is of steel-reinforced poured concrete in post-and-beam method, without bearing walls. The building suffered only superficial damage during the hurricanes of 2004. On August 31, 1990 the hotel was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. In 1995 it was sold at auction and closed. The interior was partially dismantled for reconstruction, which was never completed. In February 2010, a redevelopment agreement was proposed between the City of Lake Wales and a private sector developer to return the hotel to its original finishes and repurpose the building as residential units and 19,500 square feet of commercial space.

Florida Polytechnic University

Florida Polytechnic University is a public university in Lakeland, Florida, United States. Created as an independent university in 2012, it is the newest of the twelve institutions in the State University System of Florida. It is the state's only public polytechnic university, and focuses heavily on STEM education. The institution originated as a branch campus of the University of South Florida, University of South Florida Lakeland, which opened in 1988. The State of Florida authorized a new campus in 2008, and renamed the school University of South Florida Polytechnic. In 2012, the Florida Legislature initiated plans to dissolve the USF branch campus and reform the Lakeland institution into an independent school. Florida Poly opened for classes on August 25, 2014 with an inaugural class of 554 students. The university submitted its initial application for regional accreditation in December 2014. In March 2016, the Florida Poly administration announced that the university would not meet its original accreditation deadline of December 31, 2016. A budget bill sent to the office of Gov. Rick Scott would extend the school’s accreditation deadline until December 2017. Florida Poly resides on a 170-acre campus designed by architect Santiago Calatrava. The university's Innovation, Science and Technology Building is home to a supercomputer, 3-D printing lab, cyber gaming and media lab, cyber security lab, robotics lab, big data lab, and digital library. Florida Poly is the first university whose main library is completely digital.

Lake Wales City Hall

The Lake Wales City Hall is a historic site in Lake Wales, Florida. It is located at 152 East Central Avenue. On August 31, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. In 2007, Polk Community College began a $3.6 million renovation of the historic structure, converting it into a modern academic center. When complete in 2009 the building will be outfitted with a 50-seat Student Success Center, one 30-seat computer classroom, four 30-seat general classrooms and a 30-seat classroom/community room, which could be used as a meeting room for local civic groups. The center will initially serve 125 students. At the groundbreaking on May 14, 2007, PCC President Eileen Holden announced that the new 16,000-square-foot facility will be called the JD Alexander Center after State Senator Alexander, who was instrumental in securing Public Education Capital Outlay monies that will fund the renovation of the historic building. PCC plans to partner with the Lake Wales Charter High School to create a “Bridge to College” program and with the Lake Wales Literacy Coalition. The Mediterranean Revival style building opened in 1927. It served as the Lake Wales City Hall until 1998 when offices moved to a new administrative building. A new section was added to the building in 1970, which included a fire station. The old City Hall suffered severe water and wind damage from the 2004 hurricanes. The fire station addition received the most damage. The following year, State Senator J D Alexander was instrumental in securing funds that paved the way for the City to donate the historic building to PCC for use as an academic center. PCC officials have said the remodeling of the building’s exterior (windows, roof and brick work) will honor the architectural history to the greatest extent possible. During the final days of 2007, demolition of the interior and exterior of the building was completed. PCC has rented a store across from the Alexander Center. During 2008 it will serve as both a construction office and a welcome center. It will be staffed during normal weekday hours, so residents can visit and receive information about PCC classes and registration.
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