Tales of Old Florida: Long Key Nature Center
Once upon a time, long ago in Old Florida, there was a man named Robert Hoyt.
Mr. Hoyt was a horticulturalist in Clearwater. He was also an organizing member of the Florida State Horticultural Society. That might seem dull to you, but I assure you that reading about the Wild Wild West of Horticulture in 1880s Florida is far from dull.* But I digress. Mr. Hoyt, in true Florida fashion, went on a trip to India and brought back with him two Bombax ceiba seedlings. Of the two, one survived, and he planted it across from his orange grove. Over time, the tree grew massive and became a curiosity that tourists visited in the 1940s.
In the 1950's, a tourist from Maryland named Richard B. Baumgardner visited Clearwater with his family. Seeing how popular the tree was, he decided to purchase the land it was on (and the orchard) to build a 'destination restaurant' called The Kapok Tree Inn. It was as ostentatious, opulent, and gaudy as a restaurant-tourist trap in Old Florida could ever be. In other words, it was glorious. Don't believe me? Just google 'Kapok Tree Inn'. The Kapok Tree Inn was so heavily visited and popular, that in the 70s the restaurant expanded to other locations in the state.
One of these locations was a site in Davie, Florida. This sister site was an expansive location, built on land that was formerly known as Long Key, one island in a chain of seven in the area surrounded by Everglade marshes. This area of Florida was populated by the Tequestas, then later the Seminoles. In the 1900's the site was many things- a citrus grove, dairy farm, Old West theme park complete with railroad, and ultimately the Kapok Tree Inn.
For many years the restaurant served as a fancy (and ultra gaudy) site that hosted weddings, birthdays, and all manner of specials events. But in true Florida fashion, when Baumgardener died in the 80s the family began a long, ugly fight over the chain. The end result was that all the restaurants were shuttered by 1991.
It would take 20 years for the site in Davie to become Long Key Nature Center.
Completed in 2008, the park is 157 acres and one of the largest natural areas managed by Broward County. It has walking trails for pedestrians and equestrians, a visitor's center complete with a scale model of the site, a rental facility for events, a butterfly garden, an exhibit hall with an activity area for kids, and more banana spiders than you can shake a stick at. That the park exists in the midst of developed Broward is a miracle when you consider that land to build on in South Florida is a highly-prized commodity. It is a great place to see native waterfowl, insects, and animals. If you want to be in a natural environment big enough to forget you are in an urban area but don't want to drive into Dade county to visit Everglades National Park, this is the place to visit.
If you go:
Hours of Operation: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Admission: Free
Address: 3501 S.W. 130th Ave. Davie, FL 33330
Website: http://www.broward.org/Parks/Pages/Park.aspx?=22
*Likely deserving of its own post.
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