Diners gazing out the large picture windows at the rear of the the Grasslands Clubhouse would be forgiven if they can’t imagine the manicured golf course in front of them and lakeside houses off to the right were once the site of a phosphate plant and a small mining community called San Gully.
The community was built just over a century ago by the Lakeland Phosphate Co., and its residents mined the land until 1945 under a succession of owners. More
LALtoday takes a look at six congregations in greater Lakeland that have been around for more than a century and the evolution of the buildings where they’ve worshipped. A seventh is a new congregation that raises song in a historic building.
The Lakelandist goes audio, looking into the origins of the Lakeland Christmas Parade in its first podcast.
A tile mural created for a Publix store in Fort Lauderdale has been re-created by artist Tim Pitzen, right, and unveiled today at a former Publix store that now houses the Lakeland office of the Polk County Tax Collector. Standing alongside the artist is Gregory Fancelli, who spearheaded the project.
The original creamic-tile mural, titled “The Goddess,” was created during the 1960s by John Garth and was destroyed when the store was demolished during the 1980s. More
Lakeland got a shoutout of sorts when a Florida history author explained why Walt Disney was chosen the second-most-influential person in the state’s history. “Without his influence, we believe that Orlando would look a lot more like Lakeland does — which is a perfectly nice place; we like Lakeland,” freelance journalist Laura Mize said. “But it doesn’t have, you know, world influences; it’s not a place that people come to from all over the world.” More
Photographer David Dickey Jr. had an opportunity today to tour “The Compound,” a sprawling and decaying residence at Frank Lloyd Wright Way and Jefferson Avenue that’s been bought by Florida Southern College, which plans to demolish it. Scroll down to check his photos. More
Crews today demolished the false front on the building overlooking Lake Mirror that will become the Catapult 2.0 small business incubator. The facade, added more than a quarter century after the structure was built in 1924, will be replaced with a dramatic steel-and-glass entryway. Next steps in the renovation project will be interior work to replace the concrete floors, according to Steve Scruggs, president of the Lakeland Economic Development Council, Catapult’s parent organization.
The people working to preserve two tile mosaic murals that were whitewashed at the former Searstown have gotten permission to move them. Now they’re asking for input on two possible locations: the Polk Museum of Art or the Polk Tax Collector’s Office. More
As Lakeland Chamber of Commerce leaders pursue plans to develop a business resource center, they’re floating an idea: Instead of moving into a new facility, why not double the size of the 1926 building they’ve used for 51 years? More
The effort to restore two large mosaic murals at the former Searstown shopping center got a boost Monday when a representative of the plaza’s owners said he supports the project. More
