Everything about Lakeland Florida totally explained
Lakeland is a
city in
Polk County, Florida,
United States, located approximately midway between
Tampa and
Orlando along
Interstate 4. According to the
2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 89,108.
Lakeland's
sister cities are;
Richmond Hill in
Canada,
Imabari in
Japan, and
Bălţi in
Moldova.
History
Lakeland was first settled in the 1870s and began to develop as the
rail lines reached the area in 1884. It was incorporated
1 January 1885. The town was founded by
Abraham Munn (a resident of
Louisville, Kentucky), who purchased 80 acres of land in what is now downtown Lakeland in 1882 and
platted the land for the town in 1884. Among the names considered (and rejected) for the town by its residents were Munnville, Red Bug and Rome City.
The Florida boom resulted in the construction of many significant structures in Lakeland, a number of which are today listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. This list includes the Terrace Hotel, New Florida Hotel (Regency Towers),
Polk Theatre,
Promenade of Lake Mirror,
Polk Museum of Art(not a product of the 20's boom), Park Trammell Building (formerly the Lakeland Public Library and today the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce), and others. The city also has several historic districts with many large buildings built during the
1920s and
1940s. The
Cleveland Indians held spring training here from 1923 to 1927 at
Henley Field Ball Park. Many new parks have been privately funded surrounding Lake Mirror. They are the Barnett Children's Park, Hollis Gardens, and the newest, Allen Kryger Park.
The "boom" period went "bust" quickly, and years passed before the city recovered. Part of the re-emergence was due to the arrival of the
Detroit Tigers in 1934 for spring training. (The team continues to train at Lakeland's
Joker Marchant Stadium and owns the city's Florida State League team, the
Lakeland Flying Tigers.) The development of the Lakeland Municipal Airport as a major facility in central Florida transportation was another factor. The 1930’s also featured the arrival of renowned architect
Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1938 he came to Lakeland at the request of
Florida Southern College President Ludd Spivey to design a "great education temple in Florida." For 20 years Wright worked on his "true American campus" creation. In his original master plan he called for 18 buildings (and several other structures), 9 of which were completed and nine left on the drawing board. All of the buildings were built out of what Wright called his "textile block system," the first use of such a system in Florida. He called his project "A Child of the Sun," so named from the architect’s own description of being "out of the ground, into the light, a child of the sun." It is the largest one-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world, and in many ways helped to form a pattern for many colleges in Florida and other areas of the country in the future years.
During
World War II, Lakeland made an important contribution which directly contributed to the defeat of Hitler. Hundreds of young British men were taught to fly at Lakeland's Lodwick airfield by volunteer flight instructors, a collection of barnstormers and independent pilots. These British airmen enjoyed the hospitality of Lakeland during their training, then returned home to fight the Battle of Britain. Their skills in shooting down German warplanes was crucial to Britain's survival. When America entered the war, the Army Air Corps relied on training fields like Lodwick to supply pilots for its fighters, bombers, and transport planes.
In 1990, Lakeland made its
Hollywood debut when the Southgate Shopping Center was featured in the hit movie
Edward Scissorhands, starring
Johnny Depp and
Winona Ryder.
It is also mentioned near the end of the
Sublime song "
April 29, 1992 (Miami)" when lead singer
Bradley Nowell lists the cities burning across the
United States.
Lakeland made national headlines on
28 September 2006 when
Polk County Sheriff's Deputy Vernon "Matt" Williams and his K-9 partner, Diogi, were shot and killed after a routine traffic stop in the Kathleen area of the town. The incident sparked outrage among the central Florida law enforcement community. More than five-hundred law officials came together in search of
Angilo Freeland, the suspect wanted in connection with the murder. The next morning Freeland was found hiding under a fallen tree. 9 SWAT Team members fired 110 shots at Freeland, hitting him 68 times and killing him on the spot. "God will be his judge and jury now" said
Sheriff Grady Judd, adding "we ran out of bullets" on Oct 1, 2006 to the Orlando Sentinel. Deputy Williams and Diogi were laid to rest on
3 October 2006 after a funeral that included a one-hour and 45 minute procession to
Auburndale.
Lakeland is home to one of the first
Hindu temples in the United States.
Publix Super Markets is also headquartered here. The first
Red Lobster restaurant was opened here; however, the original restaurant has since closed.
Geography
Lakeland is located at (28.041248, -81.958978). Lakeland is 141 feet above sea level. According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . of it's land and of it (10.90%) is water.
In July 2006, Scott Lake, one of the city's lakes, was almost totally drained by a cluster of
sinkholes The lake later partially refilled.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 78,452 people, 33,509 households, and 20,373 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,711.3/mi² (660.8/km²). There were 38,980 housing units at an average density of 850.3/mi² (328.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.52%
White, 21.26%
African American, 0.28%
Native American, 1.34%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander, 1.76% from
other races, and 1.79% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 6.41% of the population.
There were 33,509 households out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.4% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,119, and the median income for a family was $40,468. Males had a median income of $32,137 versus $23,771 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $19,760. About 10.7% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
Lakeland has seen explosive growth. According to
The Tampa Tribune the population in 2020 is projected to be 115,000 residents.
Media
The local newspaper is
The Ledger, owned by
The New York Times.
The local radio stations are:
- WLKF 1430 AM
- WONN 1230 AM
- WWAB 1330 AM
- WPCV 97.5 FM
- WWRZ 98.3 FM
Education
High Schools
All Saints' Academy
George W. Jenkins High School
Kathleen High School
Lakeland High School
Lake Gibson High School
Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts
McKeel Academy of Technology
Santa Fe Catholic High School
PCC Collegiate High School
Lakeland Christian School
Victory Christian Academy
Sonrise Christian School
Colleges
Florida Southern College
Polk Community College
Southeastern University of the Assemblies of God
Other
University of South Florida currently shares a campus with PCC, but has started plans for a 15,000-student, four-year campus just outside incorporated Lakeland.
Sports
Attractions and points of interest
Historic districts and City Neighborhoods
Beacon Hill-Alta Vista Residential District
Biltmore-Cumberland Historic District
Dixieland Historic District
East Lake Morton Residential District
Lake Hunter Terrace Historic District
Munn Park Historic District
South Lake Morton Historic District
Buildings and locations
Central Avenue School
Cleveland Court School
John F. Cox Grammar School
Florida Southern College
Henley Field Ball Park
Joker Marchant Stadium
Lake Mirror Promenade
Lakeland Center
Lakeland Square Mall
Lakeside Village
Old Lakeland High School
James Henry Mills Medal of Honor Parkway
Oates Building
Polk Community College
Polk Museum of Art
Polk Theatre
Southeastern University of the Assemblies of God
University of South Florida, Lakeland campus
USA International Speedway
Winston School
Without Walls Central Church - a local/regional megachurch
Notable Lakelanders
Nat Adderley, legendary jazz cornetist and composer of jazz standard "Work Song".
Lindsey Alley, former Mouseketeer of the New Mickey Mouse Club and actress.
Wayne Anderson, NASCAR Nextel Cup driver
Andy Bean, PGA Tour golfer.
Lawton Chiles, now deceased former Senator and Governor of Florida.
Desmond Clark, NFL Player: Chicago Bears
Copeland, alternative/emo band
Denison Marrs, former emo/space rock band
Lance Davis, former Major League baseball player: Cincinnati Reds (born in Winter Haven, resided in Lakeland)
Matt Diaz, Major League baseball player: Atlanta Braves
Samantha Dorman, Playboy Playmate
Rhea Durham, Victoria's Secret model
Paul Edinger, former NFL player: Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears
Faith Evans, Singer.
Justin Forsett, University of California-Berkeley running back
Matt Grothe, Quarterback, South Florida Bulls football team, a Big East Conference program. A graduate of Lake Gibson High School.
Lee Janzen, PGA Tour golfer who has won the U.S. Open twice.
George W. Jenkins, founder of Publix Super Markets.
Neva Jane Langley, Miss America (1953)
Chris Elrod, Christian comedian and writer (External Link
)
Frances Langford, famous singer, actress, and radio star during the 1930s and 1940s.
Ray Lewis, NFL player: Baltimore Ravens. Super Bowl champion; 2-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year; Super Bowl MVP
Howard Marshall, Former NASA scientist, former Cypress Gardens ski performer, PCC Collegiate High School teacher.
Mike Marshall, Bluegrass musician and world renowned mandolinist.
Rocco Mediate, PGA Tour golfer.
Freddie Mitchell, Former NFL Player: Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs
R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Kara Monaco, Playboy Playmate
Joe Nemechek, NASCAR Nextel Cup driver.
John Nemechek. NASCAR Late brother of Joe Nemechek
Lance Niekro, Major League baseball player: San Francisco Giants
Joe Niekro, former Major League baseball player
Robert Phillips noted classical guitarist.
John Wesley "Boog" Powell, MLB player: Baltimore Orioles
Andrew Reynolds, Professional skateboarder
Forrest Sawyer, NBC reporter and anchor.
Rod Smart, Former NFL player; former XFL player "He Hate Me".
Britney Spears, American pop singer, lived here from 1998-1999 when her career started.
John Daniel "J. D." Sumner, American singer and songwriter.
Keydrick Vincent, NFL player: Baltimore Ravens
Lou Whitaker, former Major League baseball player: Detroit Tigers
Transportation
Lakeland Amtrak Station
Lakeland Linder Regional Airport
Citrus Connection local bus service
Sister Cities
Bălţi, Moldova
Imabari, Japan
Richmond Hill, CanadaFurther Information
Get more info on 'Lakeland Florida'.
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