The Florida History Podcast

The Sawgrass Expressway exists today but it's merely a fragment of what was originally planned. This is a story of condo commando power, FAU student activism, knocking on from the University of Miami-related activism we talked about in the previous podcast (Sawgrass Expressway was a replacement for the "University Expressway which was to run from UM to Northwest Broward and then connect toward FAU via the "Deerfield EXpressway). It's a story of neighborhood rebellions, a poorly managed expressway project and the activism of some legends in the condo world.

Ever wonder why power lines are in certain places in south Florida. Easy answer...the surface road the run along was meant to be an expressway. Why did all these super highways never get built? Community opposition and an environmental awakening.

We discuss that this week on the podcast.

The 50-year struggle (ongoing) to protect the spring and horse country against expressway building in North Central Florida is discussed this week.

We discuss the sprawl created by the extension of I-75 beyond Hillsborough County. The road created major sprawl in Southwest Florida leading to the rapid development of gated and exclusive communities in the area that helped tilt Florida toward the GOP.

It also created a new western suburban corporate culture in Broward County that shifted jobs away from the core city areas of Fort Lauderdale and Miami toward I-75.

The road replaced Alligator Alley across Big Cypress and the Everglades erasing what was an environmental blight and a death trap for Florida Panthers and other animals and created a virtual 70-mile causeway that helped restore proper water flows in the ecosystem.

We discuss I-10's avoidance of the southside of Tallahassee as an early and rare win for black political power in Florida during the 1950's, 60's and early 70's. We also talk about how the move of I-10 north has in time created more problems for Tallahassee. Additionally, we discuss the building of I-110 through Pensacola and how it decimated that black community.

We discuss the ripping apart of urban neighborhoods in Central Florida by I-4, I-275, I-175, and SR 408.

Miami's Overtown neighborhood was the "Harlem of the South" and the most prosperous black area in the southeast United States. Then came I-95 and I-395.

We also discuss the partial-destruction of the Sistrunk area of Fort Lauderdale thanks to I-95.

We discuss the destruction of several historically important black neighborhoods in Jacksonville due to the building of I-10 and I-95.

Starting Tuesday March 24 we will begin a new series on Interstate Highways through Florida and how they impacted historic African-American neighborhoods.

We also congratulate Florida and Miami for making the NCAA Tournament again but more importantly pay tribute to USF and UCF for making it this season which is rare for both schools! Cheer for the Florida schools in March Madness!

Acclaimed journalist and historian Eliot Kleinberg has spent over a third of a century chronicling Florida and Florida History. His critically-acclaimed books about the state include his book about the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane which was written in 2003. He spent 33 years at the Palm Beach Post and now has launched a new series of historical novels about prohibition era South Florida. His works can all be found at the link below:

https://www.ekfla.com/