State Archives of Florida

07/27/2026

Fort Lauderdale, ca. 1963: This clip from “The Wonderful Story of Milk” takes viewers behind the scenes at the “new beautiful” McArthur Ice Cream Plant in Broward County.

It opens at the J.N. McArthur exit sign on Florida’s Turnpike, then shows children sharing an ice cream float before cutting to the factory. Inside, polished machinery and a smooth conveyor belt turn out cups and cartons full of perfectly creamy frozen dessert– all set to an equally saccharine soundtrack of light orchestral music.

McArthur Jersey Farm Dairy (later McArthur Dairy) was founded in Miami in 1929 by James Neville McArthur (1892-1972). McArthur’s adoption of modern dairy farming and processing techniques helped make Florida the largest milk-producing state in the Southeast.

July is National Ice Cream Month. Head to Florida Memory to watch the newly digitized “Wonderful Story of Milk” and see how South Florida churned out cold treats in the 1960s. ✴️

🎞️State Archives of Florida, Video CA059.

07/22/2026

Tallahassee, ca. 2004: “Vector airbrush” rendering of Harry the Heron, a fixture on State Library and Archives of Florida ephemera until 2019.

The digital illustration shows a long-necked coastal bird keying through the pages of a book that extends into physical space from a CRT screen– itself perched atop a stack of books on an estuarine shore.

Combining transitional interface realism with the visual language of Florida’s coast, the concept originated in a pair of 2002 paintings by department employee John Boynton, developed during a meeting with then-State Librarian Judi Ring and her management team. The watercolor and acrylic studies were later handed off to the Florida Center for Interactive Media, whose digital renderings appeared on library cards, brochures, letterhead, slideshows and other department materials.

Stylistically, Harry recalls the 1990s–early 2000s “vector airbrush” aesthetic, with its simplistic reduction of scalable forms, distinct digital gradients and smooth, screen-native look (thanks to Evan Collins from the Consumer Aesthetic Research Institute for helping us name this style). Shifts in monitor technology and the visual culture of digital access eventually led to Harry’s retirement, where he now resides peacefully on a cloud server.

Take a cue from Harry and visit Florida Memory for digital access to books, maps, photos, videos and the latest educational content from the State Library and Archives of Florida. ✴️

🔗FloridaMemory.com

07/21/2026

Tallahassee, 1996: A Downtown Market Tallahassee FL plant vendor eats a piece of fruit at Ponce de Leon Park in the Park Avenue Historic District.

The Art Deco lettering and porthole-lined facade of Club Park Avenue (previously Stonehenge bar and TPD headquarters, now Savour restaurant) are visible behind the vendor’s folding tent.

July is National Park and Recreation Month. Explore more historical photos of The Chain of Parks, Downtown Tallahassee’s oldest continuous green space, on Florida Memory. ✴️

📷Tallahassee Downtown Improvement collection. State Archives of Florida, Image TDI332.





Visit Tallahassee Tallahassee Downtown

07/20/2026

Kissimmee, 1985: The futuristic Xanadu House tourist attraction, built near Orlando in 1983, shortly after the opening of Disney’s EPCOT theme park.

Constructed of polyurethane-foam insulation poured over an inflatable balloon, this flagship Xanadu structure was the second of several built in the United States to showcase what was then touted as “the house of the future.” It is considered one of the first “smart homes” due to its early use of computer automation for meal planning, cooking, bath scheduling, shopping, climate control and other innovative microprocessor-controlled functions.

Bob Masters was responsible for creating the Xanadu House concept. Architect Roy Mason designed the structure in Kissimmee.

The Kissimmee attraction, which was not intended for long-term structural reliability, closed in 1996 and was demolished in 2005.

Discover more photos of Florida’s lost prototypical concept architecture on Florida Memory. ✴️

📷Department of Commerce collection. State Archives of Florida, Images C821275 & C821308.

07/17/2026

Images of Florida, 1945 - 1973: The Sunshine State through the lens of world-renowned Sarasota photographer Joseph Janney Steinmetz.

Discover more photography from the Steinmetz collection on Florida Memory. ✴️

1. Ringling Circus performers at the winter quarters in Sarasota, ca. 1960. (JJS1990)

2. Seminole family selling patchwork clothing by Lake Okeechobee near Brighton Reservation, 1948. (JJS0297)

3. Queen Anne-style Southernmost House at 1400 Duval St. in Key West, 1940s. (JJS0940)

4. Artist Syd Solomon showing a print in front of the Sarasota Art Association building, 1950s. (JJS0531)

5. People receiving free copies of the Evening Independent on a rainy day in St. Petersburg, 1947. The paper was famous for its ‘Sunshine Offer,’ which offered free copies of the paper any day the sun didn’t shine on the ‘Sunshine City.’ The paper was given away only 296 times over a 76-year period. (JJS0177)

6. Lazaros Coffee Shop in Tarpon Springs, 1947. (JJS0221)

7. Seminole mother in a dugout canoe with her two sons, on a canal along the Tamiami Trail, somewhere near the Big Cypress Reservation, January 1951. (JJS0191)

8. Photographer Joseph Steinmetz performing a magic trick aboard the “Lazy Bones,” ca. 1947. Joe was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, specializing in sleight of hand.
Shown during a shanty boat cruise from Ft. Myers to Clewiston between December 28, 1947 and January 6, 1948.
(JJS0507)

9. Holiday Lodge building in Midcentury Modern-style with folded-plate awning, mural and stonework, Longboat Key, ca. 1973. (JJS0462)

10. Beachcomber Realty building, ca. 1960. (JJS0393)

11. Sunshine Skyway Bridge, ca. 1960. (JJS1629)

12. Workers pouring foundation for a house under construction at the new planned community of Venice East near Sarasota, 1961. (JJS1682)

13. View of Castillo de San Marcos from the Bennett Coffee Shop in St. Augustine, ca. 1945. (JJS0356)

14. Dominican Republic ambassador Jose A. Bonilla Atiles speaking with men in the courtyard at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, 1965. (JJS0339) The Ringling

07/16/2026

Weeki Wachee Springs, circa 1964: The “Mad Tea Party” scene in an underwater mermaid performance of “Alice in Waterland” at the roadside attraction in Hernando County, now a Florida State Park.

The pictured cast members include Vera Huckaby as the White Rabbit, DeDe Parmer as the Mad Hatter (wearing a fiberglass and rubber costume created by prop designer Skimp Cumber) and Terry Hamlet as Alice.

Explore more lively photography featuring performances by the Weeki Wachee Mermaids at the State Archives of Florida. ✴️

📷Bruce Mozert photographic collection. State Archives of Florida, Image MOZ00665.

07/15/2026

Laguna Beach, 1954: St. Regis Court motel, along what was then U.S. Highway 98, west end of Panama City Beach. The palms surrounding the classic midcentury Florida motel sway in the Gulf breeze.

Postcards from the era boasted “modern efficiency cottages, apartments and rooms with or without air-conditioning. On the world’s most beautiful beaches.”

If it were still standing, and you had to choose–with or without A/C?

(For context: U.S. 98 used to run right along the beach. By the 1970s, it had been moved inland. This stretch is now Front Beach Road.)

Explore more photos of 20th-century coastal motels at the State Archives of Florida. ✴️

📷Department of Commerce collection. State Archives of Florida, Image DC004253.

07/14/2026

07/14/2026

Madison Blue Spring, circa 1990: A young boy standing on a limestone ledge peers out at a group of scuba divers in the spring basin.

Once privately owned, Madison Blue Spring became a Florida State Park in 2002.

As one of Florida’s 33 first-magnitude springs, Madison Blue discharges at least 2,800 liters of water per second into its karst bowl, feeding a 150-foot spring-run stream that flows into the Withlacoochee River. The park protects significant karst features including limestone outcroppings, aquatic caves, spring vents and a complex of sinkholes.

About 30 feet below the surface, a large opening marks the entrance to one of the state’s longest underwater cave systems. Over 26,000 feet of passages have been mapped by certified cave divers.

Explore more historical images of Madison Blue Spring State Park on Florida Memory. ✴️

📷Department of Commerce collection. State Archives of Florida, Images COM05898 & COM05893.

Florida State Parks Florida Department of Environmental Protection

07/14/2026

The R.A. Gray Building in downtown Tallahassee was closed Friday after a fire forced employees to evacuate Thursday.