Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a historical maritime city, has a marine industry that has grown from its small and humble beginnings into the “Yachting Capital of the World.” Fort Lauderdale is a natural haven for yachtsman the world over, and the marine industry in Fort Lauderdale is growing. The maritime industry has an annual economic impact of $11 billion on Broward County's economy, according to the Marine Industries Association of South Florida.

In Florida, maritime law enforcement officers of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, sheriff's deputies of the various counties, and any other authorized enforcement officer, have the authority to enforce boating safety laws, and to inspect any maritime vessel in accordance with state law.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the county seat of Broward County, is centrally located between Miami and Palm Beach in southeastern Florida. This coastal city is nicknamed the "Venice of America" because of its expansive, scenic inland waterways, including the New River, the Intracoastal Waterway and a large number of canals.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida was incorporated as a city in 1911. Fort Lauderdale had been a small village until the Florida East Coast Railway reached southward to Fort Lauderdale. With a semi-tropical climate, rich natural beauty and ocean breezes, Fort Lauderdale had a strictly tourism-based economy for many years. Today, while tourism continues to flourish, the city has a diverse economic base including marine, manufacturing, finance, insurance, real estate, high technology, and avionics / aerospace industries.

Downtown Fort Lauderdale consists of permanent residents, seasonal residents, visitors, employees and students of Broward Community College, Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. The downtown area also contains Broward County government offices. The Riverwalk area is Fort Lauderdale's cultural and historic district featuring the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Museum of Discovery and Science, Museum of Art and the Old Fort Lauderdale Village and Museum. Las Olas Boulevard is famous for fashion, fine dining and entertainment.
In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Fort Lauderdale, Florida had 166,751 residents. Fort Lauderdale city had 71,000 occupied housing units with an average household size of 2.3 residents. Families made up 48 percent of the households in Fort Lauderdale.

Fort Lauderdale attracts all types of boaters, with 165 miles of navigable waterways, seven miles of glistening beaches, lots of sunshine and soft ocean breezes. The Intracoastal Waterway is lined with marinas, waterfront restaurants and nightspots. Fort Lauderdale has three marine facilities: New River/Downtown Docking in the City of Fort Lauderdale's Riverwalk area; Las Olas Docks on the Intracoastal Waterway; and Cooley's Landing next to the arts and science district and Esplanade Park.

The world's largest in-water boat show, Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, is also held annually in Fort Lauderdale. The show features boats, yachts, super yachts, engines and numerous boating accessories from marine manufacturers and boat builders worldwide. Fort Lauderdale is a major manufacturing and maintenance center for yachts.

Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport are the major providers of non-roadway transportation in Fort Lauderdale. Port Everglades is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world. It is also among the most active cargo ports in the United States. Port Everglades is Southern Florida’s main seaport for receiving petroleum products such as gasoline and jet fuel.

Port Everglades, or Bay Mabel Harbor as it was called then, was officially established as a deep-water harbor in 1927. A deepwater port was needed at that time to ship locally grown produce to the north and west. On Feb. 22, 1928, area residents gathered while President Calvin Coolidge pushed a button from the White House that would detonate explosives to remove the rock barrier separating the harbor from the ocean. Nothing happened when he pushed the button, but the barrier was removed shortly afterwards. In 1930 a contest was conducted to name the harbor and Port Everglades was chosen.

Port Everglades was used as a military base for the U.S. Navy during WWII. The Coast Guard also established a base at Port Everglades during the war. Today, Port Everglades has a vast economic impact on Fort Lauderdale with Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International, Princess Cruise Lines, and Holland America Line serving Port Everglades. Over 6 million tons of containerized cargo also moves through Port Everglades annually.

Residents of Fort Lauderdale enjoy an excellent quality of living. The city of sandy beaches, elegant resorts and neatly paved canals make this once sleepy village a sun-drenched paradise.