Statewide Survey Aims to Identify “Lost” Resources

The Historic Preservation Program at the University of Florida is undertaking a groundbreaking, multi-tiered analysis of significant buildings, sites and landscapes of the Modern movement and the recent past (1945-1975), examined on a statewide level.

The primary objectives of the “Florida’s Mid-Century Modern Resources” project, better known as “My Florida Modern,” are to understand and document the range and variety of design resources that give the state its unique architectural character and to provide a consistent framework to guide future preservation, land use and planning efforts. A list of “Florida’s 50 Flagship Designs,” will highlight newly “discovered” buildings and landscapes that have not been recognized previously. The Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources has provided a $50,000 grant to make this research possible.

The survey results, compiled with the input of collaborative partners and made available for free to the public, can be utilized by citizens as well as municipal and regional planning agencies as a proactive tool for considering historic modern-era resources as economic and educational assets.

“Modern and recent past resources are an important chapter in Florida’s history, encompassing innovative ideas in architecture and planning, as well as places that demonstrate the influence and impact of the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Space Race and urban renewal,” Morris Hylton III, Historic Preservation Program director, stated. “’My Florida Modern’ purposefully throws a wide net over the state as a first-tier effort for recording historic modern structures and landscapes.”

Many of these resources may already be listed as historic sites. However, a greater number of these structures remain unrecognized for their historic significance and contributions to Florida’s design history.

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