When the movie called “Where the Boys Are” came out decades ago, college students not only assumed it reflected the way life was on Fort Lauderdale Beach, they came to the beach for spring break by the thousands and made life reflect the movie. 

Spring break revelries[ad#250x250-eb] got more and more out of hand, with public lewdness, drunkenness, and rioting added to drug use. Fort Lauderdale Beach became a place that was not desirable or even dangerous during the annual spring break excitement and underutilized during the balance of the year. In the mid 1980’s, the City of Fort Lauderdale decided to do something about the problem. They began by passing an ordinance prohibiting public drinking. The voters approved $26 million in bonds for a series of beach redevelopment projects. Highway widening with turnout lanes, bicycle paths, a pedestrian promenade, landscaping and a two-mile long flowing beach wavewall were all products completed.

The wall in particular served as a focal point for tourists and residents alike in bringing additional investment and development along the beach. The beach redevelopment project proved that Fort Lauderdale has what it takes to provide a world class beach, convention, vacation and entertainment center. Today, the Fort Lauderdale Beach provides dozens of shops, cafes, restaurants and entertainment sites. The beach offers activities such as boating, swimming, roller-blading, deep sea fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, volleyball, jet skiing and surfing.

More structured events include the McDonalds Air and Sea Show, The Greater Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Oceanfest and Beachfest. 

Blue Wave Beaches are a special award given to beaches which meet a strict 22 item definition of quality. Fort Lauderdale Beach and 4 other Broward County beaches meet the quality control standards. Some of the requirements for Blue Wave Beaches include monthly water quality control checks, environmental protection and nearby emergency service.

Favorite visitor locations are the Fort Lauderdale Aquatics Center and the Las Olas Marina.

The Fort Lauderdale Aquatics Complex since 1965 has been host to innumerable swimming competitions and the site of dozens of swimming and diving records including ten world records. Las Olas Marina is a relatively new marina with 52 slips intended for larger vessels and offering full amenities.

Because Fort Lauderdale has reinvented itself, moving from a college age beach party to a full-year family friendly resort city, tourists have responded by visiting the Fort Lauderdale area, and particularly the beachfront. The beachfront hotels, motels and condos are occupied year-round. Additional events are constantly being planned with the criteria of family-oriented and serving as a draw for even more visitors to the city and beach. An example is the annual Langerado, a music festival sponsored by the city.
[ad#3]
While the wild, out of control spring break revelries were not wanted by the city, it still welcomes thousands of legitimate spring break vacationers into the city, where they enjoy partying, eating, swimming, sunbathing and snorkeling in the waters off Fort Lauderdale Beach. Side trips such as deep sea fishing, scuba diving and yachting add to the fun at this prime beach location.

East Coast Beaches

Tags: beach, beaches, fl, florida, Florida Beaches, Fort Lauderdale, fort lauderdale fl, fort lauderdale florida, ft lauderdale

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Florida Beaches. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.