Downtown, Fort Lauderdale

Ohio businessman and trader Frank Stranahan built this pine pioneers home in 1901, at the site where he operated his barge ferry business. It was expanded several times over the years and now features wide verandahs, bay windows, a Victorian parlor and tropical gardens. Period Victorian furniture and decorative pieces are on display through the house. Built to serve as a trading post, Stranahan House also served as the post office, community center and town hall. The building has been used at different times as a restaurant and boarding house.

The Fort Lauderdale History Center follows the history of the area from the Pioneers of Fort Lauderdale to the present day. The complex, located on the New River, consists of four historic structures: the 1905 New River Inn, which houses the Museum of History and was the first building in Broward County to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the 1905 Philemon Bryan House, a four-square Vernacular style house; 1905 Acetylene Building, which produced acetylene gas to light the New River Inn; and the 1907 King-Cromartie House Museum, which belonged to one of the first pioneer families in Fort Lauderdale. Also on site is a replica of the first Broward County school house and the Hoch Heritage Center, a public research library that holds the largest collection of material related to greater Fort Lauderdale, including more than 250,000 historic photographs

The three-story Museum of Discovery & Science features several permanent, interactive exhibition areas and periodic temporary exhibits that deal with different aspects of the scientific world. A number of fields are represented from space exploration and biology to computers and ecology. The exhibits use a lot of multi-media technology and encourage hands-on interaction to breach the gap between information and entertainment. A five-story IMAX theater has rotating films daily.The "EcoDiscovery Center" is one of the museum's latest additions. It opened in late 2011. From live river otters to perspectives on Florida's prehistoric, the center offers a whole new series of displays and interesting learning opportunities for kids.

Riverwalk Park is a waterfront park in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Along the banks of New River, native Americans brought their ocean catches to trade, and early settlers brought their harvest for ship north via rail service.Located on Florida's Most Beautiful Mile, Riverwalk Park has lush tropical landscape and winding walkways that allow visitors to walk to attractions, restaurants and shops.The northern side of Riverwalk begins at the historic Stranahan House, in the east, and winds west along the New River to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

The Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale is a modern, three-story building containing a wide-ranging collection of more than 5400 pieces of art. Highlights of the museum include American and European modern and contemporary art, Picasso ceramics, and contemporary Cuban art There is also artwork from Africa, the South Pacific and South America.

Broward Center for the Performing Arts is two theaters with seating for 3300 people offering a variety of entertainment programming including Broadway shows, dance performances, opera and symphony concerts.