City Info
USA | Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdaleis known as the "Venice of America" due to its expansive and intricate canal system. It is located in Broward County, Florida, United States. Population is over 170,000. The city is most famous for its beaches and boats. While the city of Fort Lauderdale is relatively small, the term 'Fort Lauderdale' is often used to refer to the larger metropolis that has grown up around it. It is the county seat for Broward county, and is in the middle of the South Florida metropolitan area, (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach), which has over 5.5 million people.

Fort Lauderdale's arts and entertainment district runs east-west along Las Olas Boulevard, from the beach to the heart of downtown. The district is anchored in the West by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, and runs through the city to the intersection of Las Olas and A1A. This intersection is the "ground zero" of Fort Lauderdale Beach, and is the site of the "Elbo Room" bar featured in the 1960 film Where the Boys Are, which led in large measure to the city's former reputation as a spring break Mecca. The city and its suburbs host over 4,100 restaurants and over 120 nightclubs, many of them in the arts and entertainment district. The city is also the setting for the 1986 movie Flight of the Navigator, and host of Langerado, an annual music festival.

The city's economy is heavily reliant on tourism. From the 1940s through the 1980s, the city was known as a spring break destination for college students. Cruise ships and nautical recreation provide the basis for much of the revenue raised by tourism. Fort Lauderdale now attracts a more sophisticated and affluent tourist, while largely ignoring the dwindling college crowd. There is a convention center located west of the beach and southeast of downtown, with 600,000 square feet (55,742 m²) of space, including a 200,000-square-foot (18,581 m²) main exhibit hall. Approximately 30% of the city's 10 million annual visitors attend conventions at the center. The downtown area, especially around Las Olas Boulevard, has seen dramatic growth in the past decade, and now hosts many new hotels and high-rise condominium developments. The downtown area is the largest in Broward County, although there are other smaller cities in the county with commercial centers. Other improvements include a wide array of new boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants.

Fort Lauderdale is a major manufacturing and maintenance center for yachts. The boating industry is responsible for over 108,000 jobs in the county. With its many canals, and proximity to the Bahamas and Caribbean, it is also a popular yachting vacation stop, and home port for 42,000 boats, and approximately 100 marinas and boatyards. Additionally, the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the world's largest boat show, brings over 125,000 people to the city each year.