Fascinating Color Pics Show Beautiful Life of Florida in the 1950s

   

Florida is the southernmost contiguous state in the United States. The state is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida.

Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous,  and the 8th-most densely populated of the U.S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. The Miami metropolitan area is Florida's most populous urban area. Tallahassee is the state's capital.
Florida is also renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, winter vegetables, the Kennedy Space Center, and as a popular destination for retirees. Florida is the flattest state in the United States. Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in Florida. Several beaches in Florida have turquoise and emerald-colored coastal waters.

Take a look at these fascinating color pics from The State Archives of Florida to see what Florida looked like in the 1950s.

 
Caribbean Club- Key Largo, Florida, circa 1950

 

Rainbow Springs near Dunnellon, Florida, August 21, 1950

 

African-American family at home, circa 1950

 

Baseball game at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, circa 1950

 

Drying fishing nets near Sarasota, Florida, circa 1950

 

Memorial Auditorium in Ft. Lauderdale, circa 1950

 

Recording the day's catch at the docks in Sarasota, Florida, circa 1950

 

Ringling Circus performers at winter quarters in Sarasota, Florida, circa 1950

 

Seminole woman and children gigging frogs near the Tamiami Trail, January 3, 1951

 

Advertisement shot for homes in Winter Haven, June 1952

 

Silver Springs- Ocala, Florida, June 30, 1952

 

Gymnasts posed in a formation, Tallahassee, 1953

 

Sarasota Sun-Debs posture training class at Lido Beach, Florida, 1953

 

Highway patrol cars in Gasparilla parade, Tampa, February 1954

 

Models posing in Jantzen bathing suits at Cypress Gardens, circa 1954

 

Spa Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida, May 23, 1954

 

Fishing in Sarasota, Florida, circa 1955

 

Florida Citrus Queen Sally Ardrey and her court at the Florida Citrus Exposition in Winter Haven, January 1955

 

Juniper Springs, Ocala National Forest, Florida, circa 1955

 

Overseas Highway bridge in the Florida Keys, circa 1955

 

People playing cards at a backyard party in Miami, circa 1955

 

Poolside at the Eden Roc Cabana Club- Miami Beach, Florida, circa 1955

 

Sailor Circus acrobatic performer Judy Laurent with a camera, Sarasota, 1955

 

Skyline Hotel at dusk, Tallahassee, circa 1955

 

Snack bar at the Warm Mineral Springs attraction in North Port, 1955

 

Sponges on display in front of the Florida Curio gift shop in Tarpon Springs, circa 1955

 

Sunbathers at Lido Beach, Florida, circa 1955

 

Volleyball at the municipal casino- Lido Beach, Florida, 1955

 

Window shopping in Hollywood, November 1955

 

Woman posing with camellias at Killearn Gardens State Park in Tallahassee, circa 1955

 

Women modeling bathing suits at the beach, circa 1955

 

Women wearing leis posing in bathing suits at the beach, circa 1955

 

Opening Christmas presents at Lake Seminole Resort in Largo, December 25, 1957

 

Performance at the Cypress Gardens theme park in Winter Haven, circa 1957

 

Barber at Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, circa 1958

 

Deaconess Bedell with Seminole Indians at Glade Cross Mission in Everglades City, April 1958

 

Guitarist performing at the Florida Folk Festival- White Springs, circa 1958

 

Seminole Girl at Brighton Indian Reservation, circa 1958

 

Seminole Indian mother and child at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, circa 1958

 

Seminole Man at Brighton Indian Reservation, circa 1958

 

Seminole men at the Dania Reservation in Hollywood, Florida, 1958

 

Seminole woman at Brighton Indian Reservation, circa 1958

 

Seminole woman reading at Big Cypress Reservaton, circa 1958

 

Woman posing in azaleas at Killearn (Maclay) Gardens State Park, Tallahassee, circa 1958

 

Beacon Hotel, Miami Beach, circa 1959

 

 
Model on the beach with sea shell, Florida, circa 1959