Our Fort Lauderdale logo carries Florida's alligator, above “Est. 1845,” the year of Florida statehood — the shared emblem of every Merlin Classics Florida place. Printed in a worn black-and-white that recalls an old crate stamp, the alligator is Florida in shorthand: tough, native, and at home in the water. The alligator is the through-line that links Fort Lauderdale to every other Florida town we make. What makes this one Fort Lauderdale is everything around it — the New River, the 165 miles of canals, Las Olas, and the Venice of America.
For all the growth, the old riverfront heart is still legible. The Stranahan House keeps watch on the New River at the foot of Las Olas, the historic village by the river preserves the town's earliest buildings, and the water that drew the Tequesta, frustrated the army, and made the developers rich still organizes everything. Fort Lauderdale wears its history lightly, but it is all there, just below the bright surface of the canals.
Why People Visit Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale offers South Florida at its most nautical — a real beach city laced with canals, with a historic river downtown, a great cruise port, and the yachting world's calendar built around it. Visitors come for the water, the beaches, and the Venice-of-America canals, and stay for Las Olas, the Riverwalk, and the easy coastal pace. From the New River to the sand, it rewards a day or a week. It is bright, nautical, and genuinely South Florida.
