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Tallahassee displays charms of the Old
South
Tallahassee
is a genteel Southern belle with good manners, rolling hills,
oak-canopied roads, old plantation homes, and y’all-come
hospitality. It also happens to be home to Florida State
University, Florida A&M University and Florida’s state capital.
How the latter came about is told in a popular folk tale. When
East and West Florida territories combined into one state,
travelers were sent from the former capitals of St. Augustine
and Pensacola. The backwoods spot where they met became the new
political center.
 The
New Capitol building rises at the center of Tallahassee’s
downtown as a sleek modern structure, juxtaposed next to the Old
Capitol, built in the more classic domed style. A gallery atop
the 22-story New Capitol provides a sweeping view of the hilly
city and its tree-lined streets. From it, you can see all the
way to Georgia, 20 miles away.
Around the capitol complex, a 10-block historic district
spreads, preserving the town’s gracious old homes along a linear
park and holding a historic inn, bars and restaurants patronized
by Senators and sophomores alike. With no shortage of culture,
downtown also offers museums, theater and art galleries. Artists
have turned the old warehouses of Downtown Industrial Park into
the studios and cafes of Railroad Square. The Museum of Florida
History, nearby, is highly acclaimed for its scan of the state’s
past, and The Mary Brogan Museum of Art & Science, along with
changing art exhibits, brings learning to a kid’s level with
hands-on exhibits.
Tallahassee Museum of History & Natural Science, another great
place for kids, combines a natural-habitat zoo for native
animals with a collection of historic structures including a
19th-century farm, one-room schoolhouse, and plantation mansion.
Cotton plantations dictated much of Tallahassee’s history, and
lovely neo-classic gems preserve the era. At one, Goodwood
Museum & Gardens, you can tour the restored buildings.
State parks preserve other aspects of historic and natural
heritage. One commemorates the winter camp of explorer Hernando
deSoto with a living history program, another the site of an
important Civil War battle with an annual reenactment. Maclay
State Gardens showcases Tallahassee’s floral splendor, most
spectacular when the azaleas and camellias bloom in spring.
Tallahassee, as former site of Spanish missions, also claims a
rich archaeological heritage, which you can explore at Lake
Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park and Mission San Luis.
Its five historic "canopy roads" carry you from capital-city
bustle to the tranquility of the Old South. Explore
Tallahassee’s countryside and you may discover its famous blues
club, an old-fashioned country store where homemade sausage is
the claim to fame, and a popular old farmhouse restaurant.
Gathered around this gently thriving city, small towns attract
tourists with their antique districts, historic backdrops and
natural gifts. To the south,
Wakulla Springs is home to one of the world’s largest
and deepest freshwater springs. Wakulla Springs State Park
preserves this natural phenomenon and the man-made one that
perches at its side, the circa-1937 Wakulla Lodge with its
marble floors and handpainted cypress beams. Glass bottom boats
ferry visitors through the springs’ jungle setting, often used
in Tarzan films, to spot fish, alligators and turtles in the
incredibly clear, cool waters. Kids jump off a tower into the
swimming area and divers fathom the depths of limestone caves
and sinks for mysteries undiscovered.
Some of the area’s earliest colonizers created nearby
St. Marks, an
important harbor for Spanish conquerors and missionaries. San
Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park preserves a fort site
from the era. A state railroad trail connects the quiet fishing
town of today to Tallahassee. The lighthouse at St. Marks
National Wildlife Refuge punctuates the port’s import. Birds and
butterflies – specifically monarchs during their fall migration
– make the refuge a favorite with nature-lovers.
To the west, Madison
provides small-town respite from the city with its historic
district and a delightful herb farm. Visit the Forest Capital
Museum State Park in Perry,
then shop and have tea downtown.
The northern town of Havana
once made a living off of, as you may guess, tobacco. Today its
collection of antiques shops, art galleries and appealing
restaurants has moved into the old buildings. The Florida Arts
Trail links them to others found in
Quincy, home of
Gadsden Arts Center and The Quincy Music Theatre at the Leaf
Theatre. |
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