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(119) stories found containing 'Lake Wales Heritage'


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  • New Streetscapes Planted in Druid Hills to Expand "Garden City" Effort

    News Staff Reports|Updated Jul 3, 2023

    Fourteen new Southern Live Oaks and ten Florida Holly trees were planted last week as the latest landscaping contribution toward recreating the "City in a Garden" ideal of Lake Wales founders. Lake Wales Heritage, an Olmsted Conservancy, undertook the plantings as part of their city-wide efforts. The trees in the Druid Hills neighborhood are the latest step by the Heritage organization toward completing the landscape design of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who planned both the...

  • Retail Business Recruitment is Focus of Downtown Lake Wales Effort

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Jun 12, 2023

    A downtown business improvement effort "focused on asset development and retail recruitment" was outlined to a large group of downtown property owners at a Wednesday luncheon. Elliott Cook of Retail Strategies told those in attendance that his purpose was to gather information from them that would be used in their efforts. Cook promised that his firm would provide owners with the tools for success. Retail Strategies was hired by city government to help recruit new business...

  • Greenways, Blueways, New Street and Neighborhood Designs Among Ideas Offered by Citizens at Hands-on Workshop

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Apr 26, 2023

    A creative group of Lake Wales area citizens joined with urban design and traffic planners Saturday morning at the James Austin Center to begin the process of designing an alternative future for the City of Lake Wales. Future neighborhood development types, street designs, greenways, preferred placement of residential developments, and even a "blueway" trail connecting to Winter Haven were among suggestions that emerged from teams working around maps and charts. The process,...

  • Saturday "Family Fun" Day to Include Kids' Games, Bands, Beer Garden

    News Staff Reports|Updated Apr 26, 2023

    A chance to relax in the shade, enjoy food from your favorite food truck, listen to four different bands, and let the kids burn off steam as they learn and play is expected to draw crowds to Lake Wailes Park Saturday. The 10:00 am to 8:00 pm event will include a kite festival, a family-feud style trivia game, nature walks, a giant inflatable obstacle course, nature walks, a "fishing pond," and a wide variety of games and prizes for adults and kids. A silent auction and gift...

  • Lake Wailes Park Festival Grows Family Fun, Music, Food, and Games

    News Staff Reports|Updated Apr 20, 2023

    Lake Wailes Park will again host a day of family fun on Saturday, April 29 as the city celebrates the annual Olmsted Day in the Park. This years' event promises to be bigger and better than ever as plenty of new features and attractions are being added. Food trucks, lots of games for both kids and adults, live bands, and the added feature of "Beers With Pioneers," a beer-tasting event, will make the day fun for every member of the family. For kids, an inflatable obstacle...

  • Parks Master Plans to be Developed for Seven City Parks

    News Staff Reports|Updated Mar 27, 2023

    A major effort to develop a master plan to govern the future development of seven parks in the city of Lake Wales is the goal of a new contract Catalyst Design Group. The project was recently approved by the city commission. The planning effort will cover Lake Wailes Park, Kiwanis Park and Crystal Lake Park, which form the core of the city's park system. It will also include the city's soccer complex on Hunt Brothers Road, the Northwest Complex/Frasier Field park, the Little...

  • Monday "Envisioned" Events to Shape Future of Lake Wales

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 21, 2023

    A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the future livability of Lake Wales begins Monday at Bok Tower Gardens as a high-powered team of planners bring their national reputations. talents, and insights to bear on the city. The project, designated "Lake Wales Envisioned," will consider the future of a large area around the city and include topics ranging from parks, recreation, and conservation to future sites for commercial, residential, and industrial uses. Transportation...

  • March 20 "Envisioned" Events to Shape Future of Lake Wales in Face of Explosive Growth

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 15, 2023

    A host of proposed housing developments that could more than double the population of Lake Wales have created worries that the once-quiet community will be overrun by sprawling growth. In response, citizens are being encouraged to join in a process to help prevent bad outcomes. A March 20 afternoon "symposium" at Bok Tower Gardens will be a key part of a months-long project called "Lake Wales Envisioned." "Olmsted's City 10, 25, and 50 years" is a tagline for the process, and...

  • Olmsted Day Vendors, Sponsors Needed to Support Tree Planting

    News Staff Reorts|Updated Mar 3, 2023

    The historic beauty of Lake Wales and efforts to re-create it are the focus of a special event planned for Lake Wailes Park. Area businesses, artists, and crafters are being invited to participate in Olmsted Day in the Park, an annual event celebrating Lake Wales' parks and streetscapes. Sponsors and vendors are welcome to join in the community-wide effort. The April 29 event, hosted by Lake Wales Heritage with the participation of the City of Lake Wales, features music, food...

  • Lake Wales to be Featured at Congress for the New Urbanism

    Special to the News|Updated Feb 25, 2023

    An annual planning conference will hear a special presentation on Lake Wales and the Connected plan this week. The 2023 CNU Florida Summit will take place on Thursday and Friday, February 16 and 17. Sponsored by the Congress for the New Urbanism, a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, DC, the two-day event will take place at Creative Village in downtown Orlando, a campus of the University of Central Florida. Attendees will learn about Lake Wales and the...

  • Lake Wales Envisioned Offers Us Each a Chance to Protect Our Quality of Life

    Lake Wales News Editorial|Updated Feb 23, 2023

    "Growth" is a word that means opportunity for some and strikes fear in the hearts of others. It has been the driver of both the economic health and the environmental destruction that has reshaped Florida for more than a century. Rising prosperity has too often been accompanied by traffic congestion, water shortages, urban sprawl, and overcrowding, crushing the quality of life in some parts of the state. While growth has been largely focused on other places, it's now arrived...

  • Medium Density Residential Approved for First Street Property

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 18, 2023

    Several innovative designs presented for possible development of a site south of Southgate Shopping Center led the Lake Wales City Commission to approve the rezoning of a 6.5 acre parcel to allow higher density development. The change from LDR, or low density to MDR, or medium density, will allow up to 42 residential units in a variety of housing types in the various scenarios. The change would allow up to 12 units p[er acre rather than the five units common in subdivisions....

  • History Speaker Series to Feature Local Author

    Special to the News|Updated Feb 3, 2023

    The Lake Wales History Museum will resume its popular speaker series with a presentation on Florida's past presented by guest speaker and local historian Robert Connors. Connors is the author of several books including "The Florida Saga," a historic novel documenting the long, tortured history of the Sunshine State. The History Museum holds a wealth of information about the Lake Wales area, ranging from pre-Columbian canoes carved by Native Americans from whole trees, to the...

  • Area Students Offered Free Saturday Extra-Credit Experience, Ideal for College-Bound

    Special to the News|Updated Dec 9, 2022

    Lake Wales area students in high school or middle school levels are able to sign up for a one-time special Saturday class that will leave them with surprising facts about our community. Those on a college-bound track will appreciate a "Student Naturalist Certificate of Achievement" that will be awarded upon completion of the three-hour program, according to local educator Kyra Love Harriage, who is leading the curriculum for the classes. The history-making people who founded...

  • Middle and High School Students Offered Free Extra-Credit Educational Program

    Tom Paulson, City Editor|Updated Nov 6, 2022
    1

    A special free learning opportunity is being offered to area Middle and High School students, who will learn and earn a special completion certificate as "Student Naturalists."The program is being offered in special Saturday events at Lake Wales Public Library, and will be led by certified Florida educators. The three-hour educational program, described as "a fun experience," is being hosted by Lake Wales Heritage, a local non-profit endeavoring to recreate the "garden city"...

  • Students Can Earn Special Certificate on Lake Wales Patrimony

    Tom Paulson, City Editor|Updated Nov 6, 2022

    A special free learning opportunity is being offered to area Middle and High School students, who will learn and earn a special completion certificate as "Student Naturalists."The program is being offered in special Saturday events at Lake Wales Public Library, and will be led by certified Florida educators. The three-hour educational program is being hosted by Lake Wales Heritage, a local non-profit endeavoring to recreate the "garden city" envisioned by city founders. While...

  • Lake Wales Receives National Recognition as "Cultural Landscape"

    Tom Paulson, City Editor|Updated Nov 5, 2022

    The City of Lake Wales has been cited as a significant cultural landscape in the 2022 Landslide report issued by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF). According to the national organization, the city's origins and Olmsted patrimony place it among the cultural treasures recognized in the annual report. The report, which was distributed to national media this week, salutes the work of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who "completed a comprehensive plan for...Lake Wales,...

  • County Tourism Tax Proceeds to Boost Local Cultural Activities

    Special to the News|Updated Oct 27, 2022

    More than $466,000 will flow to two Lake Wales cultural organizations from Polk County "bed tax" designed to promote overnight stays in area hotels, according to Kris Keprios, Senior Tourism Sales and Marketing Manager of Polk County's Tourism and Sports Marketing Division. "The Arts, Culture and Heritage sponsorships assist arts organizations by stretching their marketing dollars so they can draw more visitors to their events from outside of the county," Keprios said in a...

  • Help Sought to Landscape City Streets

    Tom Paulson, City Editor|Updated Oct 9, 2022

    A civic organization working to re-create a historic landscaping plan in Lake Wales is seeking community help. Lake Wales Heritage is a non-profit group working to re-plant the 1930 landscape plan created by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. "We need to find some helpies," said Heritage director and volunteer Tish Sheesley, citing the several projects the group is tackling. Alongside the tree-planting effort, the organization is launching an educational program for middle school stude...

  • Lake Wales Heritage Advances Plans for Druid Hills Neighborhood

    Tom Paulson, City Editor|Updated Sep 24, 2022

    Ambitious plans to beautify and recognize the unique features of the Druid Hills neighborhood on the east side of Lake Wales were advanced during a four-hour conference held Saturday at Bok Tower Gardens. Among the ideas discussed at the conference was special recognition of the area as the "Historic Olmsted Druid Hills District," including the installation of boundary and historical markers explaining the importance of the area, which would form a portion of an "Olmsted...

  • Bok Tower Garden's Olmsted Landscapes Receive $500,000 Grant

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Sep 22, 2022

    A $500,000 grant to Bok Tower Gardens for "Saving the Olmstedian Landscape Gardens at Mountain Lake Sanctuary – Lake Wales" has been announced by the National Park Service (NPS). The grant is awarded "in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services," according to an accompanying press release. "This project will complete the rehabilitation and reinvigoration of the original l...

  • Crystal Lake Trail Project Moving Forward

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Aug 4, 2022
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    Construction is progressing rapidly on the Park Avenue Connector Trail, a 3000-foot multiuse trail being constructed by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency. The project is a key element of the Lake Wales Connected plans which are expected to transform and revitalize the city's center in coming years. Construction of the new trail is utilizing about one-half of the right-of-way of Park Avenue, which was 24 feet wide despite being a one-way street. The new design featu...

  • Soto Seeks Grant to Support First Street Reconstruction

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Jul 15, 2022
    1

    Efforts to re-imagine the urban core of Lake Wales as an attractive and shady pedestrian oasis filled with new businesses and restaurants continues to draw the support of both the public and private sectors. Congressman Darren Soto has announced that he is requesting a $1 million Federal grant to support street restoration in downtown Lake Wales. This project, one element of a multi-faceted effort, would revitalize 1st Street, which is a critical connector, unifying the...

  • Railroad Corridor Landscaping to Enhance "Garden City" Effort

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Jul 7, 2022

    Scenic Highway's passage through downtown Lake Wales will quite a bit more scenic upon completion of new efforts planned by city staff. Plans to add multiple new shade trees, shrubs, flowering plants and fencing are moving forward under the terms of a new lease between the City of Lake Wales and Florida Midland Railroad. The railroad owns a highly-visible corridor through the center of town which already hosts a number of buildings associated with the Lake Wales History...

  • History Museum Launches Appeal to Complete Collections and Research Center

    Robert Connros, Managing Editor|Updated Jun 4, 2022

    Fearing damage due to Florida's summertime temperatures and humidity, the Lake Wales History Museum is reaching out to supporters and potential donors to raise funds to improve the 1916 railroad depot which houses many thousands of important documents and historical artifacts at the not-for-profit facility. According to Anderson Hanna, the museum's interim director, the historic Seaboard Airline railroad depot is "an optimal location" to house what he describes as "an...

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