Road to Lakeland

At the beautiful promenade of Lake Mirror stands this 38-foot-tall, 18,000-pound sculpture by artist Albert Paley called “Tribute to the Volunteer Spirit,” which aptly suits the Lakeland culture for community awareness and service. The original plans for the promenade by architect Charles Wellford Leavitt, called for a large obelisk to serve as a focal point. Before it could be built funding ran out and Leavitt passed away. This prominent space remained vacant until the Paley piece was installed in 2004. The placement of this public art has an interesting history tied back to the original entrance to Lakeland on the historic Dixie Highway the Florida and the road to Lakeland.

The idea of a transcontinental highway routes for automobiles connecting the northern to the southern states began before World War I. As car affordability increased along with accessibility all states saw an increase in automobile registrations. One of the luxuries of driving was going to new places not on the traditional railroad systems. Post WWI Florida saw an increased interest in travelers wanting to spend winters in a milder climate. Road improvements would also create an alternative means of moving local commodities, especially in a large county such as Polk where smaller cities had limited access.

Getting to central Florida was improved with the Good Roads Program. A local champion of the program was Lakeland’s Park Trammell (1876-1936). Born in Alabama, his father, John W. Trammell (Lakeland’s first mayor) moved the family to Florida in the 1880s. Park became mayor of Lakeland in 1900 and furthered his political career serving as State Attorney General, Florida Senate, Florida Governor and US Senator. It was during his tenure as Governor (1913-1917) that Polk County saw a much improved road system which connected the county’s municipalities.

By the 1920s, Polk County estimated 346 miles of paved roads. A Lakeland based Interurban Line routed people throughout Polk County, while the Lakeland Jitney Bus line circulated throughout the city in the early years.

The idea of the Dixie Highway came from Carl Fisher, an Indiana entrepreneur and real estate developer with investments in Miami. This patchwork of two-lane roads, had several spoke-like branches, that connected cities from Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, through the Carolinas, Georgia points in Florida. He saw the Dixie Highway as a way to bring tourists from the Midwest to sunny Florida in the 1920s. Cities through Florida clamored to connect to this major thoroughfare with tertiary streets. In Lakeland, Main Street served as the link to the Dixie Highway.

Looking at the population growth between 1910 (3,719) to 1930 (18,554) the improved road system was successful. In 1925, a Jacksonville newspaper noted “Lakeland is the largest city, in the richest county in America.” This assertion was based on the prominence agriculture and industry in the area - citrus, phosphate, cattle, and strawberries to list just a few. With a diverse economy, people flocked to the area for retirement and/or investment opportunities. Lakeland was ranked 4 ^th  in Florida for automobile registrations in 1926, which further supported improved transportation initiatives. Real estate developers successfully promoted living in the area and pushed both the commercial and residential growth for the area. During this time Lakeland also became the home for baseball spring training, first with the Cleveland Indians, then with Detroit Tigers. Florida Southern College arrived in 1922 anchoring along the shores of Lake Hollingsworth, barely within the city limits at the time.

Post war prosperity made it easier for the middle class Americans to travel, and actually take vacations – coming to Florida for the winter season was no longer for the very wealthy. Traveling by car, not by railroads, allowed travelers to sleep in or near their automobiles by pitching a tent, which kept expenses in check. They traveled lightly, bringing only necessities to wear and packing their own food, usually packed in tin cans which could be opened to cook directly on an open fire. This resulted in the moniker “Tin Can Tourists.” Throughout Florida road side attractions opened giving these visitors places to go – making the state a destination stop. Polk County’s early attractions included Bok Tower and Cypress Gardens. 

With a thriving economy and increased traffic through the city, Lakeland developed an idea of creating a public space around Lake Mirror which would serve as a civic center for activities and events. While the city acquired property around the lake, Lakeland citizens voted for a $700,000 public improvement initiative to “convert a veritable cesspool into an object of extreme beauty.” Noted architect, Charles Wellford Leavitt, was hired to design the structure. Leavitt was inspired by the “city beautiful movement” of urban planning in the 1920s. This had direct influences from the World Colombian Exhibition held in Chicago in 1893. The resulting Lake Mirror Promenade began construction in 1926 and opened in 1928. This became the beautiful entrance to Lakeland, seen by everyone traveling here on the Dixie Highway.