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Coral Springs to celebrate 63rd birthday with history-related festivities

A 1972 aerial view of University Drive and Sample Road shows how much Coral Springs has changed since it was founded in 1963. The city is now turning 63.
A 1972 aerial view of University Drive and Sample Road shows how much Coral Springs has changed since it was founded in 1963. The city is now turning 63. Coral Springs Archive/Images of America collection

Happy birthday, Coral Springs. The city is turning 63 this year, and to celebrate, the Museum of Coral Springs History will host a celebration this Friday.

The anniversary festivities will run from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on July 10 at the museum, which is a converted 1964 real estate office near the Center for Performing Arts and Mullins Park.

The city’s historian will be there to answer questions, and visitors can participate in trivia and take a free tour guided by Historical Advisory Committee members.

The first 100 guests will receive “free treats,” with limited-edition Coral Springs memorabilia on sale.

Coral Springs’ second land sale and barbecue took place March 25, 1965, resulting in $5 million in sales for 1,100 lots. Organizers laid five-and-a-half miles of roads so the public could access the plots.
Coral Springs’ second land sale and barbecue took place March 25, 1965, resulting in $5 million in sales for 1,100 lots. Organizers laid five-and-a-half miles of roads so the public could access the plots. Coral Springs Archive/Images of America

The city was founded July 10, 1963, after Fort Lauderdale businessmen James S. Hunt and Joe Taravella of Coral Ridge Properties bought a 3,860-acre plot of land with the intention of developing a community.

They built the covered bridge, the first structure in Coral Springs, to serve as the entrance to the city and to drum up interest in purchasing property there. It’s been preserved to look the way it did in 1964, and from there sprung the “City in the Country.”

Multiple land sales and barbecues lured investors to the city, including a 1965 event that brought in $5 million in sales. Roughly 10,000 people passed through the covered bridge that day, according to city archives.

The history museum is at 10250 NW 29th St.

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Olivia Lloyd
Coral Springs News
Olivia Lloyd is an Associate Editor/Reporter for the Coral Springs News, the Pembroke Pines News and the Miramar News. She graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Previously, she has worked for Hearst DevHub, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and McClatchy’s Real Time Team.