South Florida is not the Same anymore…read more When I saw Marqus post this I was thinking....I love South Florida soooo much, but its changed in so many ways that makes me hate it at the same time, I hate the crooked politics, the shady deals concocted with these power hungry people. I hate the multi language pamphlets and the discrimination of being the only English speaking person when I walk into store in Margate FL USA to order a raw palomilla steak to cook at home. The look of the butcher was one of laughter and disgust that I couldn't speak Spanish. Needless to say I haven't been back. Lets not even bring Miami in the conversation because that's a whole other story. Where are all the friendly people? Waving at my neighbors and getting a wave back is an anomaly. Even in public people look so pissed off. When I smile and say good morning they look at me like I have a penis growing out of my head. Occasionally, I'll get a friendly response, but it don't happen much. Crime, homeless beggars on the every street corner, on every exit of I-95, is a bitch. Do I give them a buck, do I look straight forward, do I pray I get a green light, do I roll my window up. Is a common theme played out as I travel around South Florida. Shootings, kidnappings, drugs, pedophiles, locked front doors, bars on homes, locked and loaded handguns, AR-15 at the ready, and state of the art surveillance equipment is the norm in South Florida. What's crazy is we all have become numb with craziness that its become normal. Well it ain't normal folks. What makes South Florida A-OK is the weather, the fact that I'm a native here, the outdoor activities , the diversity, and the great Cuisine. I love the town I grew up in Oakland Park. It's now seeing a rebirth with the Funky Budda opening up and a Culinary Arts district in the works. My present home town, Coral Springs is an oasis compared to most cities, with its beautiful parks, A rated public schools, great recreation and arts programs. With Parkland next door you can't beat the one two punch that these cities deliver when it comes to a good hometown vibe. But as they say. Happiness and Good schools come at a price and it ain't cheap. As I was driving home from beautiful No Name Key this weekend, I got into the City Limits of Coral Springs, I looked over at my wife and said, Damn Its good to be home. Is any hometown area 5 stars? No. I think if you ask someone who lives in New York City they would say the same thing. Unless you came to South Florida on vacation then it would be hard not to give it 5 stars. But I live here and I see all its flaws but I still love/hate the place. With that said, I don't plan on moving anytime soon.

I'm rather surprised that there are no Yelp reviews on what is South Florida or even a good…read moredefinition of what it is or exactly what comprises it. I mean really, we live in it, we have two Yelp communities with it, it has local and regional flavor to it and while most of us live in it, no one has mentioned what it is that we live in. South Florida or as some refer to it, "SoFlo," is a vernacular not an official definition of an area of the United States entirely unique. Since it isn't officially defined, I'll define it as being Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, being more generally defined by its location in and near the Florida peninsula and the tropical climate even though there exist a host of arguments as to whether or not Broward is in fact tropical. Then also, with out a doubt, there a state of mind different than that of the rest of Florida. Let me begin with it how South Florida was created. It's my theory that South Florida as we know it today was created by God. In creating it he took the earth, tilted it, and everything loose fell into South Florida. The proof of my theory is evident by the huge diversity of population. We have massive numbers of migrants from the north, immigrants from all over the Caribbean, South America and even from Europe, Russia and Thailand just to name a few. No other area of the world that I know of has such diversity. The fact that even my official voting ballot in Broward County is written in three different languages and that we conduct studies using 27 different languages in our Broward County school system clearly stands out as concrete proof of what I have to say. An even better example which is known to all Yelpers are our diversity in restaurants and cafes. Like where else can you go to a Chinese Restaurant, then go next door for a French pastry or dessert and then on to a Cuban café for a cup of Cuban Coffee. Just a mere reading of the Yelp restaurant reviews of the area covers a much bigger diversity in ethnic foods than any other area covered by Yelp, a wonderful thing for a foodie and so often taken for granted by those of us who live here in what is our paradise. The other thing is that South Florida is only tied to the rest of the State of Florida by certain political and economic ties. Other than that, South Florida and South Floridians have little if anything in common with the remainder of that state be it political (South Florida is liberal the remainder of the state conservative), religious cultural and ethnic diversity and of course what concernsus as Yelpers the most, is the diversity in food and restaurants.

Post running Bank of America Tallahassee Half Marathon, I just kind of stumbled upon the Civil…read moreRights Heritage Walk which happened to be near the starting line for the event. While walking to my hotel after the event, I looked down and I was totally in shock because I unexpectedly visited it. And oh, was it a sight to see! Per, Council on Culture & Arts, the Civil Rights Heritage Walk was unveiled in 2013 and serves as a tribute to the foot soldiers of the civil rights movement, including notable figures such as Patricia Stephen Due, and Reverend Dr Reverend Charles Kenzie Steele, who played crucial roles in the fight against racial segregation and injustice in Tallahassee Florida. Not only does the panel highlight their names, but it also features inspiring messages and iconic protest signs from the era. The 16 terrazzo panels tell the story of the city's civil rights movement, particularly highlighting the 1956 bus boycott and the lunch counter sit-ins that occurred from 1960 to 1963. If you are planning to visit the city of Tallahassee, I recommend including the Civil Rights Heritage Walk to your tour unless you just happen to stumble upon it as I did while downtown. ~ Keep moving Forward ~ Thomas G

This is a small but powerful tribute to the Civil Rights Movement. The walk consists of The…read moresidewalk has 16 terrazzo panels that features the names of fifty local Civil Rights leaders and other activists who participated in the city's bus boycott of 1956 and the lunch counter sit-in demonstrations of 1960-1963. The walk features Rev. Dr. Charles Kenzie (C.K.) Steele, who was known as the MLK of Tallahassee and is the namesake of the city bus terminal after leading the bus boycott in 1956. You will find it on corner of East Jefferson Street and Monroe Street, across the street from the Statehouse Complex. The walk was installed in September of 2013 by the FSU Master Craftsman Studio. It is a combination of bronze plaques, nice artwork depicting a bus, a lunch counter and a sign that reads "what we ask is simple, impartial service for all". You will also find some footsteps on the panels' perimeter. I believe that the front prints use to be bronze or at least bronze colored, but that is not the case anymore for some reason. The walk is starting to understandably show signs of wear, as it is not only exposed to the elements, but has constant foot traffic over it. This is definitely a must see when you are in downtown Tallahassee. Anyway, as with most similar attractions that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 10 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. The State House is right across the street and there of tons of memorials and parks to check out in the immediate area including the WWII Memorial and the Civil War Memorial.

What an honor... to be able to visit where important cases are decided. I came here on a field…read moretrip and was so impressed coming into this historic building. At the time there were two death penalty cases that were being reviewed and honestly wish that I would have gotten the opportunity to participate. However, I was on a tour... I did get to see the chief justice seats and admire all the historic art work. I am happy the kids were able to see this and understand the importance of the supreme court. The tour guides were excellent and even gave a PowerPoint presentation for the kids along with questions the kids could respond to. All in all, great experience and recommend when visiting our state capital!

Beautiful building in the heart of downtown Tallahassee across Duval Street from the State Capitol…read morebuilding. Main floor, including Court library and courtroom, is open to the public. Oral arguments, which are held once per month, are also open to the public. Great place to visit and learn about history of State of Florida. The public entrance is on Duval Street, and the best place to park is in the Kleman garage downtown, which you can enter on Duval or Bronough Street.

As far as historical sites go, there is not a lot here to see, but you can visit the house and site…read moreduring normal business hours Monday through Friday. The house is on the National Historical Register, but it has been repurposed inside as a meeting space and offices. It does have a couple of exhibit cases inside for the Desoto Expedition since this is the greater significance of this site. On this site in the winter of 1539-1540, Hernando Desoto and his men camped before continuing their exploration of America. They may have been the first to celebrate Christmas in America. There is an historical marker that provides info both on Governor Martin and the Desoto encampment. There was quite a battle to preserve this site which resulted in a semi-victory for history. The discovery of artifacts related to Desoto when the site was prepared for development caused quite a stir. There was a push for the State of Florida to purchase the entire site because of it's historical significance. What resulted was a compromise. When you turn off Lafayette St. you will first see office buildings. The house and what remains of the Desoto encampment is in the back.

I'm a history buff. Frankly, it's cheap entertainment - and it gets you out of the house…read more Governor Martin's house, not coincidentally, is at the precise location of DeSoto's encampment during the winter of 1539/1540. If you're anywhere near Cascades park - it's worth the detour to check this out. Really. What else are you going to do?

I had to go here to pay a traffic ticket I received last week. What a way to drive out of town…read more Leaving this fine town some of my hard earned money. The place looks pretty new and modern. There are signs everywhere until you get into the place. I mean street signs and nice plagues all over. When you get inside you think that you are in the tax collector office until you look and see the little hand written on a piece of paper that says clerk of the courts over here. I paid them their money almost letting out some special words but I held back. My tongue still hurts almost as much as my wallet. The lady that helped me was very nice and seemed like she liked her job. I did like the brass knuckle tattoo on the lady working next to her thou. I hope I don't have to go back anytime soon. I know you can pay this online but I had a very bad experience about a ticket I paid about 15 years ago and they said I didn't. Until I drove back and showed them my receipt. This one I'm framing and waiting till the next time I'm in Tally.

Great selection of materials, friendly staff, and clean facilities. What more can you ask for with…read morea library!

The newest version of our county library that opened January 20, 1991 and is still going strong. It…read moremay not be as modern as a library would be if it was built today, but it has done a good job of adapting to the technological advances that libraries have seen in the 27 years since it opened. It certainly has come a long way from the first public library that I remember, which opened in 1956 in the basement of The Columns when that building was located at Park and Adams (where the Doubletree Hotel is now located). Now The Columns sits on a corner of the property where this library was built and the library sits on the former site of an earlier version of Leon High School. They have a good selection of all the usual library offerings of books, periodicals, CDs, DVD's and even digital downloads of current books. I even saw a poster recently at our branch library that indicated you can now download graphic novels/comics. Our Tallahassee Genealogical Society maintains a genealogy research section at this library as well. I personally enjoy being able to search the library catalog online so I can place a hold on a book I want to check out and have it delivered to my branch library or being able to renew checkouts when I take more than the 3 weeks checkout period to finish a book.

I am an older student working on a Master's degree at FSU. I took a tour of Strozier during…read moreorientation last year and remember being quite overwhelmed with the size of the library and the amount of services offered. I went in the other day to simply print one page from a document in an email. I didn't know where to start so I went to the info desk right as you walk in. There were three super eager, knowledgeable students there ready to help me. They told me I would need to put at least a dollar on a card to print. I told them I had no cash on me, but I had my debit card. They told me "no worries" and that it was .10 per page to print and handed me a card with .90 on it. Then the girl gave me verbal instructions about how to log in and print from their computers. She also told me to come back if I got stuck or had any other questions. I was able print my page without any difficulty because of their help! I also love that you can grab a Starbucks while you're in the library. So cool! I will explore other services offered here and write another review in the near future. Great experience!

Whenever I'm swamped with work, sitting on the 2nd or 3rd floor of Strozier gets the job done! Ever…read moresince freshman year, I've been coming here in my most stressful times whether it's cramming before an 8am test or rushing to submit an assignment due at midnight. I love using the whiteboards to organize my work plan for the day, and getting a Monster from the vending machine never hurts. Every time I'm on campus for the day, I use the microwave on the 1st floor to heat up my lunch. Be sure to bring headphones if you plan on working on the 1st or 2nd floor because it can get noisy, and if you're planning on coming during exam cram time good luck finding a seat. Strozier is one of my favorite parts of FSU!

Overall decent library. It has a pleasant ambiance and friendly staff…read more It is good to see that with technology so advanced, that libraries are still viable.

Hands down the 4th best library I've ever been to and I have been to a ton. If you're looking for a…read moregreat book and knowledgeable yet friendly staff with a building that is quiet, clean, and crammed to the brim with natural lighting to read your new great book find then LeRoy Collins is the place for you. 10/10 Thank you and we will see you soon.