This is a nice little railroad museum in downtown Plant City. Amtrak trains pass by and it is next…read moreto McCall Park. There are several eateries and shops around the area. The collection is displayed in an old station house and includes vintage signage, vintage brochures/ time tables, model trains, some train equipment you can sit in and maps. It's a fun diversion and great for train enthusiasts and kids who like rail equipment. There's also a train car outside. I was there during a downtown car show and enjoy all the nostalgia. :) All aboard!!!

Don't confuse this with the city's museum next to the tracks. This museum has several incredible…read morelayouts on the top floor of the 1914 Plant City High School building, now the Community Center. There are three classrooms with different gauges and all kinds of RR artifacts. The rooms are open on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Call ahead and bring your kids. Awesome! The main room is HO CDD and includes a layout of Plant City in the early 1900's.

Whenever we have company to come stay with us, we always make sure to take them to Hollis Gardens…read more The team here are constantly rotating the flora. After the freeze this year, I was concerned that there would be not much left, but I can tell a lot of care was put into surviving this past freeze. The grotto did take a little bit of damage, but I know it'll be back. The fish are super big and thriving as usual. The fountains are always running. It's always so beautiful. Kudos to the team that keep it epic!

Hollis garden is a cute garden area and very well maintained despite the grueling Florida heat. It…read morewas a welcome addition to our day in Lakeland.

We were in the area and wanted to check this place out. We were outside exploring and then came to…read morethe museum to cool off. For Florida residents, the tickets were $16/per person rather than $20. My kiddos loved the various stations this museum had to offer. I would absolutely go again, especially to cool off from the Florida heat.

My cousin in Florida recommended this place. She had been wanting to take my nephew, so we took our…read morekids and made it a family day. The museum itself is very interactive which is great for kids of all ages! There's a big outdoor playground enclosed by a cool, large, yellow alligator structure. Inside there is a huge dragon hanging from the ceiling made out of random trinkets. Outside is a MASSIVE beautiful park with a small man made lake/pond. Very beautiful place to visit. We enjoyed it very much. Adjacent to the main building is a food court as well and there's plenty of parking (free).

This is a seven acre historic district in central Bartow, Florida that dates to 1885. The historic…read morecommercial district is bounded by Davidson and Summerlin Streets and Broadway and Florida Avenues. In the middle of the district is the historic Classical Revival Polk County Courthouse that has been turned into the Polk County Historical Museum. There are twenty-one historic buildings in this district and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. Today the historic Classical Revival, Vernacular, and Masonry buildings along Main Street are occupied by shops and restaurants. There are quaint antique and vintage stores, a bakery, a Mexican restaurant, and a pizzeria. Parking is free along the street. During the first weekend in March the street is shut down for the Bartow Bloomin' Arts Festival. Bartow is so charming and fun to explore. This historic district was right up my alley.

As a fan of architecture and history I had to stop and check out this gem while I was traveling…read morethrough Aburndale, Florida. Once owned by Ephraim Mikell Baynard, this historic home brimming with charm. The first settlers arrived in Aburndale in the 1870's and 1880's to take advantage of natural resources and prime cattle grazing land. The town experienced more growth when Henry Plant's South Florida Railroad laid track in the area in the area in the early 1880's connecting Polk County with a larger regional economic market. In 1884 the town received a train depot and post office and the community of Auburndale continued to grow. Ephraim Mikell Baynard was born in South Carolina in 1861. In 1888 he settled in Auburndale, on the south side of Lake Stella. Baynard proved to be a savvy business man and he owned a general store and worked as a developer, cattle rancher, citrus and tomato farmer, and owner of a turpentine factory. In 1889 Baynard married Nettie Lee Brooks after she came to the area to escape an outbreak of yellow fever in Key West. The couple had two daughters Ruth and Elizabeth. In 1894 he built a stately, L shaped, two-story, wooden Folk Victorian home designed by Alfred Chipman Thorpe. The home was located just north of downtown Auburndale business district. The house has a dining room and two parlors downstairs and three bedrooms upstairs. A highlight of the home is a spindlework porch that wraps around the front of the house. Baynard's family lived in the home until 1913 as the fledgling town of Auburndale sprouted up around them. By 1951 the house had been chopped into five apartments, each with its own bathroom and kitchen and it teetered on demolition as city officials wanted the site for a parking lot. A group of students from Auburndale High School, led by guidance counselor Bonnie Burhans, stepped in to save the home. Over the next 5 years hundreds of students worked to restore the home uncovering heart pine flooring, oak fireplace mantles, handcrafted door and window frames, and century-old glass. The City of Auburndale now owns the home and it was turned into museum in 1997. The house has period furnishings including some owned by the Baynard family. After the Baynard house was restored it set off a wave pf preservation that also saw the restoration of the City Hall and the train depot with other buildings following. The Baynard House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 2001. Ephraim Mikell Baynard was designated a Great Floridian by the Florida Department of State in the Great Floridians 2000 Program.

my son & i came here to celebrate a bday party & it was such a good time! the entrance leads you…read moreright into the gift shop (parents be aware) - but the process was seamless to enter. there was a whole room w/ animatronic dinosaurs that moved - the boys loved that! there is a shaded patio w/ lots of seating for eating & a splash pad right next to it too. they had a food cart & some other options for snacks as well. the playground was extensively built & the park itself is a generous size. they had neat attractions such as gemstone panning, fossil digging, & a rideable dinosaur cart as well as a train! we had so much fun celebrating our friends & my son said he couldn't wait to go back again. see yall soon !!

Visiting family in Florida with a dinosaur obsessed toddler this place is a must!…read more Children under 3 are free so great outing for the littles who are walking but still affordable focusing on adult admission and any add ons like the excavation, train & gem mining. The space is very walkable and stroller friendly. Plenty of dinosaurs to explore with the appreciated signs to sound each name out loud. Complete with Halloween decor with a hunt where you vote and win a prize at the end before leaving. My toddler enjoyed all factors from the playgrounds seen early on, museums we entered for quick shade breaks to the many many dinosaurs we walked along to see between shaded and sunny areas. We did win a Dino go take home on the claw machine for just $1. Located near the very clean restrooms.

As a fan of history and architecture I was delighted to spot the Munn Park Historic District while…read moreexploring downtown Lakeland. The City of Lakeland has seven local historic districts with a combined area of 1.42 square miles. The districts protect more than 1,600 historic buildings and 13 individual landmarks. The Munn Park Historic District was designated a U.S. historic district on November 3, 1997 in Lakeland, Florida. It is named in honor of the city's founder, Louisville, Kentucky businessman Abraham Munn. Munn purchased 80 acres of land that now comprises the Lakeland downtown business district. The Munn Park Historic District is bounded by Bay Street to the north, Lemon Street to the South, Florida Avenue to the west, and extends around Lake Mirror to the East. The grand entrance to the district is the Lake Mirror Promenade designed by noted landscape architect Charles W. Leavitt. This historic district covers the main business area of Lakeland and includes many original buildings dating from as early as 1902. It contains 48 historic buildings and Munn Park which was the first open space in the city. Dedicated in 1884, it is the town square in the city. The Munn Historic District is an almost exclusively commercial district. Today you can enjoy historic buildings, dining, shopping, parks, and public art in this beautiful historic district It is very pedestrian friendly. Fun fact, Lakeland is the largest city in Polk County. Last year more people moved to Polk County than any other county in the United States. The future is looking bright for this stately, historic city.

This is downtown Lakeland. It's lovely!!!…read more There are nice restaurants, a lovely walk around Lake Mirror with some landscape architecture, Hollis Gardens and the newish and fun architecturally inviting Lakeland Brewery as well as the Amtrak Station. Closer in around Munn Park there are great public art works, lots of fun and fine restaurants including Harry's, Black and Brew and Delivicious coffee spots, a Mexican place, Palace Pizza, and Fresco's bar and cafe place next to Palace Pizza. Lots to explore and enjoy. Architecture. Natahan's clothing store. Old school Gaines Geo Jeweler with retro signage. This is the all-American downtown you've been searching for. Art. Food. Architecture. Banks. It's alive. Come take a look and enjoy. Walkable.

This historical marker about Kissengen Spring is located in Mossaic Peace River Park across from…read morethe restrooms. Once located about a mile north of the park, Kissengen Spring was a natural flowing spring outside the town of Bartow, the county seat of Polk County. Sadly it no longer exists. Floridians love their springs. There is something so tranquil about their cold crystalline waters. Many Native People thought of the waters as being sacred and having healing properties. They established villages near the springs. One such natural spring used to exist n Polk County at the basin of the Peace River. It was originally named DeLeon Springs after famed Spanish Fountain of Youth explorer, Ponce DeLeon. In 1883 the springs were purchased by medical doctors named Huddleston. They wanted to turn the springs into the kind of spas and therapy facilities you see in Europe. The name "Kissengen Springs" was taken from the baths in Bad Kissengen in Bavaria, Germany. The spring produced more than 20 million gallons of water a day that discharged into the Peace River and it became a natural attraction to the people of southern Polk County. People with ailments would seek the spring where they enjoyed picnicking, boating, and swimming. There was a pavilion for parties and dancing. In the 1930's political rallies were held here. After WWII soldiers came to the spring to recuperate. In the 1950's the spring stopped due to phosphate mining in the area. Mossaic Peace River Park is on the land that used to be the phosphate mine. The springs of Florida are such a treasured resource that is truly terrible to learn about the destruction of one. There is a moving song about the demise of the spring. https://youtu.be/J5GWp2x6xik The song is performed by Dennis Mader, a member of People for Protecting Peace River.