Las Olas Boulevard is a popular thoroughfare in Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 that runs from Andrews Avenue in the Central Business District to A1A and Fort Lauderdale Beach. The easternmost section of the boulevard is interlaced with canals and waterfront homes. The commercial stretch, approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) in length, features cool sub-tropical breezeways and courtyards alive with bars

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

, nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

s, bridal stores, shops, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and hotels--this is referred to as the "Riverfront" area of downtown Fort Lauderdale. The name "Las Olas" means "The Waves" in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

.

Las Olas has its own historic house, a museum of art, a nearby IMAX

IMAX

IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...

 cinema and an art house movie theater within a short walk. Las Olas Boulevard can be accessed by the Fort Lauderdale water taxi

Water taxi

A water taxi or water bus, also known as a commuter boat, is a watercraft used to provide public transport, usually but not always in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar...

. The boulevard is a popular attraction for locals and visitors, being ideally situated close to Fort Lauderdale beach, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport is an international commercial airport located in unincorporated Broward County, Florida, three miles southwest of the central business district of Fort Lauderdale...

 and Port Everglades

Port Everglades

Port Everglades is a port in Broward County, Florida. As one of South Florida's leading economic powerhouses, Port Everglades is the gateway for international trade and cruise vacations. Already one of the three busiest cruise ports worldwide, Port Everglades is also one of Florida's leading...

. It is known as a dining and shopping destination.

History

The boulevard was constructed in 1917, when Las Olas was just a dirt road that crossed the swampy wetlands to the barrier island at Fort Lauderdale Beach. The Las Olas Isles were dredged in the 1920s to create land for the areas most picturesque waterfront residential district. The modern commercial segment of Las Olas Boulevard was constructed during the Post World War II era. The westernmost downtown segment was entirely reconstructed since the 1970s. The boulevard begins at the famous Elbo Room bar where the beach meets the boulevard and ends in the west at the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale.

Notable residents

In the early 1980s Las Olas went through a major renovation program to enhance property values. The land was worth much more than that of the standing homes. It was decided that anyone who wished to buy property on one of the isles would have to tear down the existing home and build a home of equal or greater value than the land. There were a few celebrities that already lived on Las Olas, but new homes and waterfronts made it more appealing to move to the area. Professional tour companies provide tours that take people down the waterways to show off the celebrities homes and yachts.

A few of the most notable are:

Johnny Weissmuller

Johnny Weissmuller

Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...

, noted as an actor who played Tarzan

Tarzan

Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...

 and invented the signature yell.

Wayne Huizenga

Wayne Huizenga

Harry Wayne Huizenga is an American businessman who grew Blockbuster Video, Waste Management, Inc., and AutoNation into successful companies. He is the former owner of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins, the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers and the Major League Baseball's Miami...

, noted as the CEO of Waste Management, Inc

Waste Management, Inc

Waste Management, Inc. is a waste management, comprehensive waste, and environmental services company in North America. Founded in 1894, the company is headquartered in Suite 4000 at the First City Tower in Downtown Houston, Texas, in the United States....

 and Blockbuster Video.

David L Cook, noted as a Christian music star and entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

.

Connie Francis

Connie Francis

Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...

, noted as an actress and movie star who was featured in the movie, Where the Boys Are

Where the Boys Are

The kind of cool modern jazz popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and Chico Hamilton, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil...

 which was filmed on Las Olas Blvd at the famed Elbo Room

Elbo Room

The Elbo Room was a bar established in 1939 at 241 South Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and became a landmark for Fort Lauderdale Beach. The bar was prominently featured in the 1960 film Where the Boys Are.-External links:...

.

Dan Quayle

Dan Quayle

James Danforth "Dan" Quayle served as the 44th Vice President of the United States, serving with President George H. W. Bush . He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Indiana....

, noted as the former Vice-President of the United States of America.

Lee Majors

Lee Majors

Lee Majors is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his starring role as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy ....

, noted actor who played The Six Million Dollar Man

The Six Million Dollar Man

The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...

 and former husband to Farrah Fawcett

Farrah Fawcett

Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...

.

Sonny and Cher, noted singers and actors.

Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball

Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...

 and Desi Arnaz

Desi Arnaz

Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...

, noted television and movie stars. Stars of I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...

 fame.

Gloria Vanderbilt

Gloria Vanderbilt

Gloria Laura Vanderbilt is an American artist, author, actress, heiress, and socialite most noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans...

, noted designer and socialite.

External links

• Dining, bars and cafes On lasolasboulevard.com
• Shopping guide On lasolasboulevard.com
• Spa and beauty guide On lasolasboulevard.com
• Art and galleries On lasolasboulevard.com
• Fashion guide On lasolasboulevard.com
• Mango's Restaurant Contemporary American restaurant and nightclub
• Mancini's restaurant Italian restaurant
• Café de Paris French fine dining
• Trata Greek Taverna Greek restaurant
• SoLita / Italian restaurant
• Big City Tavern / Indoor and outdoor dining
• Carroll's Jewelry On Las Olas since 1961
• Pocock Fine Art & Antiques Fine Art & Antiques
• Flora Ottimer Children's boutique
• Zola Keller Special occasion & bridal boutique
• Southern Formals Las Olas tuxedo rental & sales
• Victoria's Bridal Couture Las Olas bridal boutique
• Tommy Bahama Casual cool designs
• Sophy Curson Fashion sophistication
• Moda Mario European clothing
• Maus and Hoffman Male clothing
• LF Stores Boutique
• Las Olas Boulevard Las Olas Boulevard
• Las Olas Wine and Food Festival Annual gourmet event
• Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale One East Las Olas
• Stranahan House Historic home with daily tours