Few American cities are as steeped in history as New Orleans. The city was founded by the French, once controlled by the Spanish, and ultimately the site of some of America’s most popular historical stories, battles, and characters highlighted by its vibrant Creole culture.
Gruene Hall! Famous for all the right reasons. The town’s meeting place, high school graduations, and Saengerfests. You don’t know what a Saengerfest is? Me neither, but I found out it’s a German singing festival. And what it’s most known for, is a concert venue for some of Country music’s biggest stars. And where some other stars got their start.
Every town has its own legends and lore, today we are highlighting the legends of Tampa Bay. Whether it is a pirate who may or may not have existed, but lives on in an annual festival, small green men who chase you, giant sharks, ghosts, lab-created bugs, and a voodoo priestess who controls the weather they are all legendary in Tampa Bay.
If you look around Richmond, Virginia, or Washington, D.C. you will see the influence of Thomas Jefferson. You see it in the symmetry of the buildings. You see it in the columns. And you see it in much of early US architecture. Jefferson was a passionate student of architecture from the time he purchased his first book on the subject. Over the course of his lifetime, he amassed one of the largest libraries in America. Architecturally, he is probably best remembered for his two homes. Monticello, in Albemarle County, Virginia. And Poplar Forest, in Bedford County, Virginia.
Located in Titusville on Florida’s Space Coast is the Warbirds Museum. Operated by the Valiant Air Command, the museum holds many artifacts. Ranging from the earliest days of crewed flight to the present day.
Columbia, South Carolina, has the Postal Service to thank for its’ nickname. Postal employees would shorten the city’s name, Columbia, to Cola. This eventually gave way to calling it Cola. Which then morphed into Soda…hence Soda City! The city has since embraced it and ran with it. The new city shuttle system is dubbed the Soda Cap Express. Its logo is even a soda cap, which itself is a play on words. One because of the city’s nickname. And two, because Columbia is the CAPital city of the state.
