Tallahassee: Recreation

Sightseeing

Tallahassee offers the visitor a handsome vista of rolling hills, abundant trees, and an interesting variety of Southern architectural styles. The downtown district was formed according to the plan of William DuVal, governor of the Florida Territory. The major symbols of the state of Florida's government are its Old and New Capitol Buildings. The old Greek Revival-style 1845 building was expanded in 1902, with the addition of grand porticoes and a majestic dome. The New Capitol, erected in 1978, is an example of the "new classicism" style. A fifth-floor observation deck allows visitors to watch the legislature in session.

Within the Park Avenue Historic District, visitors can stroll along streets lined with graceful ante-bellum and turn-of-the-century homes, explore the Old City Cemetery, and enjoy the newly renovated city parks. The district's historic Knott House Museum is known as the "house that rhymes," for the poems attached to its Victorian era furnishings. The Calhoun Street Historic District, once termed "gold dust street" because of its wealthy residents, is home to the 1856 Brokaw-McDougall House and Gardens.

Other historic houses worth noting are the Governor's Mansion, patterned after Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage, and the LeMoyne Art Foundation, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Free tours are offered on the grounds of the Goodwood Plantation's house and gardens. Fine crystal, porcelain, and period furniture are among the collections of the Pebble Hill Plantation, which features gardens, a kennel, a fire house, a log cabin schoolhouse, and a cemetery. Nearby Alfred B. Maclay State Park displays flowers and shrubs in a setting of reflecting pools, bubbling fountains, and a natural lake.

Driving tours along the lush, moss-draped "Canopy Roads" of the region (so named for their arching trees overhead) include the Native Trail tour, which focuses on architectural history; the Cotton Trail, which traces the impact of the area's cotton trade; and the Quail Trail Tour, which highlights the ante-bellum hunting estates that dot the landscape.

The Museum of Florida History allows visitors to climb aboard a reconstructed steamboat, examine sunken treasures, and march to a Civil War musical beat. The Mission San Luis de Apalachee, site of the only reconstructed Spanish mission in Florida and a Native American village, offers ongoing excavations, exhibits, and living history demonstrations. Animals such as red wolves, Florida panthers, and alligators thrive on the 52 acres of the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science, which offers a nature center, an 1880s farm, a child friendly Discovery Center, and special events throughout the year.

Fun and exploration in the world of science are the focus of the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science. The Challenger Learning Center features a planetarium, IMAX theater, and programs for students K–12, featuring mission control and space station simulators. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory on the Florida State University campus offers tours of its state-of-the-art facility where such high-tech procedures as magnetic resonance imaging and tests with semiconductors and super-conductors are performed.

Arts and Culture

Tallahassee's Civic Center and college auditoriums are the site for many musical and theatrical events throughout the year. The Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center plays host to touring Broadway shows during its main September-through-March season. The renowned Florida State University (FSU) School of Theatre offers productions at its three facilities: the Mainstage, The Lab, and the Studio Theatre. The university's School of Music presents more than 400 concerts, recitals, and opera performances annually. FSU's Ruby Diamond Auditorium plays host to the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, whose season, which includes a Masterworks Series and a holiday concert, runs from October through April. The Tallahassee Ballet Company, also housed at FSU's Ruby Diamond Auditorium, presents three major performances annually, and provides ballet lessons for the community. Florida A & M University hosts a variety of concerts in the Foster-Tanner Fine Arts Center recital hall. The Tallahassee Little Theatre produces a September-through-May season of offerings as well as its avant-garde "Coffeehouse Productions."

Festivals and Holidays

Tallahassee welcomes spring with March's Jazz and Blues Festival at the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science, and the Springtime Tallahassee celebration, spanning dates in March and April. A parade kicks off the spring events, which include six stages of entertainment, and more than 250 food and craft vendors. The Flying High Circus, an actual circus found on the campus of Florida State University stages shows in Tallahassee during the first two weekends in April before moving to Callaway Gardens for the summer.

The spirit of the Renaissance inspires the Southern Shakespeare Festival, which culminates with a free performance of Shakespearean plays at Downtown Capitol Commons. July events include the area's largest fireworks display on July Fourth at Tom Brown Park, and the Swamp Stomp at the Museum of History and Natural Science, featuring guitar music in all its variety. Calypso rhythms and the smell of jerk chicken and salsa fill the air at the Caribbean Carnival, which takes place downtown during August.

The crafts and culture of the Seminole, Miccosukee, Creek, and Choctaw are the focus of the Native American Heritage Festival each September. The "World's Largest Free Fish Fry" lures visitors to the Florida Forest Festival in October. Autumn is also the time for the North Florida Fair with its livestock shows, performances, and carnival rides, and the Halloween Howl with its ghost stories and trick or treating on a circa-1800s farm. November brings Market Days at which 270 artists and craftspersons display their wares. The joys and lights of Christmas brighten up December's Winter Festival downtown, and at the Knott House Candlelight Tour. The early history of Tallahassee takes the spotlight at January's Hernando DeSoto Winter Encampment, which focuses on the Spanish and Apalachee cultures. In order to keep the Spanish speaking culture alive in Tallahassee, the North Florida Hispanic Association hosts a yearly Hispanic festival.

Sports for the Spectator

Although Tallahassee does not field any professional teams, watching college sporting events is very popular—so popular, in fact, that the city sponsors Downtown Get Downs, high spirited, themed block-parties, on most Friday nights preceding college home football games. The free events feature food vendors, live entertainment, arts and crafts, and more. Football, baseball, and other intercollegiate sports are played by the Florida State Seminoles and Florida A & M Rattlers.The Nike Tallahassee Open takes place in April at the Golden Eagle Country Club.

The Tallahassee Sports Council is involved in hosting multisport and community partnership events, such as the hosting NCAA basketball and tennis championships and the Sunshine State Games. The Sports Council also serves as agent to such local sports entities as the Tallahassee Soccer Association, the Amateur Sports Association, and the Center Classic.

Sports for the Participant

An undisturbed natural environment adds to the enjoyment of the many recreational resources in the area. In 2004, Tallahassee's Parks and Recreation Department won a Gold Medal Award from the National Recreation and Park Association, naming it the best in the country for cities with populations of 100,000 to 250,000 residents. The city has more than 2,700 acres of parkland. The popular St. Marks Trail, extending from Tallahassee south to the coast, is available to cyclists, skaters, hikers, and equestrians. The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is a popular eco-tourism attraction, with its undisturbed coastal marshes and a preserved lighthouse. A stretch of parks in the downtown area spans some five blocks. Several ocean beaches are less than seventy miles away, and Tallahassee has its own freshwater beaches. Lake Hall at Alfred B. Maclay State Park and Lake Bradford offer public beach access, swimming, boating, fishing and other water sports. Golfers can enjoy the city's several municipal and public courses as well as award-winning private courses. Three local parks provide lighted tennis courts.

Shopping and Dining

Downtown Tallahassee offers a collection of specialty and gift shops at Downtown Market Place on Park, where fine arts, crafts, authors, writers/poets, live jazz, chefs, historic chats, children's storytelling and a farmer's market can be enjoyed on Saturdays from March to November. The Tallahassee Mall boasts more than 90 specialty stores. Governor's Square is home to over 100 stores and restaurants, anchored by four full-line department stores, and a 500-seat Food Court. Bradley's 1927 County Store is renowned for homemade sausage and Southern goods and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Restaurant offerings in the city range from the international cuisines of France, Italy, and Thailand, to seafood in all its variety, classic American cooking, and steak and barbecues.

Visitor Information: Tallahassee Area Visitor Information Center, 106 East Jefferson Street (across from City Hall); telephone (850)413-9200 or (800)628-2866; fax (850)487-4621; email vic@mail.co.leon.fl.us

Tallahassee: Economy

Major Industries and Commercial Activity

Government is the central focus of Tallahassee's economy, although education, printing and publishing, food processing, and the lumber industry play important roles as well. As Florida's state capital, Tallahassee enjoys a stable economy and a comparatively low unemployment rate. A recent survey of occupations and industries found a wide variety of employment sectors.

Tallahassee is a high technology center and is sometimes referred to as "Silicon Valley South." Institutions such as Innovation Park/Tallahassee, affiliated with Florida A&M University and Florida State University, and Smart Park, a privately owned 130-acre fiber-optic research center, place Tallahassee on the cutting edge of technology. The city boasts that it is the most wired community in the country.

Items and goods produced: pulpwood, pine extracts, insecticides, pre-stressed concrete, lumber, boats, feed

Incentive Programs—New and Existing Companies

Local programs

Local city and county governments and the Tallahassee Area Chamber of Commerce have joined together to form the Economic Development Council, which works toward promoting a diversified economy that continues to grow and create more jobs and business opportunities for both new and existing industries. In 2004, the Chamber announced the creation of Action 2010, to promote Tallahassee as a center of art and culture, while expanding local business areas.

State programs

Enterprise Florida, Inc. is a partnership between Florida's government and business leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the state of Florida. Enterprise Florida's mission is to increase economic opportunities for all Floridians, by supporting the creation of quality jobs, a well-trained workforce, and globally competitive businesses. It pursues this mission in cooperation with its statewide network of economic development partners.

Job training programs

The Workforce Development Board (WDB), commonly known as Jobs & Education Partnership, is a part of Enterprise Florida, Inc. WDB provides policy, planning, and oversight for job training programs funded under the new federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), formerly Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), along with vocational training, adult education, employment placement, and other workforce programs administered by a variety of state and local agencies. Regional Workforce Development Boards operate under charters approved by the Workforce Development Board. The 24 regional boards have primary responsibility for direct services through a statewide network of One-Stop Career systems. State and local workforce development efforts are concentrated on three broad initiatives: First Jobs/First Wages focuses on preparing workers for entry-level employment including the School-to-Work and WAGES (Work and Gain Self-Sufficiency) programs; High Skill/High Wages targets the higher skills needs of employers and training workers for advancement including Performance Based Incentive Funding (PBIF), Occupational Forecasting Conference/ Targeted Occupations, Quick Response Training (QRT), and Incumbent Worker Training (IWT); One-Stop Career Centers are the central elements of the One-Stop system for providing integrated services to employers, workers, and job-seekers.

Development Projects

In 2005, planning began for a large community performing arts center. Several hotel and condo developments are also scheduled to begin, including the delayed Marriott Civic Center hotel, condo and convention center project.

Economic Development Information: The Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County, Inc., 100 N. Duval, PO Box 1639, Tallahassee, FL 32302; telephone (850)224-8116, fax (850)561-3860. Michael Parker, Director, City of Tallahassee Economic Development Department, 300 South Adams Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301; telephone (850)891-8625; email parkerm@talgov.com

Commercial Shipping

Tallahassee is served by 13 motor freight carriers, as well as several package delivery services.

Labor Force and Employment Outlook

Tallahassee businesses have access to a labor force in which more than 41 percent of working adults hold college degrees. Inc. magazine has ranked Tallahassee among the "Best Small Metro Areas to start and grow a business." In 2002, Forbes magazine listed Tallahassee as one of the Best Places for Business and Careers. The fastest growing business sectors are telecommunications, computer hardware vendors, software developers, and trade associations.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Talahassee metropolitan area labor force, 2003 annual averages.

Size of nonagricultural labor force: 158,600

Number of workers employed in . . .

construction and mining: 7,300

manufacturing: 3,600

trade, transportation and utilities: 22,200

information: 3,800

financial activities: 7,200

professional and business services: 17,600

educational and health services: 16,200

leisure and hospitality: 13,100

other services: 7,600

government: 60,100

Average hourly earnings of production workers employed in manufacturing: $14.09 (2003 statewide average)

Unemployment rate: 2.7% (December 2004)

Cost of Living

The following is a summary of data regarding several key cost of living factors for the Tallahassee area.

2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Average House Price: $261,680

2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Cost of Living Index: 101.4 (U.S. average = 100.0)

State income tax rate: None

State sales tax rate: 6.0%

Local income tax rate: None

Local sales tax rate: 1.5

Property tax rate: 3.2 mills per $100 of assessed valuation

Economic Information: Tallahassee Area Chamber of Commerce, 100 N. Duval, PO Box 1639, Tallahassee, FL 32302; telephone (850)224-8116

Tallahassee: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

The Leon County School District offers programs in education for the gifted, physically and emotionally handicapped, and homebound, as well as programs in vocational education, special education, adult job preparation, and adult general education. Leon County students continue to score higher than students state-wide and nationally on the Scholastic Achievement Test.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Leon County School District as of the 2003–2004 school year.

Total enrollment: 31,857

Number of facilities

elementary schools: 24

junior high/middle schools: 7

combination schools: 3

senior high schools: 6

other: 2 charter and 9 other

Student/teacher ratio: 18.6

Teacher salaries

average: $39,117

Funding per pupil: $3,485

Public Schools Information: Superintendent, Leon County School District, 2757 W. Pensacola St., Tallahassee, FL 32304; telephone (850)487-7100

Colleges and Universities

Florida State University, with its more than 38,000 students, is known for its science program, performing arts curricula, and super computing; it recently added a new School of Computational Science and Information Technology. Florida A & M University, founded in 1888 as a primarily African American institution, has more than 9,000 students; it has received acclaim for its business, pharmacy, and engineering schools, as well as for being home of the high-stepping Marching 100 Band. Tallahassee Community College serves 10,000 students, most of whom are in the associates-in-arts transfer program.

Tallahassee is also the site of the Lively Technical Center, one of ten centers for electronic excellence in the state, offering entry-level training in disciplines such as electronics, drafting, aircraft maintenance, and computer service. Keiser College, a private college, provides associate and bachelor degree programs in such fields as criminal justice, business administration and culinary arts

Libraries and Research Centers

LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library maintains six branches housing nearly 319,000 volumes. The library offers a Tech/Media Section with a computer laboratory, books-on-tape, CD-ROMs, and a large video collection. Special features are its Youth Services section, Consumer Center, Map Resource Center, and Grants Information area. The library provides Tallahassee FreeNet, a free community internet provider that offers instruction and support.

The city of Tallahassee boasts more than 40 special and research libraries affiliated with educational institutions, state agencies, and private companies. Governmental libraries cover such subjects as environmental protection, agriculture, commerce, legal affairs, transportation, medical services, and public service.

Research centers affiliated with Florida State University (FSU) cover such topics as European politics, aquatic research, biomedical toxicology, environmental hazards, marine biology, neuroscience, communication science, computing, weather, insurance, management, real estate, population studies, and education. FSU's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is one of the nation's newest high-tech laboratories for scientific research and engineering. Florida A & M University researches areas such as anti-inflammatory drugs, space life sciences, computers, transit, and child development.

Other research centers in the city include Tall Timbers Research Station, dedicated to protecting wildlands and preserving natural habitats; the Dyslexia Research Institute; and institutions that study conflict resolution, government, taxation, family services, and archeology.

Public Library Information: LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library, 200 West Park Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32301-7720; telephone (850)487-2665

Tallahassee: Communications

Newspapers and Magazines

The Tallahassee Democrat is the city's daily newspaper. The Capital Outlook, is an African-American weekly, while the Elder Update, published monthly, offers consumer information for senior citizens. The Florida Bar News, the FSView and other legal and college newspapers, are published in the city.

The North Florida Hispanic Association publishes a quarterly Spanish-language newsletter, La Gaceta Hispana. Journals on engineering, agriculture, and the funeral industry are also published in Tallahassee. Tallahassee Magazine, a bimonthly, is the region's only full-color lifestyle publication. It features award-winning writing on the people and business of the area, and carries a dining guide and calendar of events.

Television and Radio

Tallahassee has three network television stations, one public station, four digital television stations, twelve FM radio stations and five AM stations.

Media Information: Tallahassee Democrat, 277 N. Magnolia Drive, Tallahassee, Florida, 32301; telephone (850)599-2100. Tallahassee Magazine, Rowland Publishing, Inc., 1932 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, Florida, 32308; phone (850)878-0554; fax (850)656-1871.

Tallahassee Online

City of Tallahassee home page. Available www.state.fl.us./citytlh

Leon County home page. Available www.co.leon.fl.us

Leroy Collins Leon County Public Library. Available www.co.leon.fl.us/library

National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. Available www.nhmfl.gov

North Florida Hispanic Association. Available www.tnfha.org

Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. Available www.talchamber.com

Tallahassee Democrat. Available www.tallahassee.com

Tallahassee Visitor's Guide. Available www.seetallahassee.com/Default.asp

Selected Bibliography

Ellis, Mary Louise, Tallahassee & Leon County (Tallahassee: Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board, Florida Department of State, 1986)

Paisley, Clifton, The Red Hills of Florida, 1528–1865 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1989)

Rabby, Glenda Alice, The Pain and the Promise: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Tallhassee, Florida (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1999)

Tallahassee: Population Profile

Metropolitan Area Residents

1980: 190,000

1990: 233,598

2000: 284,539

2003 estimate: 273,489

Percent change, 1990–2000: 21.8%

U.S. rank in 1980: 203rd (MSA)

U.S. rank in 1990: 146th

U.S. rank in 2000: 134th

City Population

1980: 81,458

1990: 124,773

2000: 150,624

2003 estimate: 153,938

Percent change, 1990–2000: 20.1%

U.S. rank in 1980: 221st

U.S. rank in 1990: 146th (State rank: 2nd)

U.S. rank in 2000: 135th (State rank: 8th)

Density: 1,574 people per square mile (in 2000, based on 2000 land area)

Racial and ethnic characteristics (2000)

White: 91,007

Black or African American: 51,569

American Indian and Alaska Native: 376

Asian: 3,617

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 82

Hispanic or Latino (may be of any race): 6,309

Other: 1,457

Percent of residents born in state: 51.6% (2000)

Age characteristics (2000)

Population under 5 years old: 7,763

Population 5 to 9 years old: 7,278

Population 10 to 14 years old: 6,832

Population 15 to 19 years old: 17,874

Population 20 to 24 years old: 31,189

Population 25 to 34 years old: 24,008

Population 35 to 44 years old: 17,985

Population 45 to 54 years old: 16,397

Population 55 to 59 years old: 5,185

Population 60 to 64 years old: 3,694

Population 65 to 74 years old: 6,225

Population 75 to 84 years old: 4,598

Population 85 years and older: 1,596

Median age: 26.3 years

Births (2003)

Total number: 2,341

Deaths (2003)

Total number: 1,031 (Tallahassee), 1559 (Leon County, of which, 33 were infants under the age of 1 year)

Money income (1999)

Per capita income: $18,981

Median household income: $30,571

Total number of households: 63,165

Number of households with income of . . .

less than $10,000: 12,178

$10,000 to $14,999 5,016

$15,000 to $24,999: 9,721

$25,000 to $34,999: 8,086

$35,000 to $49,999: 8,795

$50,000 to $74,999: 9,414

$75,000 to $99,999: 4,911

$100,000 to $149,999: 3,248

$150,000 to $199,999: 807

$200,000 or more: 989

Percent of families below poverty level: 12.6% (47.1% of which were female householder families with related children under 5 years)

2002 FBI Crime Index: 10,750

Tallahassee: Health Care

Tallahassee is served by two local hospitals plus walk-in clinics and a mental health center. The Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, eighth largest hospital in Florida, is a 770-bed hospital that provides open-heart surgery and cardiac transplantation, renal dialysis, laser surgery, and lithotripsy. Other services are a community cancer treatment center, neurological intensive care services, a psychiatric center, and the area's only neonatal high-risk nursery. In 2004, Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center became affiliated with H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL.

Capital Regional Medical Center is a fully accredited, acute care hospital serving the residents of North Florida and South Georgia. Established in 1979, Capital Regional Medical Center has 180 state-licensed beds and a 700-person hospital staff, including more than 300 physicians and approximately 250 professional nurses. Surgical specialties include a heart surgery program and orthopedic, urological, and neurosurgery centers. In 1998, the center completed a $1.1 million dollar renovation and expansion of their Emergency Department. More recent renovations and expansions (2004) include a new facility, with public areas and a facade designed by architect Michael Graves. The new hospital center includes all new equipment, private rooms, and a state-of-the-art Heart Center. Other services include a full range of outpatient services, specialized intensive care units, radiology, respiratory care, physical therapy, a Wound Care Center, Family Center, and a hyberbaric oxygen chamber.

Big Bend Hospice offers compassionate in-home care to people with terminal illnesses, with several satellite offices in Northern Florida. Hospice House, a homelike residence for patients who cannot remain at home through the end of their illness, offers short-term crisis care.

Tallahassee

The City in Brief

Founded: 1824 (incorporated 1825)

Head Official: Mayor John Marks (N-P) (since 2003)

City Population

1980: 81,548

1990: 124,773

2000: 150,624

2003 estimate: 153,938

Percent change, 1990–2000: 20.1%

U.S. rank in 1980: 221st

U.S. rank in 1990: 146th (State rank: 8th)

U.S. rank in 2000: 135th (State rank: 8th)

Metropolitan Area Population

1980: 190,000

1990: 233,598

2000: 284,539

2003 estimate: 273,489

Percent change, 1990–2000: 21.8%

U.S. rank in 1980: 203rd

U.S. rank in 1990: 146th

U.S. rank in 2000: 134th

Area: 96 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 150 feet above sea level

Average Annual Temperature: 68.0° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 63.21 inches

Major Economic Sectors: government, trade, services

Unemployment rate: 2.7% (December 2004)

Per Capita Income: $18,981 (1999)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 10,750

Major Colleges and Universities: Florida State University, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee Community College

Daily Newspaper: Tallahassee Democrat

Tallahassee , city (1990 pop. 124,773), state capital and seat of Leon co., NW Fla.; inc. 1825. Tallahassee is a wholesale trade and distribution center for the surrounding lumber, livestock, and agricultural area. The state government, Florida State Univ., and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical Univ. are major sources of employment. Lumber and wood products are manufactured, and food is processed. The city, which was one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities in the late 20th cent., lies in a hilly region known for its lakes, springs, forests, and picturesque gardens.

When Hernando De Soto arrived there in 1539, he found a flourishing Apalachee settlement. Spanish missionaries and settlers followed, but the Apalachee village remained the major settlement until Tallahassee was founded (1824) as the capital of the Florida Territory. The ordinance of secession was adopted there in 1861. The city successfully resisted Union attempts to capture it; a nearby state monument marks the site of the battle of Natural Bridge (Mar., 1865), where Tallahassee cadets helped repel a Union attack. The capitol (1845; remodeled 1901) contains the state library. The graves of Prince Achille Murat (Napoleon I's nephew) and his wife are there. The city is noted for its old homes and antebellum charm. Nearby are Apalachicola National Forest and Wakulla Springs.

Tallahassee: Convention Facilities

As the government center for the state of Florida, Tallahassee is the preferred headquarters location for most gatherings of Florida professionals. Tallahassee has more than 5,000 rooms in more than 50 hotels and motels. The Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center is the main convention site in the city, with a 14,000-seat arena, and 52,000 square feet of meeting, dining, and exhibition space. The Dale Mabry Conference Center at Tallahassee Airport offers versatile amenities for meetings from small, closed-door sessions to large public receptions. The Augustus B. Turnbull III Conference Center at Florida State University can accommodate small conferences. Out of the ordinary meeting areas include the North Florida Fairgrounds, the Wakulla Springs Lodge and Conference Center, and The Capital Cultural Center, which also houses the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science. Historic Dorothy B. Oven Park, part of the Lafayette Land Grant awarded to General Marquis de Lafayette in 1824 by the United States Congress, has a Main House that is available to the public for rental use for seminars, meetings, and receptions.

Convention Information: Tallahassee Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, 106 East Jefferson Street Tallahassee, FL 32301; telephone (850)413-9200 or (800)628-2866; fax (850)487-4621

Tallahassee: Transportation

Approaching the City

Florida law requires that drivers must turn on their headlights when rain is heavy enough to use windshield wipers. A number of interstate and state highways converge in Tallahassee including U.S. highways 27, 90, 319, as well as state highways 20 and 363. Amtrak offers east-west service on its Sunset Limited line, and Greyhound Bus Lines also serves the city. The Tallahassee Regional Airport, which is served by eight national airlines, is located five miles south of downtown. The airport reported serving a total of 1,155,072 travelers in 2004.

Traveling in the City

Taltran, an extensive public transit system, offers 35 city routes and 9 routes to the city's college campuses, with a modern transfer facility, the C.K. Steele Plaza. Traveling downtown becomes a fun event on The Old Town Trolley, with its brass fittings and cable-car gong.

Tallahassee: Municipal Government

Tallahassee has a council/manager form of government with a mayor and four council members elected at large who serve staggered four-year terms. The city commission appoints the city manager who oversees most city departments and administers the daily operation of the city.

Head Official: Mayor John Marks (since 2003; current term expires 2007)

Total Number of City Employees: about 2,200 (2005)

City Information: City of Tallahassee, 300 South Adams St., Tallahassee, FL 32301; telephone (850)891-8200

Tallahassee: Introduction

Tallahassee, which means "land of the old fields" in the Apalachee Indian language, still retains the feel of the Old South with its antebellum homes, historic churches, and Spanish moss-draped oaks. As the state capital, the city is a center of both government and education for the state of Florida. The number of young people in the city give Tallahassee a vitality that is somewhat different from other places in Florida with considerably older populations.

Tallahassee State capital of Florida, USA. First discovered by Europeans in 1539, it was the site of a Spanish mission. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida Territory in 1824. Florida State University (1857) and Florida A&M University (1887) are located here. Industries: chemicals, timber, paper, tourism. Pop. (2000) 150,624.

Tallahassee, Florida/USA Developed by the Spanish during the 16th century from a Creek village with a name meaning ‘Old Town’ from talla ‘town’ and hasi ‘old’.

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