Lake Placid is a town in Highlands County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,223 and in 2016 the estimated population was 2,321. It is part of the Sebring Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The town has two nicknames: "Town of Murals" and "The Caladium Capital of the World". Lake Placid has more than 40 murals painted on buildings throughout the town, and 98 percent of the world's caladium bulbs come from Lake Placid.
The town is home to the Lake Placid Tower, a closed observation tower that is 240 feet (73 m) tall according to early sources or 270 feet (82 m) tall according to late sources. However, government sources exclude a 270-foot height, allowing only a 240-foot height.
Video Lake Placid, Florida
History
Lake Placid, which was formerly called "Lake Stearns", was chartered on December 1, 1925. Dr. Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, and the founder of the Lake Placid Club in Lake Placid, New York, proposed that Lake Stearns change its name to "Lake Placid". On April 29, 1927, the Lake Stearns Commissioners accepted Dr. Dewey's proposal. Subsequently, they submitted a request to the Florida State Legislature. On June 6, 1927, the community was chartered as the town of Lake Placid.
Maps Lake Placid, Florida
Geography
Lake Placid is located in central Highlands County at 27°17?42.9?N 81°22?21.5?W (27.29525, -81.37263). U.S. Route 27 passes through the town, leading north 16 miles (26 km) to Sebring, the county seat, and south 58 miles (93 km) to Clewiston.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Lake Placid has a total area of 3.650 square miles (9.45 km2), of which 3.599 square miles (9.32 km2) are land and 0.051 square miles (0.13 km2), or 1.4%, are water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,223 people, 841 households, 490 family households, and 1,040 housing units in the town.
The racial makeup of the town was 69.6% White, 7.1% Black and African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 18.9% Some Other Race, and 2.7% from Two or More Races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.1% of the population.
There were 841 households of which 58.3% were family households - with one or more people related to the householder or related to one of a same-sex couple by birth, marriage of adoption; and 41.7% were nonfamily households - including same-sex couples with no other relatives. Family households included 29.0% with their own children under 18 years, 37.0% were a husband-wife family, 6.4% were a male householder with no wife present, 14.9% were a female householder with no husband present. Nonfamily households consisted of 12.2% males living alone - 5.8% 65 years and older - and 19.7% females living alone - 19.7% 65 years and older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.21. The median age of the population was 34.4 years.
From the 2016 American Community Survey, the population was spread out with 10% under 5 years old, 15.3% from 5 to 14, 45.2% from 15 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older (significant margins of error causes total to exceed 100%). The sex ratio was 106.3 males per 100 females. The educational attainment of the population who were a high school graduate or higher was 59.2%, while 12.3% had a bachelor's degree or higher. The poverty rate of the population 25 years and older was 61.0% if less than a high school graduate, 52.2% if a high school graduate, 26.8% with some college, and 13.4% with a bachelor's degree or higher. The median earnings of the population 25 years and over during the past 12 months was $14,938, consisting of $10,625 if less than a high school graduate, $15,187 if a high school graduate, $18,988 with some college, and $147,961 with a bachelor's degree. The per capita income was $17,318. 54.7% of all people had incomes below the poverty level. All figures from the survey had significant margins of error. For example, the town's population in 2016 was estimated to be 2,321 ± 559.
Media
Television
Lake Placid is located in a fringe viewing area; its television stations originate in distant cities. Local television services offer signals from WFTV, the ABC affiliate in Orlando, WINK, the CBS affiliate in Fort Myers/Naples, WFLA, the Tampa Bay area NBC affiliate, and WTVT, the Tampa Bay area Fox affiliate. There are no TV stations whose studios or broadcasting towers are located in Lake Placid.
Radio
Lake Placid is part of the Sebring radio market, which is ranked as the 288th largest in the United States by Arbitron. It is the city of license for WWTK 730 kHz and is in that station's primary coverage area, however, there are no radio stations whose studios or broadcasting towers are located in Lake Placid.
Newspapers
Local print media include the weekly The Journal which has covered Lake Placid for almost 60 years; the News-Sun, a Sebring-based newspaper published on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday; and Highlands Today, a daily local supplement to The Tampa Tribune.
Points of interest
Lake Placid Tower
The Lake Placid Tower, formerly named Placid Tower, Tower of Peace or Happiness Tower, located at 461 US Highway 27 N between Tower Street and Lake Clay Drive S in Lake Placid, is a closed observation tower 240 feet (73.2 m) tall according to early sources (before 1982) or 270 feet (82.3 m) tall according to late sources (after 1986). However, no physical modification of the tower occurred in the interim that would explain a 30-foot increase in height. It rests on ground 142 feet (43 m) above sea level (NAVD 88). As a warning to aircraft, the top of the tower, including antennae, is stated to be 392 feet (119.5 m) above sea level according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Thus, the height of the tower above ground, including antennae, is 250 feet (76.2 m) (392-142=250), which excludes a 270-foot architectural height, allowing only a 240-foot architectural height. According to early sources, it has three observation levels, at 192 feet (58.5 m) behind windows, at 200 feet (61.0 m) on an open air balcony, and at 225 feet (68.6 m) in the open air crow's nest, Eagle's Nest, or Birds eye vantage point on top of the roof but below roof tracery. The apex of the tower is a red aircraft warning light. The tower is 360 feet (110 m) above sea level according to two late sources, the latter stating that that elevation applies to the eagle's nest, which is consistent with the crow's nest elevation of early sources (142+225=367?360). The tower offered a 40-mile (65 km) panoramic view.
Earnest Oakley Hunt dreamed of building an observation tower when he moved to Orlando in 1938, then moved to Sebring in 1947 and found the perfect location in nearby Lake Placid. He and Robert Gray formed Air View Corporation to build the tower. The tower was designed by A. Wynn Howell of Lakeland, built by Ridge Builders of Sebring in 1960 for $350,000 (equivalent to $2,200,000 in 2016), and opened January 1, 1961.. Most sources state that it was the tallest concrete block structure in the world when it opened, with 90,000 concrete blocks, but the magazine Florida Architect states that it was built of reinforced concrete. One source states that the tower included 100,000 limestone blocks from Ocala while another states that it was faced with ceramic tile, implying that the tower has a facade of limestone tile. The tower has a foundation made from 520 cubic yards (398 m3) of concrete reinforced with 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg) of steel. The tracery atop the tower is made of gold anodized aluminum.
Because of low ticket sales, the tower closed in 1982 when the owner would not pay their Internal Revenue Service taxes, but it was re-opened in 1986. The small group of owners still faced sluggish sales, and the tower and its restaurant continued to struggle, despite features such as a petting zoo in its plaza, and a pay phone at the top billed as the "highest pay phone in Florida." The last owner who operated the tower as a tourist attraction was Lake Placid Tower Group owned by Mark Cambell since 1992. He sold it to CHL Tower Group on November 12, 2003 which has operated it as a cell phone tower ever since. Even though the tower closed about 2003, it still has two red "OPEN" signs at its top, facing north and south. After the tower closed, several openings in the facade and the nearby facade itself at the top were covered which now block the bird's eye view. These covers, the roof tracery, and the balcony are now painted pale blue-green (cyan). The Tower View restaurant at the base of the tower closed in 2015. The tower is a designated Lake Placid landmark. It is one of three towers in Central Florida, including the Citrus Tower, built in 1956, 100 miles (160 km) to the north in Clermont, and Bok Tower, built in 1929, 50 miles (80 km) to the north in Lake Wales (Bok Tower was never intended to be an observation tower).
Historical Society Depot Museum
The Old Lake Placid Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot, now the Historical Society Depot Museum of the Lake Placid Historical Society, is a historic Atlantic Coast Line Railroad depot in Lake Placid, Florida. It is located at 12 East Park Street and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
References
External links
- Town of Lake Placid official website
- Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce
- Lake Placid High School
- Lake Placid Memorial Library
- News-Sun newspaper
- Lake Placid Fire Department
- Drone View of Lake Placid Tower, April 2017
Source of article : Wikipedia
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