The Legacy

South Florida Museum

By (author) Thomas Peter Bennett

Not available to order

Publication date:

18 December 2010

Length of book:

282 pages

Publisher

UPA

ISBN-13: 9780761852629

The Legacy: South Florida Museum is an account of the origins, founding, and development in twentieth-century Florida of a people's museum about archeology, Spanish exploration, manatees, and space. As a museum founded in the immediate post-World War II era, with its origins in the prehistoric past, its narrative reflects Florida's changes through Spanish exploration, statehood, tourism, endangered manatees, and space development over a thousand years. The Legacy is a story of volunteerism, in the spirit of voluntary action for the common good, by dedicated individuals. It leads to today's South Florida Museum and its several facilities, including the Bishop Planetarium, Parker Manatee Aquarium, and Spanish Plaza. For more information, please see the following article from The Herald-Tribune. http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101130/ARTICLE/11301026/1238?p=1&tc=pg

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Acknowledgments
Chapter 3 1 Early Years: Places and People
Chapter 4 2 Montague Tallant and the Future Museum
Chapter 5 3 De Soto and Museum Origins
Chapter 6 4 The Manatee County Museum
Chapter 7 5 Founding and Opening the South Florida Museum
Chapter 8 6 The Museum's First Year
Chapter 9 7 1949: "Baby" at the Museum
Chapter 10 8 "The Little Museum Just Ran on Its Own. . ."
Chapter 11 9 New Facilities for the South Florida Museum
Chapter 12 10 Museum's Progress and Dedication of New Facilities
Chapter 13 11 The Museum Opens
Chapter 14 12 "From Stone Age to Space Age"
Chapter 15 13 Laser Fantasies and a Spanish Plaza
Chapter 16 14 Transition, 1982-1987
Chapter 17 15 New Beginnings
Chapter 18 16 Strengthening the Legacy
Chapter 19 17 Strengthening the Legacy Continues
Chapter 20 18 Continuing Epilogue. . .
Chapter 21 Abbreviations and Synonyms
Chapter 22 Illustrations: List and Credits
Chapter 23 Selected Bibliography
Chapter 24 Index
Chapter 25 About the Author

No stranger to Florida, Dr. Peter Bennett is also no stranger to museums. He has been president of the oldest natural history museum in the western hemisphere, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, as well as the director of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville and significantly, the South Florida Museum. This meticulously researched, historical account by a noted scholar and historian of science, weaves together the lives of extraordinary people from disparate walks of life who created a sense of community around the founding and growth of an iconic museum. The museum connects them all and tells their story —- the history of their place and its inhabitants. In this way, Bradenton and the South Florida Museum serve as a metaphor for Florida and all her cultural institutions.