Waldo to Tallahassee, Florida – 21 February 2024
What better place to spend our last few days in Florida, then in Tallahassee, the capital of Florida.
It had been a little crazy with work so we took some time off to visit the Tallahassee Automobile museum which was a couple of blocks away from our RV park. I was expecting to just see cars, but it turned out to be so much more. Besides an amazing collection of preserved cars, trucks, bikes with their accessories and features many of which had previously belonged to celebrities like Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, several cars and bikes from the Batman movies, there were Steinway pianos with beautiful designs etched into them, sports memorabilia, guns, knives, instruments played by famous musicians, Lincoln’s hearse, barbies and kens, old radios, duke boxes, badges – you name it, even a snapping turtle – the first propelled mower in 1951. The collection was over two floors with additional museum pieces in the garden. We could have spent all day here.
We found it strange that Tallahassee which is so much smaller than some of the cities we have visited in Florida, was chosen as the capital of Florida. So after taking Jax for a good walk to tire him out, we ventured downtown to the Capitol building to learn more. We learned that Florida was initially divided into two colonies (East and West) each with their own capital – Pensacola in the West and St. Augustine in East Florida under British control. Then in 1783 it was returned to Spanish control. Spain ceded Florida to the USA in 1819 and Tallahassee was chosen as the single capital in 1824 as it was a suitable midpoint between the two.
We walked down an almost deserted street (it was Saturday) to see the State Capitol building, a majestic tall structure that serves as the seat of government for the state. Behind the current Capitol building was the Historic State Capitol building which was initially built in 1805 and then rebuilt and restored over time. Now a museum, it contains the 1902 Governor’s office and chambers of the House of Representatives, Senate, and Supreme Court. We spent a couple of hours browsing the many exhibits of photographs, recordings, and audiovisual displays showing the people and events that have shaped today’s Florida. Every aspect of this old building has an architectural feature of historic significance. Its red and white striped awnings, beautiful stained glass dome, and the original sheet metal relief of the state seal painted in white above the front and back doors, was stunning and so much nicer than the newer Capital building which incidentally is tallest structure in Tallahassee.
Outside the Capitol were a number of monuments including the Florida Fraternal Order of Police Law Enforcement Memorial which has the names of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Also the Combat Wounded Veterans Memorial dedicated to Purple Heart recipients.
From there it was a short drive to Tallahassee’s historic Railroad Square. Here an old lumber yard has been transformed into a funky art district with rows of tin roof warehouses painted with bright murals, where local artisans creatively showing off unique businesses like art galleries, art studios, vintage shops, video lounge, yoga studio, pinball arcade, an indoor rock climbing gym etc. etc. We grabbed an iced coffee in a Kava coffee shop and sat down at an outside patio to take in the very colourful surroundings. While Derek returned to the car, I browsed an enormous vintage store which was full of students looking for that one of a kind type of clothing. Really neat place to visit and of course to promote and encourage people to buy local.
