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Bridge to the Past A drive through history Recently, eight classes from Parkside Elementary enjoyed rides on their yellow school bus through Coral Springs’ first streets and past some of its earliest structures. With compass in hand, they turned “north, south, east and west” traveling past the first real estate office and police station (now the Museum of Coral Springs History), the first pool located in Mullins Park, the first site of school portables (now Broward Health Coral Springs), our first gas station and even the oldest house in the City. “After driving through the Covered Bridge, we rode on the first paved street, also known as Wiles Road. We drove past the first high school and elementary school – Coral Springs High and Hunt Elementary, and the first McDonald’s. We also passed by City Hall, which was built with 200 year-old bricks and headed north to the Sportsplex,” City Historian Wendy Wangberg said. “We got to sing to the animals at the Sawgrass Nature Center, pass Sawgrass Springs Middle and Coral Glades High Schools, where many of their older brothers and sisters attend. Next stop was the Aquatic Complex, Tennis Center, Dog Park and saw people pull weeds at the Community Garden. After passing the Iceplex, the bus drove east to the first Burger King, south on Coral Springs Drive and east to the Center for the Arts that used to have a gymnasium. The tour was a lot of fun with the students,” Wangberg said. You can take the tour yourself by visiting the CSExperience.org web site – and students can get service hours for completing the entire program. If you’d like more information on the history of Coral Springs visit the 50th Anniversary web site at CoralSprings50.org. If your community group would like to request a historical presentation in honor of the 50th Anniversary, visit the Getting Involved section to inquire about the Speaker’s Bureau, which is available to local organizations for events and meetings. CoralSprings50.org Watch CityTV
Spring 2013 • Coral Springs • 7