Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a well-known tourist destination whose very name evokes the image of a postcard. What is today one of Florida's largest cities was not always prized for its beautiful beaches and tropical climate. In the early 20th century, it was hailed as the "Gateway to the Everglades" and a "vegetable shipping capital." By the 1920s, Fort Lauderdale found itself at the very center of the phenomenal Florida land boom. Development and tourism became driving forces for the new economy-and there has been no looking back.