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Discovery of Florida exhibit opens at St. Petersburg Museum of History

 
Conquistador Juan Ponce de León named this land La Florida because of its lushness and to acknowledge his landing during the Easter season. 
Conquistador Juan Ponce de León named this land La Florida because of its lushness and to acknowledge his landing during the Easter season. 
Published Sept. 16, 2014

"Imagining La Florida" at the St. Petersburg Museum of History is a history exhibit, but it has enough lovely visual components to make it a good-looker, along with its educational priorities and interactive elements.

It's a familiar story, told well. It begins in 16th century Spain, which was aggressively pursuing expansion in the New World and focusing on the exploration of Florida by conquistador Juan Ponce de León, who named it La Florida because of its lushness and to acknowledge his landing during the Easter season. (He has often been credited with being the first European to land on what is now the continental United States, but many historians believe salvagers had been here often long before.)

This exhibition, loaned by the Spanish government, celebrates the Spanish presence and influence, as well as the Indians who populated the land when he arrived and the later arrival of Africans.

One section features the mythic Fountain of Youth, which the Spanish searched for but never found. Centuries later, it popped up in downtown St. Petersburg as one of its first tourist attractions. (I remember visiting it as a child, a sort of glorified drinking fountain with mineral-tasting water. It didn't halt my aging process.)

The exhibition continues through March 1. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors; $9 for military, veterans, students with ID and kids ages 6 to 17. Admission for younger kids is free. spmoh.org or (727) 894-1052.

Lennie Bennett, Times art critic