The expansion of American railways in the 1860s opened up vast tracts of Florida, and the Sunshine State has been constantly evolving ever since. The same can be said of its world-famous attractions, as they compete to capture the fickle attention of visiting tourists.

Click through this gallery of incredible photos to see how Florida's attractions have changed over the decades. Or in some cases, haven’t…

The Kennedy Space Center is the iconic heart of the US space exploration program, built on land NASA acquired on Merritt Island in the early 1960s. By 7 March 1962 an independent field centre was operational and became NASA's launch site for hundreds of human space flight missions as well as countless scientific, commercial and applications spacecraft. This photo was taken in May 1969, just two months before the Apollo 11 mission saw mankind finally step on to the moon.

As the American Space Program grew in popularity, more and more people wanted to get a close-up view of the Kennedy Space Center and its operations. In 1965 the construction of a full-scale visitors centre was approved, mainly displaying exhibits donated by NASA contractors. When Disney World opened nearby in 1971, the space centre was forced to up its game. Today it is one of the most popular attractions in central Florida offering a variety of experiences, including IMAX films, hands-on activities and behind-the-scenes tours.

This impressive fortified watchtower was built by the Spanish in 1742 to defend the southern approach to St. Augustine in the face of increasing British attacks. It is made from coquina, a sedimentary rock composed of shell fragments from marine organisms that was easy to quarry but surprisingly impenetrable to cannon fire. Here we see the fort in 1898, more than 150 years after it was built and looking as imposing as ever.

Today the fort is the centrepiece of the Fort Matanzas National Monument, declared as such by President Calvin Coolidge in 1914. Now well into its third century, the fort looks as solid as ever, but its role has definitely changed. The fort hosts frequent reenactments and living history demonstrations about the early days of the fortification. And where it once shielded vulnerable Spanish settlements, it now protects approximately 300 acres of pristine Florida coast containing dunes, marsh, maritime forest and threatened and endangered flora and fauna.

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Back in the first half of the 19th century, Quaker slave trader Zephaniah Kingsley and his African princess common-law wife Anna established a plantation on Fort George Island near Jacksonville. It was regarded as one of the more lenient plantations in the area, with slaves able to buy their freedom and inherit property. But as this photo taken in the 1880s shows, the enslaved plantation workers were forced to live in basic huts, made from an early form of cement, while the Kingsleys lived the high life thanks to the wealth created by their indentured labourers.

Today the former plantation forms part of the Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve. The watery fields where enslaved people worked tirelessly to plant and harvest rice, indigo and cotton has been returned to nature. And the Kingsley’s plantation house, the oldest standing plantation house in Florida, has become a National Parks Service bookstore. A half-circle of 23 partially ruined huts (pictured) that once housed the enslaved remain, a poignant reminder of the hardships brought about by human bondage.

The Florida Everglades are a huge wilderness of wetlands containing sawgrass marshes, freshwater sloughs, mangrove swamps, pine rocklands and hardwood hammocks that have been around for over 5,000 years. But there was a time in the early 20th century where they looked like they might be lost for good, as vast tracts were being drained and turned into farmland. In 1928 environmental groups began pressuring the government into saving this unique environment. And in 1934 Congress agreed to create the Everglades National Park. Here we see officials surveying the proposed site shortly after.

It took another 13 years but on 6 December 1947 the Everglades officially became a National Park, covering a staggering 1.5 million acres. The park continues to face threats from climate change and pollution from neighbouring industries. But for the one million visitors who come to the Everglades each year, it remains a truly unforgettable and special place of primal beauty – and a glimpse of what this part of the world was like thousands of years ago.

When this photo of South Beach was taken in the early 1900s it was unsettled farmland used primarily for growing coconuts. By 1912 developers, including the Lummus Brothers, were snapping up land for development, and after the world’s longest wooden bridge was built across Biscayne Bay in 1913, things began to really boom. The Town of Miami Beach was incorporated in 1915, and by 1920 the likes of the Firestones, JC Penny and Albert Champion had all built mansions in the area.

Even so, the Lummus Brothers would be astounded by what their far-sighted investment has transformed into. Today the area is famous for its pristine beaches, vibrant nightlife, stunning Art Deco architecture and the many celebrity visitors – in fact, everything that people think of when they think of Miami. And no more so than around the Lummus Park, a 10-block stretch of South Beach bearing their name. Here you’ll find the best of Miami’s famous Art Deco buildings, including the lifeguard tower which is also the best place to snap a sunrise selfie.

When this photo was taken around 1897, Key West was, per capita, the wealthiest city in the United States. That prosperity was built on wrecking, the practice of recovering valuables from ships that met their end close to shore, with the changeable weather and treacherous coastline around Key West providing rich pickings. Shipbuilding and repair yards and chandleries flourished and auction houses popped up to sell the ‘acquired goods’. One prominent auctioneer made $10,000 in fees in one year alone, the equivalent of more than $300,000 (£235,000) today.

The building of lighthouses on the most treacherous reefs and the introduction of more manoeuvrable steam ships saw the wrecking trade pretty much finished by the 1920s. However, the construction of the Seven Mile Bridge in 1912, and the arrival of Henry Flagler’s railway four years later, connected the island to the Florida mainland and brought with it a whole new industry, tourism. Today more than five million people visit the area each year, drawn by the historical architecture, as well as the nightlife and the island’s unique 'Floribbean' character.

Situated on Florida’s Atlantic Coast and part of a beach that stretches southward for 23 miles (37km) to Ponce de Leon Inlet, Ormond Beach has always been one of Florida’s wildest and windiest beaches. Here we see a group of adventurous ladies ‘sand sailing’ on Ormond Beach in the 1890s when it was a popular activity. Local hotels hired out custom-built rigs like this one to give guests a chance to race along the sand. Locals simply attached a sail to their bicycles for a bit of extra speed.

Ormond Beach continued to be a popular spot for thrill seekers well into the 20th century. By the early 1900s the smooth hard-packed sands here were used as a proving ground for automobile inventors and drivers. The first US ‘Speed Tournaments’ were held here and many a land speed record attempted, earning Ormond Beach the title of ‘The Birthplace of Speed.’ Today it is one of the few places in America where you can park your car on the beach.

American industrialist Henry Flagler made a fortune through Standard Oil and used his wealth to build a railroad down Florida’s east coast. He built enormous resort hotels near his stations to attract passengers, with the sumptuous Hotel Alcazar in St Augustine the undeniable jewel in the crown. It was one of America’s first multi-storey poured concrete buildings and the Casino Pool, seen here in the 1890s, was the largest indoor pool in the US at the time. And the most beautiful, it has to be said.

While the Alcazar Hotel was incredibly popular during the early 20th century, it was hit hard by the Great Depression when tourism struggled and guest numbers plummeted. It closed in 1931 and the magnificent building lay empty until it was purchased by Otto Lightner, a publisher and collector who turned the building into a museum to showcase his huge and eclectic collection of, well, things. The Alcazar is still home to the Lightner Museum today, as well as the City Hall and a café, set in the deep end of the former swimming pool.

With Florida thoroughly dependent on shipping for much of the 19th century, Congress authorised the building of a lighthouse at Jupiter Inlet in 1853 (seen here in the 1880s) to warn mariners of a treacherous reef just offshore. At the time, the spot was remote and untouched, with construction hampered by Native American resistance and workers stricken by a mysterious illness that became known as ‘Jupiter Fever.’ The tower was finally lit on 10 July 1860, but quickly extinguished by Confederate sympathisers when the American Civil War broke out.

The lighthouse was relighted in 1866 and went on to become a major link in the transatlantic telegraph network, a coastguard station, a steamboat terminal and a stop on a railroad branch line. Today Jupiter is a thriving town of 65,000 people and a popular seaside vacation spot famous for its beautiful beaches, charming Old Florida vibe and lively annual seafood festival.

In central Florida in the 19th century roads were notoriously slow and railroads non-existent. Boats were the preferred mode of transport with pole barges, and later steamships, plying back and forth on the Silver and Ocklawaha Rivers. By 1850 Silver Springs (pictured here in the 1870s) had become an important port and distribution centre for the crops of vegetables, tobacco and oranges that grew along the banks. After the American Civil War ended steamers began bringing tourists, mainly from the north, who were drawn to the raw natural beauty of the area.

More incredible vintage photos from the early days of Florida

Silver Springs really rose to prominence as a tourist attraction in the late 1870s when Hullam Jones and Phillip Morrell fixed a piece of glass to the bottom of a rowboat. Not only did they invent the concept of a glass bottom boat, they created an attraction that still draws visitors to this day. The boats (pictured) are more sophisticated and hold a lot more passengers, but the thrill of gazing into the crystal-clear waters, watching marine life, ancient bubbling springs and even underwater movie props remains just as strong.

This four-acre botanical garden in St. Petersburg used to be a sinkhole. But after local plumber George Turner Snr bought the nondescript plot in 1902, he used his skills to turn the property into a beautiful tropical garden. He started charging people to visit and by the 1940s it was one of Florida’s most popular tourist attractions. More than 200,000 visitors dropped by each year to see the exotic plants, famous flamingos and bird shows featuring trained parrots. This photo was taken in 1964 when the gardens were a popular venue for beauty pageants.

As theme parks like Walt Disney World became more popular in the 1980s, the Sunken Gardens' star began to wane and, reluctantly, the Turner family were forced to sell. The gardens held such an important place in the hearts of locals that a citizens-initiated ballot paved the way for the City of St. Petersburg to use a one-time property tax to purchase the Sunken Gardens for the city. St. Petersburg’s oldest living museum was saved, and adapted to the times by offering more modern services like in-garden yoga classes (pictured).

Epcot is an acronym coined by Walt Disney meaning Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. He envisaged it as a self-contained city that would incorporate the newest technologies, an example of what future cities should and could be. After Disney’s death in 1966 the plans for Epcot were scaled right back and it was built as a new theme park within the Walt Disney World resort, albeit with futuristic rides and attractions. Here we see Florida Transportation Secretary Paul Pappas snipping a ribbon to mark the dedication of a new monorail line to the attraction in June 1982.

The centrepiece of EPCOT has always been Spaceship Earth, a 180-foot-tall (55m) geosphere covered with pyramid-shaped tiles. Home to the Spaceship Earth attraction, an educational ride through the history of human communication, it has nevertheless been compared to a giant golf ball by some. It remains relatively unchanged since it was built but is now illuminated in themed colours to celebrate various holidays and occasions (pictured). The rest of the park continues to evolve, hosting various festivals and treating its 11 million annual visitors to a roster of new and evolving attractions.

Spook Hill is a stretch of road in Lake Wales that drivers have been visiting since the 1950s (pictured) to let their cars roll up a hill. It is an optical illusion, what’s known as a gravity hill. But that hasn’t stopped people assigning all kinds of supernatural reasons from the ghost of a Florida pirate, Captain Sarsaparilla, pushing cars away from his grave to the spirit of a giant alligator toying with cars entering his domain.

Spook Hill itself hasn’t changed over the decades. If you stop your car at the bottom of the hill it will still roll back up. But the surrounding area certainly has. Where there was once vast citrus groves, you’ll find neat suburban homes, and a sign over the tarmac marking where to start. Whether that enhances or detracts from the spooky experience is hard to tell, but in April 2019 Spook Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Bok Tower Gardens is a 250-acre contemplative garden and bird sanctuary created by Pulitzer-prize winning author and publisher Edward W Bok. Opened in 1929, it was Bok’s gift to America, a country that had welcomed him and his family when they emigrated from the Netherlands when he was just six years old. Its centrepiece is the breathtaking Gothic Revival, Art Deco 205-foot (62.5m) high Singing Tower, seen here in 1940. It sits atop the highest point in Florida and was known as the ‘The Taj Mahal of America.’

Over the intervening decades, the Singing Tower still takes the breath away. Its 60 carillon bells ring out at 1pm and 3pm each day, echoing across the lush gardens that have grown immeasurably taller and more dense in the years since Bok and his team first planted them. The Bok Tower Gardens were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1993. More than 23 million people have found peace and solitude here since 1929.

Little Havana is a neighbourhood in Miami centred around Southwest Eighth Street, or Calle Ocho as it is better known now. Originally a Jewish neighbourhood, it saw a huge influx of Cuban refugees fleeing Fidel Castro's revolution in the 1960s, transforming the area’s culture. Here we see a photo taken in 1978 when the neighbourhood became fully ‘Cubanised’, with delis becoming panaderias, salsa music the predominant soundtrack and pork very much the main menu item.

In 2017 the National Trust for Historic Preservation declared Little Havana a National Treasure. Still the cultural and political capital of Cuban Americans, the area has seen an influx of other Latin American and Caribbean countries bringing even more colour and diversity to this already dazzling neighbourhood. But head down to Calle Ocho and within four blocks you’ll find whatever Cuban experience you’re looking for, whether that be a cigar, a live salsa band, café con leche or pastelito de guayaba, a Cuban pastry that the locals will tell you tastes like home.

In 1933 Joseph DuMond released six Java Macaques into a subtropical forest near South Miami and in the process created Monkey Jungle, a 30-acre primatarium and zoological park where the animals run free and humans watch from behind a chain wire fence. This undated postcard, probably from the 1940s, shows a group of visitors enjoying this unique way of interacting with primates.

Today Monkey Jungle is home to over 300 primates, most running free on the same reserve. The basic principle is still the same. Visitors get to see the primates living and interacting as they would in their native habitats. But with the introduction of the Immersive Rainforest Adventure Show Tour visitors now get a more up-close and personal encounter with a troop of squirrel monkeys and capuchin monkeys, all in the company of a trained guide.

The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St Augustine is a historical attraction centred around the site of the first Spanish settlement in the New World. Its most famous exhibit is a natural spring thought to be the fabled ‘Fountain of Youth’ discovered by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513. That has never been convincingly verifiable, of course. But that didn’t stop Walter B Fraser buying the property in 1927 with an eye to ‘educating the public’ by building a tourist attraction around the spring. Here we see an undated photo from the early days of the attraction.

Today the 15-acre attraction is home to a Discovery Globe, Planetarium, the Timucua Indian Exhibit and countless archaeological artefacts from the time it was a Spanish settlement. Re-enactors in period costumes wander the grounds, reliving key moments from the site’s history while dioramas like the one pictured tell the tale, tall or otherwise, of Juan Ponce de Leon’s quest. You can even sample the elixir of youth yourself, straight from the fountain itself. Be warned. It tastes very strongly of sulphur. And its effects may not be immediately apparent.

Founded by the late Owen Godwin in 1949, the self-styled ‘Alligator Capital of the World’ has been thrilling visitors for 75 years. Set over 110-acres, this theme park and wildlife preserve is home to over 2,000 American alligators, including four extremely rare leucistic ‘white’ alligators. Entering through the park’s iconic gator mouth entrance, seen here in 1960, has long been a rite of passage for locals and out-of-towners alike.

Over 400,000 people visit Gatorland each year and the park is constantly adding new attractions to keep visitors coming back. As well as a splash park, zipline and a Stompin' Gator OffRoad Adventure, the park offers visitors the chance to interact with the park’s ‘residents’ in unique ways. The ‘Trainer For A Day’ program offers a glimpse as to what it takes to be able to work around dangerous animals, while ‘Gator Night Shine’ sees guests making their way along the winding wooden walkways of Gatorland’s Alligator Breeding Marsh at night, armed only with a flashlight.

The striking Citrus Tower in Clermont was opened in 1956 to much acclaim. It was the brainchild of Clermont mayor and local automobile dealer Ralph Harper who hoped the 226-foot-tall (69m) observation tower, the highest in Florida, would showcase Central Florida's burgeoning citrus industry. As this postcard from the early days indicates, tourists quickly took the striking tower to their hearts, clambering up to its upper decks to gaze out across a seemingly endless vista of orange groves.

The Citrus Tower is still open but visitor numbers are nothing like they were in the 1960s when over 500,000 people visited each year and Citrus Queens were crowned in its foyer. The view has changed too. Visitors are whisked up to the observation deck in a modernised elevator, but instead of endless citrus groves they are greeted by a vista of houses, shopping malls and industrial estates. The citrus themed café is worth checking out though, if only for the chance to sample a citrus-infused coffee.

When the first Disneyland in California proved a roaring success after opening in 1955, founder Walt Disney set his sights on a second resort. After considering – and dismissing – possible sites in New Jersey, St Louis and Palm Beach, a vast tract of swampland between Orlando and Kissimmee caught his eye. Here we see Walt Disney and several other company members inspecting the land in 1963 before secretly purchasing lots over the next two years. 

After an intense two years of construction and at a cost of more than $400 million (the equivalent of just over $3bn/£2.5bn today), Walt Disney World opened on 1 October 1971 with Mickey Mouse leading celebrities like Bob Hope and Julia Andrews through the park entrance. In the first two years the attraction drew 20 million visitors and turned the sleepy citrus-growing town of Orlando into the 'theme park capital of the world'. The resort continues to introduce new rides and attractions, welcoming 58 million visitors each year.

Read on for more incredible photos that show Florida's transformation from swampland to holiday paradise...