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Fort Walton Beach Library

Buildings and structures in Okaloosa County, FloridaFort Walton Beach, FloridaLibraries established in 1927Libraries in FloridaOkaloosa County, Florida
LibraryFWB
LibraryFWB

The Fort Walton Beach Library was established in 1927 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, by the Women's Club, in the old Masonic building on the waterfront. Members kept the library open by rotating service hours during the days of the week chosen for its operation. The newly established library received a donation of 1,000 books. A few years later the library moved to the clubhouse of the Women's Club. However, in 1936, when the Fort Walton Beach High School needed additional books for accreditation, the Women's Club donated the library books to give the school the quota needed. This ended the first public library until June 1, 1954 when the Business and Professional Women's Club, assisted by the Women's Club, established the Fort Walton Beach Public Library in the Community Center, the land for which was donated by Library Board President, Mrs. Liza (L.M) Jackson. Miss Lucile Woodward, a member of one of the first families of this city, served as librarian. Miss Woodward was given accolades for the splendid growth during her two and one-half year directorship of the library.On Friday, February 15, 1957, it was announced that the Fort Walton Beach and the Playground area would offer full-time library service with a full-time professional librarian, Miss Dorothy Raymond. The city-supported library was open from 10 until 5:30 o'clock Tuesday through Saturday. Mrs. Liza Jackson, Library Board President, was quoted as saying, "The board is happy to announce this full time schedule so the hours will be convenient for both office workers and housewives." The new professional director, Miss Raymond, was quoted as saying, "I was horrified when I learned the library I was to help build was founded on donations. I had never seen any donations which were any good. But you'd be surprised what the people here gave-they are excellent additions to the library." The Playground Daily News of February 28, 1957, also said " . . . so pleased was Miss Raymond with what she found to work with at the Fort Walton Beach Library that she complimented Mrs. Jackson and her board on their extremely good selection of books.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Fort Walton Beach Library (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Fort Walton Beach Library
Miracle Strip Parkway Southeast,

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N 30.404185 ° E -86.605584 °
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Miracle Strip Parkway Southeast 185
32548
Florida, United States
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Brooks Bridge
Brooks Bridge

The Brooks Bridge is a four-lane steel and concrete structure that carries highway U.S. Route 98 (US 98) over Santa Rosa Sound (mile 223 of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway) just west of the Choctawhatchee Bay between downtown Fort Walton Beach, Florida and the 3-mile-long (4.8 km) section of Okaloosa Island controlled by the city of Fort Walton Beach. It is named for John Thomas Brooks, who, in 1868, purchased 111 acres of what is now downtown Fort Walton Beach. The area on the north side of the sound where the bridge connects was known as Brooks Landing. It has a charted clearance of 50 feet (15 m) above the water.Constructed in 1965–1966, it replaced a 1935-vintage low-level steel through-truss center-pier swing-span structure immediately west of the current bridge which had become increasingly unreliable with age, the center-pivoting span having been known to get stuck in the open position while allowing for transit of maritime traffic. Removal of the steel work and the old concrete pivot pier began in March 1966 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the new Brooks Bridge reached completion with removal taking about three weeks.As the only local crossing of the Santa Rosa Sound, it is subject to traffic congestion. Vehicular speed limits on the span are 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) eastbound and 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) westbound. An additional bridge between Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island has been discussed for many years. On December 20, 2013, the Florida Department of Transportation announced it had begun planning for the replacement of the 47-year-old bridge. In April 2015 the FDOT announced another proposal for a pair of bridges.A "rehab job" on the 50-year-old structure was underway by the FDOT in April 2015. "What we're doing there is some work to extend the lifespan of the bridge," DOT district spokesman Ian Satter said. "They're working with the bearings on the bridge, which we do maintenance on throughout all of our bridges in the district." Crews are also installing some "additional support mechanisms," Satter said. The work, which is being done under the bridge with help from a large barge, is expected to last until mid- to late May 2015. Brooks Bridge has been deemed structurally deficient and is set to be replaced in a few years.