With the exception of the first picture which is the new pier Dania Beach--John U Lloyd State
Park looks exactly as it did when I first saw it in 1956. I lived in
Miami Beach at the time working at Picciolo's Restaurant and on my day
off a group of us would go up to Dania Beach which, though not
officially, had a nude gay beach which was also visited by nongays from
Europe. There were rivers west of the beach area separated by high bushes that sort of divided the two areas.
Back
in that time Miami Beach was the mecca for tourists who might take a
trip up to the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood in the late 1950s, early
1960s, to see top stars perform at night but both Hollywood and Dania
Beach were known to be filled with open fields, cows roaming around and
as a 'day in the country' for those of us who lived further south. There
is now a huge parking lot--back then no meters and you made your own
spaces--and, as I reviewed two weeks ago, a new Quarterdeck Restaurant
that has quickly become a tourist spot which is at the entrance, and on,
a brand new pier. The beach is so pristine it is as if it arose
overnight.
The
State park offers another way to park and visit the beach plus you will
also see the new huge cruise liners that dock at the Everglades Port.
As
far as I know Dania Beach is no longer a nude beach but then I haven't
been there in awhile--I may just have to check it out in the name of
research--just for you, of course!!
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Below are some notes from wikipedia.com about the area.