Lakeland History & Culture Center

at the Lakeland Public Library

ARCHITECTURAL RENDERINGS: JON KIRK, AIA PRINCIPAL, STRAUGHN-TROUT

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Many stories connecting one community.

The vision for this project emerged over three years ago with discussions about acquiring one location to capture and share Lakeland’s unique history.

Led by City Commissioner Phillip Walker and supported by community leaders, the idea was presented to the City Commission in 2019. The initiative received unanimous support from the commission to build an exhibit center at the city’s Main Library. An advisory committee was chartered, led by former Mayor Gow Fields, to determine what was required to make the Lakeland History and Culture Center a reality.

The Lakeland History and Culture Center is a dedicated exhibit and research space that shares inclusive stories of Lakeland in harmony with all those who have contributed, and continue to contribute, to its culturally diverse history.

• Dear Friends: A Letter from Gow Fields

  Dear Friends:

  Construction is set to begin in 2021 on an exciting and important addition to our City’s landmarks. Thanks to the Lakeland City Commission’s recent charge, a history and culture center will join the already popular campus of the City’s Main Library on Lake Morton Drive.

  The Lakeland History and Culture Center, to be housed with the library’s Special Collections, will offer over 1,400 square feet of exhibit space that will tell the “Lakeland Story.” Its presentations will highlight the wide range of contributions from a variety of cultures and ethnicities that built and developed Lakeland into the quilted masterpiece it is today.

  The City Commission has appropriated $300,000 to start the construction of the space but finishing that space with the display cases, technology, and modular walls, as well as the content creation and implementation of exhibits that bring the space to life, will require more funding.

  Opportunities exist to share the many stories that connect our community. Your donations to the Lakeland History and Culture Center allow those stories to be viewed, heard, and shared.

  On behalf of the Advisory Committee who has worked to guide the process, I invite you to become a part of the story.

  Can we count on you?

  With Appreciation,

   

  Gow Fields
  Chair, Lakeland History and Culture Center Committee

• Lakeland History & Culture Center Advisory Committee

  GOW FIELDS, CHAIR
  Fields Insurance and Financial Group
  Former Lakeland Mayor

  DON SELVAGE, VICE-CHAIR
  SHR Human Resources, LLC

  LUANN MIMS, SECRETARY
  Special Collections Librarian, City of Lakeland

  RAY ALLEN
  Director of Multicultural Affairs
  Southeastern University

  MISCHELLE ANDERSON
  Rosabelle W. Blake Academy

  SUE BENTLEY
  Community Leader

  CATHERINE R. ESKIN
  Associate Professor of English
  Florida Southern College

  EMILY FOSTER
  Senior Planner, Historic Preservation
  City of Lakeland

  LISA LILYQUIST
  City Librarian, City of Lakeland

  TERESA MARTINEZ
  Institute of Spanish

  RICK MAXEY
  Assistant Vice President of Economic Development
  Florida Polytechnic University

  MICHAEL MAGUIRE
  Lakeland Citizen Activist

  YVONNE MCSHAY
  Professor Emeritus, Polk State College

  DELL QUARY
  Polk County Public Schools

  ALEX RICH
  Executive Director and Chief Curator
  Polk Museum of Art

  JAMES RING
  Ring Roofing

  SALLIE STONE
  Well-Done Events, LLC

  AHMAD TAYLOR
  The Atlanta Illustrator

  PHILLIP WALKER
  Lakeland City Commission

• Donate

  You can donate by check or online / via the form below. Checks should be addressed to:

  Givewell Community Foundation
  Memo: City of Lakeland Parks & Recreation/LHCC Fund
  1501 S. Florida Avenue
  Lakeland, FL 33803