Born of the mid-twenties’ Florida real estate and tourism boom, one of Fort Lauderdale’s oldest neighborhoods, Victoria Park, was platted in two parts in late 1924 and early 1925 by Alfred G. Kuhn. Named for his daughter Victoria, Kuhn intended for his subdivision, bounded then on the north by NE 7th Street, on the east by the Karen Canal, the south by East Broward Boulevard and the west by NE 14th and NE 17th Avenues, to be exclusive. At that time, Victoria Park comprised approximately twenty four blocks and contained some unusual platting features, including curvilinear and diagonal street patterns and Lake Stranahan, which was incorporated to provide scenic building lots. By mid 1925, a typical lot was selling for $2000 and lots along Broward Boulevard and Lake Stranahan for considerably more. A Victoria Park addition was platted in July, 1925, and in February, 1926, Victoria Courts, now designated as an historic area by the City of Fort Lauderdale, was added to Kuhn’s development.

The historic Victoria Park neighborhood has successfully reinvented itself from its humble cottage beginnings to a thriving, upscale community, in large part due to the efforts of the Victoria Park Civic Association. Founded in 1980, the VPCA is Fort Lauderdale’s largest, as well as one of the city’s best-organized and most influential civic groups, owing much of its success to its very effective committee structure. Signature events like the popular spring and holiday Home Tours and inventive programs like entranceway sponsorship, community tree-planting and zoning overlays are highlights of over two decades of community activism.

Today, Victoria Park stretches more than one square mile all the way to US I (Federal Highway) on the west, Lake Stranahan on the east, Broward Boulevard on the south and Sunrise Boulevard on the north. With its charming neighborhood atmosphere, mature tree canopy, desirable location, directly adjacent to a dynamic downtown, and proximity to beaches and Las Olas arts and shopping, a typical lot in Victoria Park now sells for more than $300,000 and some home prices exceed even founder Alfred Kuhn’s wildest dreams!