The State Road Department, predecessor of today's Department of Transportation, was authorized in 1915 by the Florida Legislature. For the first two years of its existence, the department acted as an advisory body to the 52 counties in the state, helping to assemble maps and other information on roads.

The 1916 Bankhead Act passed by Congress expanded the department's responsibilities and gave it the authority to: establish a state and state-aid system of roads; engage in road construction and maintenance;

acquire and own land; exercise the right of eminent domain; and accept federal or local funds for use in improving roads. For more than 80 years, the department has been working hard to provide a quality transportation network that can move Florida into the 21st century. We invite you to take a tour of Florida's past through these transportation related photographs.

Special thanks to The Florida State Archives

Photo Index

• World's First Airliner-Benoist Type XIV (1914)
• Clippers Over Miami (1934)
• Orlando Municipal Airport (1932)
• Pan American S-40 Airplane (1931)
• Taylor Field (1943)

• The Gandy Bridge(1930)
• Sulphur Springs Bridge (1923)
• Halifax River Bridge (1930s)
• Florida East Coast Railway Bridge-St. Johns River (1925)
• Lafayette Street Bridge (1900s)

• Port of Jacksonville (1960s)
• Miami Bayfront (1925)
• Port of Tampa (1900s)

• Palatka and Heights Street Railway Company (1890s)
• The Florida and West Indies Railroad and Steamship Company (1907)
• The Champion Engine 500 (1940s)
• ACL Depot at Mount Dora (1920)
• Dixie-Flagler (1941)
• Pensacola Trolley (1920s)
• Florida East Coast Railroad (1935)
• Great Union Railroad Depot at Jacksonville (1926)
• Atlantic Coast Line - Gainesville (1920s)
• St. Johns Electric Co. Streetcar (1915)
• Tallahassee Railway Co. (1894)

• Paving Roads in Miami (1921)
• Sunshine State Parkway (1959)
• Polk County Paving Plant (1917)
• Miami Transit Company (1927)
• City of Coral Gables Bus (1930)
• Jacksonville Transit Changes (1936)
• Tallahassee Street Scene (1948)
• Orlando Street Scene (1926)
• Tampa's Twig Street (1919)
• Brooksville Road Construction (1926)
• Jacksonville Buses (1943)
• Tampa Street Scene (1926)