In the 1970s, the Environmental Protection Agency sent photographers all over the country as part of the DOCUMERICA project. The project was intended to capture areas of environmental concern, but many of the photographers also ended up perfectly preserving this era in time and the spirit of the people around them. Photographer Flip Schulke captured these photos around South Florida and the Keys in 1975:
1. Tricycle Club of the Century Village Retirement Community Meets Each Morning.
2. Beach at Little Duck Key. Camping Is Popular Throughout the Keys, and Many Have Large Commercial Facilities. These Do Not Yet Exist at Little Duck, But Camping and Trailers Are Permitted.
5. Lives of the Many Elderly Persons Who Have Chosen South Beach for Their Retirement Years Revolve Around the Beach. It Is the Longest Stretch of Public Beach in the Area.
8. American Dreams at Little Duck Key. Commercial Camping Sites and Travel Trailer Courts Have Sprung Up Throughout the Keys. Even on the Smaller Keys Like Little Duck, Where No Facilities Have Yet Been Constructed, Camping Is Permitted by Local Authorities.
9. Big Touring Car Abandoned at Little Duck Key, a Small Undeveloped and Uninhabited Island in the Lower Florida Keys Usually Used for Fishing and Camping.
12. Inexpensive Retirement Hotels Are a Hallmark of the South Beach Area. A Favored Place Is the Front Porch, Where Residents Sit and Chat Or Watch the Activities on the Beach.
13. Leaving Their "Travel-Trailer" on the Side of the Road, This Retired Couple From California Stops to Fish Off the Embankment at Spanish Harbor Key. Trailers Like This Are Highly Popular with Visitors to the Florida Keys.
20. South Beach Has the Longest Stretch of Public Beach in the Miami Area. Thousands of Retired Persons Have Settled Here in Inexpensive Residential Hotels Built Within Walking Distance of the Beach. The Area Now Faces Problems of Over-Development.
21. Snorkeler Observes the Coral and Sea Life at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park near Key Largo. Water Clarity Has Noticeably Decreased in Recent Years Because of Dredging and Landfill Operations by Developers.
24. Lobster Fishermen of Conch Key with a String of Newly Painted Floats. This Is the Off-Season, When Lobstering Is Prohibited and Fishermen Repair Their Gear.
25. A Retired Couple From California Stop to Fish Off Embankment at Spanish Harbor Key. Travel-Trailers of the Kind Owned by This Couple Are Highly Popular Among Visitors to the Keys.
