Lakeland was first settled in the 1870s, developed as the railroad reached the area in 1884, and was incorporated January 1, 1885. The town was founded by Abraham Munn (a resident of Louisville, Kentucky), who purchased 80 acres of land in what is now downtown Lakeland in 1882 and platted the land for the town in 1884. Among the names considered (and rejected) for the town by its residents were Munnville, Red Bug and Rome City. The Florida boom resulted in the construction of many significant structures in Lakeland, a number of which are today listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes the Terrace Hotel, New Florida Hotel (Regency Towers), Polk Theatre and Office BuildingPolk Theatre, Lake Mirror PromenadePromenade of Lake Mirror, Polk Museum of Art, Park Trammell Building (formerly the Lakeland Public Library and today the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce), and others. The city also has several historic districts with many large buildings built during the 1920s and 1940s. The Cleveland Indians held spring training here from 1923 to 1927 at Henley Field Ball Park. Many new parks have been privately funded surrounding Lake Mirror. They are the Barnett Children's Park, Hollis Gardens, and the newest, Allen Kryger Park. The "boom" period went "bust" quickly, and years passed before the city recovered. Part of the re-emergence was due to the arrival of the Detroit Tigers in 1934 for spring training. (The team continues to train in Lakeland and owns the city's Florida State League team, the Lakeland Flying Tigers.) The development of the Lakeland Municipal Airport as a major facility in central Florida transportation was another factor. The 1930’s also featured the arrival of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1938 he came to Lakeland at the request of Florida Southern College President Ludd Spivey to design a "great education temple in Florida." For 20 years Wright worked on his "true American campus" creation. He planned 18 structures, 12 of which were completed and six left on the drawing board. He called his project "A Child of the Sun," so named from the architect’s own description of being "out of the ground, into the light, a child of the sun." It is the largest on-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world. In 1990 Lakeland made its Hollywood debut when the Southgate Shopping Center was featured in the hit movie Edward Scissorhands starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. Lakeland made national headlines on September 28, 2006 when Polk County Sheriff's Deputy Vernon "Matt" Williams and his K-9 partner, Diogi, were shot and killed after a routine traffic stop in the Kathleen area of the town. The incident sparked outrage among the central Florida law enforcement community. More than five-hundred law officials came together in search of Angilo Freeland, the suspect wanted in connection with the murder. The next morning Freeland was found hiding under a fallen tree. He was shot 68 times, and died on the scene. Deputy Williams and Diogi were laid to rest on October 3, 2006 after a funeral that included an one-hour and 45 minute procession to Auburndale, FloridaAuburndale. http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeland%2C_Florida