Your Bradenton history lesson begins in 1539, when Hernando De Soto landed here while looking for El Dorado, the Lost City of Gold. We all know that Bradenton wasn't that city, but it does have a lot to recommend it.

Today, if De Soto landed in Bradenton, the town fathers would greet him with a different sort of gold: a complimentary cup of orange juice made by Tropicana, which is headquartered here. Then they might point him in the direction of Anna Maria Island, which is connected to Bradenton by a bridge and causeway.