I Love Pompano Beach

White text on red heart in center surrounded by black text on white background.

The original inhabitants of Pompano Beach, Florida, clustered around Lake Santa Barbara to have access to fresh water. Eventually, the residents moved inland to present-day Pompano Beach. The population started to explode after 1896 when Henry Flagler extended the Florida East Coast Railway to Miami, allowing people to settle in places in between like Pompano. The town officially became recognized and incorporated into the United States in 1908.  

The exact origin of the name Pompano has yet to be discovered, but local legend says the name came from local explorer Frank Sheen. Sheen was surveying the area and to survive, he lived off the resources of the land. This is when Sheen consumed the local Pompano fish and was able to sustain himself. To remember the name of the fish that brought him life, he named the settlement Pompano after the fish.

This is a variation of the I heart NY logo that was created in 1977 by Milton Glaser for an ad campaign created by advertising agency Wells Rich Greene. The marketing campaign was sought by then-Deputy Commissioner William S. Doyle to increase tourism in the state of New York. The campaign was a wild success. The original sketch of the logo is permanently on display at the MOMA.

The logo has become iconic in pop-culture and has been imitated in many forms around the world.