Ocala is one of the few cities that I've seen since I moved to Florida that actually has a formal down town complete with a town common. Now I'm from New England where every small town has a common. Town commons date back to colonial times and were intended to give people a place to graze their cow or horse. What's so nice about town commons is that now a days they serve as a small public park like area in the center of town. Most towns and cities in Florida, in my look like one no stop strip mall, devoid of any character or charm. Ocala is different. It has a nice town common complete with a gazebo, huge live oak trees and even some nice art work.

   Ocala was originally established in 1846 as a military outpost during the Seminole Indian Wars. On Thanksgiving day, 1883 the down town was destroyed in a terrible fire. It was rebuilt using mostly brick and some granite in order to prevent future fires. Ocala is often called Brick City for that reason.

       Horse Fever features a series of almost life sized horse statues created by various artists. Horse Fever began in 2001 as the first project for the Marion Cultural Alliance. There were 52 horses which were auctioned off for charity. The project was similar to those done by other cities. New Orleans did fish, New York cows and Montana did moose.

   Ocala has a small town feel for a city of almost 49,000 people. It's little wonder that Ocala is one of Money Magazines Best Places to Live. 

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