This city photo shows the time capsule at the spot where it was originally buried. The two men pictured are not identified in the city’s archive record. {City of Coral Springs}
By Kevin Deutsch
A mystery with 47 years of history is playing out in Coral Springs, where high school students-turned-sleuths are helping the city search for a missing time capsule.
The city originally buried the bicentennial time capsule in 1976 at Florida Coast Bank, 3001 University Drive, where an Amtrust Bank now stands. The original capsule was a large plastic tube containing several newspapers, magazines, a July calendar of events, prints, stamps commemorating the Olympic Games, and a $2 bill, according to Coral Springs spokesperson Lindsey Steinberg.
The capsule’s contents were re-buried in 2003—along with some new items—at the northeast corner of University Drive and Wiles Road, near what is now a Truist Bank. In 2021, the city attempted to check on the capsule and move it for safekeeping during roadwork.
“Despite locating the ground markers, the time capsule itself had disappeared!” the city said in a Nov. 30 Facebook post, revealing the unsolved mystery.
The original contents of the 1976 time capsule. [City of Coral Springs]
The Facebook post was the work of Coral Springs Charter School student interns, who partner with the city through the ACE Executive Internship Program. While going through historic city photos, they learned about the time capsule, grew intrigued by the mystery, and created the social media post “to potentially draw additional public interaction – just in case the mystery could be solved,” Steinberg told Coral Springs Talk in an email.
“It was not intended to be a public call for help per se, but more a lighthearted and informative post that may lead to us gaining additional information as an added bonus,” Steinberg wrote.
The post is part of the city’s #HistoryCS series, for which a historic photo or video is posted each Thursday in 2023 in recognition of Coral Springs’ 60th anniversary. The posts are meant to evoke a sense of nostalgia, honor the city’s history, and inform new and older generations alike about their city’s past.
The communications and marketing interns created the series of posts as part of their research and communications project, Steinberg said.
As of Tuesday, the time capsule was still missing.
“Although we certainly hope any member of the public who may have knowledge of the capsule’s whereabouts would share information with us so that we can include it in our city’s historical archive, we also understand that any buried time capsule is susceptible to future construction, weather, and advanced age when exposed to the Florida landscape,” Steinberg wrote.
Any information about the time capsule’s disappearance or whereabouts can be anonymously submitted to history@coralsprings.gov.
The city encourages anyone interested in regional or Coral Springs history to visit CoralSprings.gov/History to learn more.
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