1674-15 John Collins1
3
•
SEP 261948
Old Landmark Doomed
20-A THE MIAMI HERA
New Beach Hotel Planned
Workmen are tearing down a
Miami Beach house—as old as
they are—the ho n S. Collins`
• - first pioneer,
- To make roo r a seven -
story hotel, the house that Col-
Zc•A— lins built in 1914 is beinc de-
•molished by working crews; the
hurricane few tiles off the nothing
udt
sty
blOw
astruc-
ture.
Collihs paid.a mere 35 cents
an acre for the land the house
rests on along the ocean front at
25th st. The hotel builder paid
$1,400 per front foot for it.
The Collins home was the
third built on Miami Beach.
Charles M.
built
in 1886. Thensecondt first
inthe
pretentious class— was con-
structed by Thomas J. Pan-
coast on what is now called
Lake Pancoast.
In recent years erchatterrn
scampering youngsters
through the old Collins place.
Under the name of the Chil-
dren's Beach house, the old man-
sion blossomed forth with Walt
Disney characters on its walls
and platoons of physical educa-
tion, child's nutrition and educa-
tion experts. As many as.170
children romped through rits
rooms and over its grounds.
Un-
der the watchful eyes
ofthc sun-
selors they played
or napped while their parents
worked in the city or did the
nightclub circuit.
Manners in French and Span-
ish were taught the more pre-
cocious.
The Beach House is now pre-
paring new headquarters for
small fry elsewhere.
It was Collins for whom the
beach city's library, a park, a
canal and a main avenue were
named. The Venetian cause-
way was once called the Col-
lins bridge; he bullt the orig-
inal span of wood to connect
the resort with the mainland.
Five years before he built the
house Collins acquired 1,670
acres of the now expensive land
on Miami Beach. He'was inter-
ested in the value of the soil and
first thought of Miami Beach as
a farm, his bridge only as a
means of getting vegetables to
market.
The pioneer died in 1929 at
the age of 91. His wife died in
November, 1947.
BEACH LANDMARK is this old home of Miami Beach's
founder, John S. Collins, now being razed to make room for
a hotel. It was constructed in 1914 on land that cost 35 cents
an acre. Frontage in its ocean -bound . beach yard cost the
new owners $1,400 a foot.
Judge Enjoys
Magic Trick
LOS ANGELES--M—Luckily
for Everett .A. •Drummond,
Superior Judge Ben Rosenthal
is a legerdermain fan.
Drummond, a one-time stage
magician, appeared before the
judge on a charge of possessing
a blackjack. •
The ex -magician explained the
eight-infh redwood stick he car-
ried was in reality a rolling pin
-ra d' so harmless it wouldn't
even break an egg.
By way of demonstrati,
Drummond brought fort'
black velvet bag and
He. -placed the egg it
and rolled it with
Opening the bag --
the egg—still it
it in a Gish.
real. {
The :Iv
Vatican Seeks
Soviet Accord
VATICAN CITY—(A')—The
can newspaper L'Osserva'
mano said Saturday t,
church, "despite eve
gladly renew diple
with Russia.
The paper,
column of
church is
soon a"
her ('
that
tr