1674-20 John Collins4.]s
'1ZZ.Zp2row11 2-7401
THE HERALD, Ml;.
¶ STORY- .OF MIAMI BEACH
4IS _TOLD BY PANCOAST
'aoneering Work of John S. Collins Laid Fouudatiou'.or'City LThat Is Unique i.Carl G. Fisher and Others Followed, Carrying
Out Development That Made Resort World Fatuous.
it t140184a r, PANCOAST
1 Maeeal a04 CkaaHr of
43000044
411 an account of the development
Beach. it might be inter -
to give a"few facts to show
bow the man who 1s responsible for
the beginning of this development
first became interested In the prop-
erty.
•
A company of men from New Jen
say desired to enter into the grow-
ing of coconuts for commercial pur-
poses. They purchased disconnected
strips of land from the United
States government along the Achill -
tic ocean. from Miami Beach north
for a distance totaling practically
633 Mlles. although extending north-
ward nearly 100 miles to a point
north of Jupiter, the land costing
as low as 76 cents per acre, and as
high as 87.50 per acre.
• During the winter of 1882.83,
they engaged the services of about
25 men from the life-saving sta-
tions along the New Jersey coast.
They also purchased condemned
lifebata, which they repaired.
They loaded the men and the life-
boats together with mules, tents,
tools and provisions on one of the
Mallory Line vessels, and shipped
[them to Key West. From there,
they were transferred to a schooner
and brought back to a point op -
posits what 1s now Miami Beach.
!Tey threw the mules overboard
and swam with them to the shore,
ghats transferred their supplies in
tint lifeboats to the shore,
♦ vessel was then sent to the
land of Trinidad and loaded with
1,00,000 coconuts; 38,000 of this load
,trere planted on the land that is
*ow Miami Beach. The following
two yuan this operation was re-
puted, until a total of 334,000 cocci -
lints had been planted along the
r hUantie ocean,
.Hohn S. Collins was one of the
number to invest some money In
this' coconut -planting operation
which. from a commercial stand-
point, was an absolute failure. But,
Mr. Collins, being not only tena-
cious, but a man of vision, and with
a. great deal of courage and energy,
wuhed to turn the failure into suc-
cess and finally purchased outright,
from the othera in the group, 1,600
Sores of land which formed the
nucleus of the present city of Miami
each,
+t•i, Colllus' Avocado Grove
Mr. Collins' first venture was to
plant what was then the largest
avocado grove In the world. Later,
desiring to develop that part of the
property not suitable fur farming
tato residential properties, he con•
eelved the idea of building a wood.
en bridge from Miami to Miami
)Beach—in spite of discouragements
from all sides, especially from the
older residents in Miami. Yet, he
was determined to accomplish this
tremendous task, which he did, in
the building of what was then
known as the longest wooden ve-
*tele bridge in existence, being two
en,d one-half miles in length, and
touting 8100,000.. 1t was started in
;Tuly, 1912, and completed in May,
1813; formal opening June 12, 1913.
". • However, in completing this
bridge, known aa Collins Bridge, he
needed financial assistance, and
succeeded in Interesting Carl G.
,Fisher in making a loan, which, you
twill all admit, was not an easy thing
o do, for few had any confidence
the ultimate success of this un -
But, Mr. Fisher, upon
eatigatlon. learned that Mr. Col -
was 74 years of age at that
the fact that a man at that
e had enough courage to tackle
jtuctya stupendous undertaking, not
pp��t11l�� building the bridge but de-
reloping Miami Beach, had much to
00 with Mr. Fisher's decision to co-
ppuate with him. Mr. Fisher was
much younger man and with am•
means and active imagination,
iaw the possibilities; became en•
usfaatic, made the loan and
Alungged, wholeheartedly, into the
Iavelopment of Miami Beach, re-
gardleu of the coat. The bridge
was in contlnous use until sold to
the developers of Venetian Island
hi December, 1920, who replaced
Colllna Bridge with a beautiful
causeway, known as the''Venetlan
Way" at a cat of 82,505,300 which
:3,raa opened to travel March 1, 1926.
S''- ; Pioneer Died In 1928
Four score years and ten rolled
rover John S. Collins' head before he
felt that he had served his purpose
here and his life had run its course.
Then on February 11, 1928, with a
:light of a great victory in his blue -
gray eyes, he died a happy man.
The world had been kind 10him
and he had been generous with the
(world. As J. I. Conklin, his con-
struction engineer, said of him at
thI funeral services: 1'He was one
of God's noblemen, to whom life
was not a goblet to be drained, but
• measure to be filled."
• The late Clayton Sedgwick Coop-
er,
ooser, prominent Miami Beach author,
characterized him as follows:
"There is an old' Latin line that
reads, 'If you ask for his monument
look about you.' Miami Beach is
both his monument and his eulogy.
He was the awakening genius of
south Florida."
His name remains stamped in-
delibly on many local landmarks.
Foremost among these is Collins
park, a Miami Beach garden spot
bequeathed to the public that fronts
upon the restless Atlantic and gives
the proper setting to the John S.
Collins Memorial Library and Art
Center. Next the Collins Canal and
Collins Lsland to the bayward of
the Nautilus Hotel both add their
aspects of beauty to the city. Last,
but not least, Collins avenue stands
forth as the main north -south high-
way of the resort, a wide boule-
vard familiar to all who come here.
• The city hall 1s graced with a
bronze plaque presented by the
Chamber of Commerce in Collins'
memory. It was executed by the
sculptor, Lampert Bemelmans, and
bears a bas-relief bust of the pio-
neer. beneath which is the legend: •
THiS TABLET IS ERECTED
'IN LOVE AND RESPECT FOR
THE FRIENDLY MAN. MIAMI •
BEACH IS A MONUMENT OF
' HIS VISION AND COURAGE.
Collins had the rare satisfaction
of living to see his dreams come
true. "An Institution," as Emer-
ton said "is but the lengthened
shadow of a man." Miami Beach
was Collins•"institution."
County Causeway Built
In the meantime. as the city of
Miami Beach began to grow and
the community began to appreci-
ate its value, the county In March,
1917, started the construction of a
causeway across Biscayne bay,
which was open for travel Febru-
ary 17, 1920, and fully completed
the latter part of that year, at a
cost of approximately *740,000.
The work o! widening the viaducts
of the causeway was commenced in
1926, and completed in 1928 at a
coat of approximately 1711,000,
making the total tont of this cause-
way '*1,4b1;000,—Whtct1 j` believe,
is the best Investment the county
ever made.
After completion of the Collins
bridge, then began the clearing ,of
the mangrove swamp', bulkhead.
Ing the property and pumping by
suction dredge 6,000,000 cubio yards
of material from the bottom of Bia-
cayne bay, filling the lowland to a
sufficient height to build upon,
After that, began the building of
streets, the laying of sidewalks, the
planting of tress and grass. This
work progressed rapidly. Since the
first large fill was made, other prop-
erty north was purchased and
treated in the same manner until a
total of 14,300,000 cubic yards of
material had been tranaferred from
the bottom of the bay, to the swamp
land, The total of the filled area
Is 2,760 acres, extending from the
Government Cut northward along
the bayfront approximately _ six
miles. To make these fills; it w•te'
necessary, In one case in particular,
to pump the material by suction
dredge for over a mile, using one
dredge about midway as a booster.
Then, in order to beautify the
ONO -neo) C RON cR3S
property, canals and lakes - were
dug, and the material from these
was used to fill the low land,' in
addition to the fill from the bay
bottom. This, naturally, required
the building of bulkheads to hold.
the 1111. These bulkheads now total
38 miles. They were first made of
wood, and later replaced by con-
crete. This one item alone, at a
very •conservative cost 810 per
linear foot, totals over 52,000,000,00, •
Miami Beach now. hu with its
ocean, bay and Inland waterways,
a water frontage of 66.39 miles, em.
bracing:
4,408 acres of land ..:.• v:
540 acres of
waterways •
8,028 acres of bay bottom'
Total -10,974 acres.
Today Miami Beach embraces ex-
actly eight square miles of enchant.
meet. There is no place quite like
1t on earth. To nature in her moat
prodigal mood man has added every
attraction that his ingenuity could
devise.
First House Built in 1913
The building of homes began in
Miami Beach In 1913, before there
were any roads, the Inaterial being
brought over from Miami by barges.
The Ocean Beach Realty Company,
with J. N. Lummus as the active
man In the organization, in order
to encourage the building of homes,
offered a number of lots free to
those who would construct homes
costing at least 13.000,, A number
took advantage of thio offer and
the work of building began in
earnest.
When the beach boasted a dozen
hotels, many people began to think
that the city was reaching the point
when it was slightly overbuilt.
Since that time the demand for liv-
ing accomntodationa ha3, swelled
the number of hotels to 173; the
number of apartment houses to 586
and the number of residences to
2,543, And let 1t be remembered
that among them are to be found
accommodations that can ,be sur-
passed nowhere.
Ninety miles of paved ntgnways
'have taken the place of lnit
overgrown Indiann trail of a ge'xter
century ago. The United Sates
census of 1920 credited the city with
a population of 664; 1930 a popula•
tion of 6,395. The state census' of
1935 raised this figure to 13,1'�50,
and toaestimated to be 1-6,-.
000, with at• is
population e-
ceeding 60,000.
Nine and . two-tenths miles of
ocean beach lie within the city
limits, together with 26 miles ofb
re-
tan f al ng strikinggnt and a full 3y beautitul0 miles of �in-
land waterways. Five public parka
and a number
:person-
ify the magnanimparkways
ityan
d public
spirit that went Into the building of
this resort. Each represents a for-
tune in real estate passed up for
the perpetual enjoyment of others.
Fine School.Syatem
The public school system includes
a high school, a junior high school
and three elementary schools. All
take maximum advantage of ,the
health -giving Florida sunshine, and
many of the classes are held vir-
tually in the open so cleverly de-
signed are the buildings. The Neill.
ties of private schools of all descrip-
tions are to be had both here and on'
the mainland.
When we rave about the perfec-
tion of,the local climate the official
.record of more than a quarter cen-
tury bears us out. Since 1896 the
annual mean temperature has
varied only 3 degrees. During this
period the mean monthly tempera-
ture has varied 14.4 degrees, from
67.7 degrees In January to 82.1 in
Augusta The lowest month record-
ed was a January of 62.8 degrees
and the highest, an August of 83.8
degrees, giving a maximi n month-
ly variation of only 21 degrees. In
just such a marvelous manner does
that gigantic thermostat, the Gulf.
Stream, regulate the climate here.
Miami Beach Is particularly proud'
of three golf courses, the LaGorce
and the Bayahore, both privately,
owned, and the municipal course tic—
Twenty-first
—
Twenty-first street and Washington,.....:::.
'avenue, all 18 -hole layouts, while tfourth is under construction allormandy Isle. It boasts of six
theaters, a fine greyhound race-
track. casinos, beach clubs, cabana
clubs, swimming pools, night clubs]
and a host of other attractions. Al
few miles distant on the mainland'
are jail alai frontons, where •this
popular Spanish-American game Is
played. Joseph E. Widener's famous
horse racing plant at Hialeah, con-
ceded to be one of the most beautl-
ii
ful tracks in America, the Tropical
Park race track, and all manner of
other sporting amusements.
This is one side of the picture.
The other finds the Biscayne bay
region a region of churches and cul-
tural development where every re .
ligion and school of thought has,:
ample means of expression. 1 '
The Storey of 1928
During the . storm of 1928 the
ocean front was without any bolki .
head protection and' considerable
damage was done. It then was quite -
evident that some protection must
be placed to stop the erosion from
the action of the ocean waves. The
city council of Miami Beach made
extensive Investigation as to what
was the best plan to adopt. The
services of Engineer Victor Gell-
neau was secured In an advisory
capacity. The result was the adop-
tion of a plan to drive lock, steel.
sheet piling for a buIKneaa, and
about every 200 feet a groyne was PR
extended into the ocean, constructed'
of the same lock. steel, sheet piling,
supplemented by wooden piling
driven on either side capped by
heavy wooden planks, at a total
cost of $64 per foot.
The purpose of these groynes was
to collect the shifting sand that
moved north or south, according to
the wave action. This system has
been quite successful in building up
the beach in a number of places,
and lending a feeling of security to
the property owners on the ocean
front.
Before the Collins bridge was con-
structed, the total taxes collected for
the four and one-half utiles from —
ocean to bay, amounted to 8375;
1915, the year that Miami Beach was
incorporated as a city, the assessed
valuation was $224,000.
v
n
Aaaeaaed Valualous
The assessed valuation for the
periods 1926 to 1937, inclusive:
1936 164.763.000 1932 531.900.795
1977 50 563.350 1933 32.121.315
1928 44.087.050 1934 33.514.275
1929 47.990.950 1935 40.811.6
1930 49.174.010 1936 48.449 5
1931 45.386.660 1937 53.859.0
Building permits Issued du
the years: •
1921 1 1.503.306 1931 8 1.947.774
1925 18.032.699 1932 1.44 5.178
1926 5.040.125 1933 2.172.515
1927 2.491.308 1934 5.478.639
1938 3.374.349 1935 9.487.345
1 1920 7.956.960 1936 17.526.107
1930 4.043.439 • 1937 • 10.809.501
A comparison of the increase in
Miaml•Beach postal receipts for the
periods 1924 10 1937, inclusive:
1924 924.000.00 1931 9 16.736 42
1929 10.000.00 1932 80.790.13
1926 73.175.13 1933104.370.49
1927 91.500.49 1934 149.417.72
1929 40.560.16 1935 178.187.79
1920 76.924.10 1931 233.167.49
1930 90.1934.11 1117 347.103.92
A tabulation of bank de Its tor
the periods 1921 to 1937,Inclusive:
1921 5 336.703 1930 5 3.711.457
1922 441.963 1931 3.964.341
1923193.317 1932 3.513.433
1924 9.433./55 1933 4.136.933
1925 9.991.121 1934 8.090.411
1928 953.997 1935 11.179.972
1927 • 961.933 1930 15.179.72190.
1928 224.617 1937 15.1499
1929 - 6.463.601
Co-operative Spirit
The success of Miami Beach has
largely been due to the splendid
co-operative spirit existing between
the larger development companies.
Not any of the companies wanted
credit for what :hey had accom-
plished above the others, the main
object being to obtain results. there-
by accomplishing a great deal more
than had they assumed the attitude
of being antagonistic toward each
other.
Those who know the beach best
In all its vicissitudes; in normal
pli•lcid weather and in storms; in
su n -drenched daylight and tropical
moonlight, bewitching In these lett-
tildes; In the springtime, summer,
fall and winter, which here is one
'long gorgeous summer with nature
1 trying to outdo herself in mag-
nificence from month to month;
, they know whereof we speak.
Those who have never visited the
Magic Isle have an unforgettable
treat in store for them. •
The facts given above are per-
haps sufficient to give some idea
of what has been accomplished in
so few years to this beautiful sec-
tion of Florida.
d