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1674-43 Carl FisherFor THE NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY Copyrighted—Janes T. White & Co., Publishers, 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. FISHER, Carl Graham, resort organizer, promoter, was born at Greensburg, Ind., Jan. 12, 1874, son of Albert H and Ida (Graham) Fisher. He attended the local schools until he .was twelve years old and then, partly because of eye trouble and partly because of a desire to go to work, he began to sell news- papers and candies on a narrow-gauge line of the Illinois railroad which passed through his town. His next two positions were in a book store where he had the opportunity to read the best literature, thereby adding to his liberal education, and in a bank, where he learned the rudiments of business. As bicycles were at that time coming into use, his attention v;as attracted to the possibilities For THE NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY FISHER, C. G. Copyrighted—James T. White & Co., Publishers, 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. 8-3-39 within that industry. He went to Indianapolis, Ind., and opened a bicycle repair shop and soon became s selling agent also. Adopting unusual and often spectacular methods of advertising and making money, he engaged in bicycle racing for a year and a half, appearing with Barney Oldfield and other speedy racers at county fairs in Illinois and Ohio. He then resumed work in his shop and by ingenious methods secured the agency for the Pope -Toledo Bicycle Co., of Lebanon, Ohio, one of the leading firms in that section. He maintained that connection until 1904, meeting with such success that he was able to open a manu- facturing plant of his own. His interest next turned to the automobile industry, then in its infancy. He took part in races and in 1904 made a record of two miles in 2:02 minutes, driving an automobile around the Harlem dirt track in Chicago, and the next year he accompanied the American racing team when it went abroad to take part in the James Gordon Bennett (q.v.) cup race. The team was defeated by German, it English, Italian and French cars and/vas then that Fisher conceived the idea of the Indianapolis motor zpWr y to be used as a proving ground for automobile experiments. He entered the automobile agency For THE NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY FISHER, C. G. Copyrighted—James T. White & Co., Publishers, 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. 8-3-Z9 business, securing the Indiana state agency and later those for the Packard end Reo curs. In the early 1900's cars were lighted by kerosene lamps, but inventors were busy in evolving; better methods. One inventor called on Fisher with his plan of using a. cylinder for containing carbide gas for illuminating; purposes, and shortly after- ward Fisher and his partner, James A. Allison, bought a half -interest in the patent, and with capital of. about •"2500, organized the Prest-0- Lite Corp. of America. They increased the capital to x'10,000 by bor- rowing, builta factory, and supplied the first gas tanks for automo- bile headlights in the country. !.s the tanks would last for only four to six weeks, it was Fisher's idea that the firm's greatest success with the tanks would be in the refilling, servicing and repairing, in the shortest possible time; accordingly, he arranged with an express company to have a 24-hour daily service through Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, thus becoming at the same time a pioneer in special delivery service. In a year and a half the business had spread all over the country and the firm had established six factories at various strategic points. Both partners made fortunes of ".6,000,000 to :'.7,000,000 with For THE NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY FISHER, C. G. -4- Copyrighted—James T. White & Co., Publishers, 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. 8-5-39 the firm before they sold it to the Union Carbide Corp. in 1911 (?). In the meantime Fisher had built up the Indianapolis motor speedway, on which the first 500 -mile race vias held in 1911, and it became the scene of the greatest sporting event in America, the annual Memorial race, which attracted a crotid of 150,000; he and his partner sold their interests to a syndicate organized by Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker in 19 . Fisher conceived the idea of the Lincoln and Dixie high- ,;ays and financed the Lincoln highway. for a year. It is now a com- plete straight artery for cornrnercial and passenger travel from 42d street and Broadway, New York city, to the Golden Gate, San Francisco, Calif., a distance of 3200 miles. An influential backer of aviation projects, he expended large sums from his private fortune during the "'orld war to further the work, constructing an aviation field for the army on his estate at Miami, Fla., and in addition arranging for a night flying aviation course, of 267 miles, from Dayton, Ohio, to Rantoul, I11., the first regular airplane route in America. He was a member of the airplane mapping committee of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics during the war. His interest turning also to For THE NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY FISHER, C. G. -5- Copyrighted—James T. White & Co., Publishers, 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. 8-15-39 yachting, he went in 1912 to Biscayne bay, Florida, with the intention of engaging in that sport for a time. It was then that he conceived the idea of building the greatest pleasure resort in the country. As early as 1884 a group of New Jersey men had tried to start a coconut grove in that vicinity, but the venture was a failure. The.,shores of the bay remained fringed with the beautiful coconut palms, and one of the men, John Stiles Collins (q.v.), stayed on and planted an avocado grove on the high land in the middle of the promontory, meeting with some success. In 1912 he started to construct a wooden bridge two and a half miles long to connect the sandspit with Miami, visualizing a future town there. He ran out of funds and when Fisher ar- rived he loaned Collins $50,000 to complete the bridge, taking in return a ' deed to a large part of the island. Fisher's former partner, James A. Allison, Thomas J. Pancoast, son-in-law of Collins and now president of the Miami Beach chamber of commerce, and John H. Levi, later mayor of Miami Beach, joined them in the Miami Beach Improvement Co., and the work pro- gressed with great speed. Canals and waterways were dug, trees and shrubs planted, hotels, stores, beach casinos, and boulevards, built. Fifty acres were turned into polo fields, 325 acres into golf links, and many acres sold for private residences. From 1 913 to 1917 Miami Beach was built; by 1920 the For THE NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY FISHER, C. -6- Copyrighted—James T. White & Co., Publishers, 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. 8-15-39 greatest building and land boom in the history of the country was under way,and by 1925 Fisher's dream of the world's greatest winter playground had come true and his fortune had been made. Always en- visioning new"projects and developments, Fisher next conceived the idea of building a Miami Beach of the North, and choosing the tip of. Long Island for the location, he began to buy land at Montauk Point. head of the Carl G. Fisher Corp., he As/built the Montauk Manor hotel and the Carl G. Fisher office build- ing,calso several costly houses, dredged a harbor, made a lake, and landscaped his holdings, spending several millions of dollars in the venture. But the boom years of the twenties were beginning to be succeeded by the decade of financial difficulty and depression and the development at Montauk proved to be a disastrous failure. Fisher took his loss philosophically though he did not again undertake a similar project. He was one of the original directors of St. Francis hospital, Miami Beach, and he took an active part in other civic affairs, particularly the promotion of all kinds of sports. He was especially fond of yachting, tennis and croquet. (Did he belong to any clubs?) For THE NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY FISHER, C. G. -7- Copyrighted—James T. White & Co., Publishers, 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. 8-15-39 (Please add brief personal characterization.) Fisher was married twice: (1) at to Jane, daughter of Welsh, a of Indianapolis, Ind.; they were divorced in 1926; (2) at , 1927, to Margaret, daughter of of Miami, Fla. (Were there any children?) Collier, a His death occurred in Miami Beach, Fla., July 15, 1939.