1665-28 Pre-1915 --- '-~~ - -_-_ .
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1
' RANK 1 OF 2. PAGE 2 OF 4, DB H85 17: 27
contests. "The goal is to sell merchandise, " Murray says.
Sweepstakes Clearing House makes weekly nationwide mailings.
*
Last night I told my wife and son that*Boca*Raton meant
mouse mouth. They haven 't stopped laughing yet . That is what it
means -- isn ' t it? -- J. W. Billington , Miami
You were close. In Spanish ,*boca*means mouth and ratan
means rat . But don 't take the term rat mouth literally, Spanish •
sailors originally dubbed the place*Boca*Ratones*to describe a
hidden reef of rocks that wore away ships ' cables. Spanish
Conquistadores, buccaneers and pirates who sailed off Florida
shores found a haven in the natural harbor of Lake*Boca*Raton.
It 's where they obtained fresh water , provisions, repaired ships
and generally roistered around.
* * * *
My daughter 's birthday has come and gone. The two-foot-tall
dolls I ordered for her gift never did show up. Will you tell
Nora Nelson in New York that I want my $23 back? I 'm sure not
getting` anywhere. -- Bonnie Kasimier , Hollywood
You are now. The company refunded your money after we sent
it a copy of your canceled check as proof that you 'd ordered.
* * * *
12111111111111111111111ifi11111 ALT-F10 for HELP 1122121111111121111111111111121
o=1
RANK 2 OF 2, PAGE 1 OF 7, DB N83
SAT FEB 12 1983 ED: WEEKENDER
SECTION: OPED PAGE: 4C LENGTH: 644 MEDIUM
ILLUST: THREE HISTORIC MAPS
SOURCE: HOWARD KLEINBERG Editor of The Miami News
DATELINE:
MEMO: MIAMI : THE WAY WE WERE
^ ` ^ ^ ` ^ ^ ` ^ '
VIRGINIA KEY PLANS OFTEN DROPPED
Until early in the 19th Century no one had any plans for
Virginia Key, simply because there was no Virginia Key.
Only through a natural environmental change -- presumed by
experts to have been a massive hurricane around 1835 -- did
Virginia Key become an island. Prior to that , it was part of a
long tongue of the mainland that we now know as Miami Beach ,
Fisher Island and Virginia Key.
When surveyor William Gerard de Brahm mapped Biscayne Bay
for England in 1765, he identified Key Biscayne as Biscaino
Island and , immediately north of it , a long stretch of land
called*Boca*Ratones,*with Cape Florida at its tip -- which , of
course, was not the location of Cape Florida'
RANK 2 OF 2, PAGE 2 OF 7, DB N83
One of the first maps to show Virginia Key as an island was
the MacKay and Blake map of 1849.
When a permanent population started taking root in the Miami
area in the closing years of the 19th Century, civilization
began to covet the relatively new island in the bay.
As early as March 2, 1897 , the War Department of the United
States set aside the unsurveyed portion of Virginia Key as a
potential military reservation. The remainder of the key was
under the ownership of Miami matriarch Julia Tuttle.
Much of what we now see as Virginia Key is filled-in land.
Official tract records at the turn of the century show a total
of 213. 89 acres of dry land comprising the entire island. Today
it totals almost 1 ,000 acres of dry land.
While the War Department did not build on Virginia Key,
Miamians were casting their eyes on the property. In 1924,
there was talk of building a bridge from the mainland to the
island as part of future development , but the Chamber of
Commerce shouted it down.
In 1930, the plan was brought up again as part of a huge
project that would fill in much of the bay north of the natural
key for subdivision , while leaving the southern portion in its
natural state. A bridge from the mainland was part of that plan ,
RANK 2 OF 2, PAGE 3 OF 7, DB N83
too. It got nowhere.
� In 1938, the City of Miami adopted a plan to create a
seaport on Virginia Key. With bridges proposed from the mainland
and Fisher Island to reach Virginia Key , as well as the equally
isolated Key Biscayne to the south , the plan promised "the
finest harbor on the entire Seaboard , one set in tropical
grandeur -- a marvel of beauty for the entire nation and the
world. "
A causeway finally was approved in 1940 but something got in
the way.
World War II had come along and , with it , a different idea.
It was proposed that , in addition to building a seaport on the
north side, the remainder of the island become Miami 's airport
as well as an area for U. S. Navy ship anchorage.
The only thing that was certain about Virginia Key by war 's
end was that it had been established as a "blacks only" beach ,
although the only way to get there was by boat. Finally, in
1947, the long anticipated causeway to Virginia Key and Key
Biscayne was opened and both islands became more accessible to
all .
Plans continued for Virginia Key, including those for an
amusement park , a golf course, a state park , a campground and
pAmV ? nF 7 PnF 4 OF 7 DR N87%
__- _ _ -7:-'� ' �~_~�
.
' it totals �lmost 1 ,000 acres of dry land' �
• While the War -
Department did not build on Virginia Key,
| Miamians were casting their eyes on the property. In 1924,
there was talk of building a bridge from the mainland to the
island as part of future development , but the Chamber of
Commerce shouted it down.
In 1930, the plan was brought up again as part of a huge
project that would fill in much of the bay north of the natural
key for subdivision , while leaving the southern portion in its
|
\ natural state. A bridge from the mainland was part of that plan ,
/
RANK 2 OF 2 , PAGE 3 OF 7, DB N83
too. It got nowhere.
In 1938, the City of Miami adopted a plan to create a
seaport on Virginia Key. With bridges proposed from the mainland
and Fisher Island to reach Virginia Key , as well as the equally
isolated Key Biscayne to the south , the plan promised "the
finest harbor on the entire Seaboard , one set in tropical
grandeur -- a marvel of beauty for the entire nation and the
world. "
A causeway finally was approved in 1940 but something got in
the way.
World War II had come along and , with it , a different idea.
It was proposed that , in addition to building a seaport on the
north side, the remainder of the island become Miami 's airport
as well as an area for U. S. Navy ship anchorage.
The only thing that was certain about Virginia Key by war ' s
end was that it had been established as a "blacks only" beach ,
although the only way to get there was by boat. Finally, in
1947, the long anticipated causeway to Virginia Key and Key
'
Biscayne was opened and both islands became more accessible to
| all .
Plans continued for Virginia Key, including those for an
1
amusement park , a golf course, a state park , a campground and
RANK 2 OF 2, PAGE 4 OF 7, DB N83
hotels for blacks but none of that happened. Instead , in the 35
�
� years since the bridge was built Virginia Key has become the
site of a sewage treatment plant , the University of Miami School
of Marine Sciences, a facility of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration , the marine stadium, a restaurant and
, the tourist attractions , the Seaquarium and Planet Ocean.
(From The Miami Metropolis, March 5, 1897)
MILITARY RESERVATIONS
WASHINGTON, D. C. , March 2 -- By authority of the president ,
the secretary of war has set apart for military purposes, in
connection with the defense of the inside route to Key West ,
Fla' , and the general defense of the coast in that section and
proclaimed as military reservations: Part of Virginia Key
(unsurveyed) , Dade county, Fla.
|
All the unsurveyed land on Key West , Monroe county, Fla.
These reservations have been selected by army and navy
officiers on account of their great strategical value in time of
war.
. --Times-Union.
The foregoing item excited a good deal of comment among our
people, many of whom supposed that it meant the establishment of
a naval station on Virginia Key. It may mean a good deal or very
.
RANK 2 OF 2, PAGE 5 OF 7, DB N83
little. We presume that the proper authorities thought they
| might have need of land for a naval station on Biscayne Bay at
i some future time and that it would do no harm to secure the
unsurveyed portion of Virginia Key before it was occupied by a
squatter as a homestead entry. All of Virginia Key except the
southern extremity is in section 16 and it was entered by Judge
P. W. White years ago. He sold same to Mrs. Julia Tuttle, the
present owner. The part which has been reserved by the
government embraces a long narrow strip having a frontage of
almost half a mile on Bear Cut and an average depth of little
more than 100 yards. It contains about 50 acres and is embraced
in fractional sections 20 and 21 of township 50 south of range
42 east .
(From The Miami Daily News and Metropolis ,
Feb. 19, 1924)
VIRGINIA KEY
. ROAD OPPOSED
BY DIRECTORS
^ Discussing reported rumors that future development of
Virginia Key may in the future take steps to build a bridge
between Miami and Virginia Key, the board of directors of the
Chamber of Commerce Monday night passed a resolution opposing