#412 e Miami Beach Data 40th Anniversary 1955?~ a~i B~?ch da~a~ T)ossi~!e broadcast u~+.erial
"Life begins at LO mn '~" is the theme as ~'~i ~'
· .. ~.~ Beac~ celebrates its
LOth an:~iversary ... Zt will be a year-l~ng ~arty for vacationers with the
city plaything special events every week.
In 1900 goo~ ~a~ land a~ ~.~ia:'~ Beach sold for ~t00 an acre. T~rteen y~ars
la,er the same land brought ~300 ~ acre. Platted ints lots in 191~ i~ brought
~3~OO an acre... N~ ~3,~O0 a fron~ f~ct is not ~usual for econo, front property ...
The late Carl G. ~s~er, H~ssier wh~ made a fort~e v~_th his Pres$-~Lite
ce?pany, put ?ia~'~ Beach ~n ~he map b~t~¥e~n 1916 and !9~ with the ~anditure
of less m~n~y than was spent in building the city's nm~est hotel ... It is
believed ~shsr invested less than lh ~llion in Miami Beach . .. Incidentally,
he did net l~se bHs fettle here despite c~llapsing land p~ces after 19~6 ...
His hea~est losses were in attemPting te duplicate the ~nter resort as a
sm~er resort at l~onta~ Pe~t ...
l~ia~ Beach,s sm~er va~tien pop~_ati~ is greater now t~n its ~rinter
tourist pop~ation bef,re the war ... The f~st hotel operator te adve~ise
~/i~i Beach as a s~r resort was ~elia Rein~Jcing, now retiring after 27
years in the business here ... Her rates, ~cidenta~y, were ~igRt de!lars
a week -- ~erican pls~ ... New 90 per c~t of ~i Beach,s 37~ h.otels are
open the ysa~'ro~d.
H~f of ~,~i~,i Beach~s n~e square ~les of land area once ~7as swar~p or
baybetto~ ... Dredges ~ere operat~ day and night for ~ore than lO years
making the fill ... B~ys were p~id one d~llar a day and all the wate~el~n
the~? could eat for plating grass on the newly filled land when ~rork ~'.~as
st~rtsd in 191~ ... ~;~o~e theaters didn't s~ the fad ,f ~_ving away dish~s
to attract customers. It was done at ~ia~i Beach lot auctions as early as lgl3.
(~re)
2 - ~iami ben, ch
~iami Beach was a site £~r trair~ng ai~_~Is~ue pilots for tile first ~orld
War~ the school being operated by tbs late G!erm Curtiss ... During the
second l~orld ~'~rar the city's hundreds of hotels were used as barracks to
h~,use thousands of Air Corps men during pre-t~light training . .. N~w
airplanes are ~aot permitted t~ disturb the vacationers. Airports are on
the mainland, 10 ,miles and m~rs away as the jets fly...
New Jersey, ~ich now sends ?,,~ami Beach nine per cent of its ~isit~rs,
also provided the island ~.~ith its first developers, wh~ start~ a coconut
plantation ... Despite multitudes of rabbi%s and raccoons %hat ate the young
trees, the plantation thrived but falling prices far the nuts doomed it ts
economic fail~re ... ~inter fruits such as citrus and avocados pr~ved m~re
successful v~en planted around 1900 ... Pine Tree drive, one of the main
thoroughffares, takes its name fr~m trees ptaz%ted at the turn ~f the centttry
ts protect the avocado gr~ves from ~fi_nds that sc8rred the fruit by rubbing
it against branches ... It is only around the soutt~ern c~astal rim of Florida
that c~c~nut and royal palms and ether tropical trees can be grown
successfully ... In winter .%~[ami Beach freqBently is 10 degrees warmer
than areas directly west ~n the mainland ... Surroundir~g waters cause the
di£ference~ and likewise cog! the city in suzm~er ... $~ nature has
air-conditioned Miami Beach.·. The city has fewer dsys ~vith the temperature
~ver 90 degrees than d~es New York.
A!t'.'mugh gifted with eight ,miles of excellent beach, ~{iami Beach has more
tl~an 300 swimr~ing p~ols ... As ea~!y ~s 1900, .~_ainlland residents sailed ts
whs±, is no~ }~ami Beach far the ocean swi~i~g . ·. It was ~not unusual f~r
their s,ai!boats ~o "run aground" en sea co~s in the bay, harmless but bulky
creatures that feed ~n seaweed and sea grasses.