#412 d "Miami Beach Replate" 1960smiami beach replate~/
Miami Beach had a hotel a year before the eo ..... m4ty was incorporated.
The first hotel was b~t in 1914, owned and operated by W. J. Brown.
It stood between First and Second Streets.
At present, 46 years later, the city has 379 hotels with appr~x~-tely
31,000 rooms.
Many of the early, and famous, hotel landmarks are gone. The Pancoast,
a glamor oceanfront resort of the '20s and '3Os, has been replaced by a
modern structure.
Of the famed Fisher hotels, She Flam~-~o now is under the wrecker's
hammer, to be replaced by an apartment bu/lding. The Nautilus is no more.
The Deauv~l] · was wrecked a few years ago far the New Deauville. The
Fleetwood, from which Radio Station WIOD (Wonderful Isle of Dreams)
broadcast dance music in the boom days of 1925, is a club residence for
retired persons.
The second hotel in Miami Beach s+.4~l exists. It is the Wofford, at
24th Street and the ocean. Just north of it was the old Collins home. Just
south of it is another glamor queen of the '2Os, the Roney Plaza, which
still reigns in dignity wiSh gardens, tennis courts, pool and cabanas.
;t
Officials, civic leaders amd Just plain citizens gathered by the thousan~
in Mimai Beach toda~ to celebrate the fmaed resort city' s 45th anniversa~
and to take a quick look into what some can see in store for the
during the ne~t 45 years.
Perhaps no more Impressive testimonial to Mi=m~ Beach's growth could be
conceived than the place in w~i~ tho cer~nial luncheon was housed m the
city's new and ultra-m~dern Convention hall. This big auditorium, designed to
seat up to 15,000 persons, it was pointed out, stmads not only for achievement,
but also for confidence in things yet to be achieved.
Old residents a_~ new from all walks of life made up the cosmopolit~_~ gathering
of people pa~lng tribute to their town. Some were present who could re~ember
Miami Beach almost from its inception, others who might be said to be almost
strangers. But this was as it should be, for their town is young and modern,
changing almost from day to da~; living in, not tradition, but ~ the flexibility
demanded in a w~rld that in the s~me breath is shrinking leagues into steps, yet
exp~ding ~-to space.
One thing in co~mon drew this diverse congregation into the Convention hall=
a creature preferance for living in a kindly climate and a steadfast faith that
'city, anywhere, holds a sounder debenture on ~he future. In this they were
of the same mind as the 31 pioneers who some 46 years ago voted to ask the
next session of the ~lorida legislature to incorporate a strip of land on the
eastern side of Biscayne Ba~ as the Village of Miemi Beach.
2-1ede story, mt~,~ beach
Faith indeed w~s needed for the ambitious ke~ plans for a new city
that were evolving from blu%~rints into car~l s, streets and h~nes on the
ocean Beach. M~Am~, on the m~nland, was ~ust a ~aall, country town domain%ed
by the big~ wooden P~yal Pail hotel where the winter visitors stayed and
~-~ggled against the si~e railroad track that ran a~ the way fr~a Key West
to Jacksonville. Tha_t~silroad spanned near-Jungle for most of its miles a~d
served more as an auxiliary transport to water shipping than as a main artery
of ¢~erce.
Yet~ with ~] the ~acant acre~e~ w~th ~ She m~es of e~pty
there were people [~ke the Pancoaets~ ~he Lumm~s Brothers and Shat new
~tomoB~.~e m~onaire from T~d~anapol~s, Car~ G. l~sher, who were dre~l~[n~
more land and br~d~g ]~ecayne ]~ to reach ~t, in order to
~ohn $. Collins probably started ~t. Collins obtained a considerable part
o£ what now ~s :]~iam~ Beach m~ 7ears heffore a resort development was considered.
~s interest was ~n £arm~,~o Traces off h~s a~ricu~%~=~ plar-a~u~ stol ma~ Be
seen° ~ne pine trees a~on~ l>lne ~ee Dr~ve were planted as w~ndbreaks flor so~e
off l~s Eroves. Co:lline ~anal was du~ so that he could mo~e h~s produce to
the msin~and by harEe.
~=,~ Beach's ~rst suBdivtaion was platted and f~_~ed b7 ~o l~o and J. Eo
T.~,mue in ~u~y, ~2. :It included ~:)~ acres south of ~th Street, most of which
~ilm~- The second plat was f/led by Collins in Dec--her of %he e~ne year. l~laher~$
first plat was filed in 191]$ and included land Between 15th and 23rd Streets.
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3-lode story, n~ ~each
e~a~er ~he Lu~aus brothers, Collins or the Pancoasts were~ealthy. ~ut
their activities intrigued Fisher, who was, and whe~ they ran into fimancial
troubles, Fisher bailed them out. One of the first crises developed in bridging
the bay a~d it was Fisher's money that completed the project, at the time the
longest wooden bridge ~- the world.
Fisher brought in a n~aber of friends such as Jaaes Allison, Arthur C. Newby,
J~aes and George Saowden amd Henry Mc~eeney, all of whom were millio-a~res, but
it was Fisher who invested the most money ~md who kept Miami Beach going forward
in those early, struggling years. ~y 1920 the basic structure of the ci~ was
completed and the populatLon n~mbe~ed 644.
Miami Beach's growth can be most succinctly told ~n census figures. These
are: ~925, 2~42; 1930, 6,494; 1935, 13,330; 1940, 28,012; 1945, 32,327;
1950, 46,282; 1955, 50,981.
~ut wh~l · the census tells the story, it gives no details. It does not
reveal, for e~mple, the collapse of the Florida land boom in 1926, ending
a period of wild speculation ~ad leavimg local economic disaster in i%s ~ake.
It does new sh~w how the natio-al depression followed on the heels of the
s~ate debacle, wrecking the nation's econom~. It does not show how Miaai Beach
was changed from a resort in 1942 ~o a m~litary training base, ~lmost overnight
an~ practically in tote. ~ut it does show steady growth.
An~ so, om the 45th anniversary of the founding of their city, thousands
of Miami Beach residents gathered toda~ to indulge in a bit of nostalgia and
a lot of dreams of the future.
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Mi~mi Beach was planned orig~-A~ ly as a winter home for the wealthy~ for
in 1915 only the wealthy could afford the long and sometimes trying Journey
from the north to this sub-tropic tip of the united States.
~ports facilities therefore were in keeping with the tastes of the winter
visitors. One of the first was a regatta course, dredged by Carl G. ~lsher,
who not only built a grandstand for the spectators but also provided trophies
for the race winners.
The first regatta was held in January, 1915~ and was a feature story in
Power Boating magazine.
Other early recreational developments included a golf course aud a
polo field and stables. There were t~o tennis courts in L~mus park.
The man most responsible for the early growth of Miami Beach be to the
city because of a narrow rail road bridge on the line between Mob~_le and
Jack sonv~lle.
Carl G. Fisher was b~rn in Greensburg, Ind., in 1874. He quit school at
the age of 12 to work in a grocery. It took him five years to save $100, and
with this capital and two brothers he opened a bicycle shop.
Not long afterward he Joined a team of professional racing cyclists. The
team soon branched into trick rl~g and Carl rode a bicycle on a rope
stretched betwee~ the two t~,11 est buila~gs in Indianapolis. Another member
of the team was Barney Oldfield.
in ~hsir ~-t~'amcyo Fisher~ career as a ra~e d...'~ver end. ed with a
cra~'~ in 1~0~ at ~.~eo'~L.le~ O~io~ ~ he ~ent into the a~tomobile ~siness
Fisher was neve~ at a loss for au idea to promote business. One of his
~owered
earliest was a flight in au automobile/31~ by balloon from Indianapolis.
The balloon lifted his seven-passenger Stoddard-Dayton and carried it several
miles into the country. F~sher drove the big car back to town to meet a
hero' s reception.
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2-fisher
He forgot to tell the people the engine had been r~aoved from the car to
lighte~ it ~br the balloon ride, and that it was a different ~achine he drove
back to town. At s~y rate, the stunt was a great success~ and Fisher, s automobile
agency soon was one of ~he largest in the country.
~hen a frimd approached Fisher with an idea of using acetylene gas for
automobile headlights, instead of kerosene, Fisher branched ~nto manufacturing.
That was the~start of bis Prest-O-Lite Co. The profits rolled in. ~she~ built
the Indianapolis Speedway, a venture entirely in keeping with his personality.
He was married in 1909 ar~ for a honeymoon star,ed a cruise to Florida
on his yacht. The craft got safely down the u~ssissippi ~iver, but ran into a
~ storm in the Oulf and was b~ ashore. For more than ~ week the yacht
~nd its passeugers were given up for lost. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher continued to
Florida by train and left the boat with John Levi, a long-+.~e friend and
m~ine engineer, to br~n~ around the peninsula whm it was found a bridge on
the Mobile to Jacksonville rail line would not give the craft clearance.
Levi had a ra~her difficult voyage down the Gulf and when he finally arrived
in Miami, telegraphed Fisher to meet him there, instead of Jacksonville.
Fisher did, liked Miami and bought a winter home there. Three years later
he decided to "retire" in Miami, liquidated all bis holdings except the
speedway and moved south with $6,000,000.
As related by J. N. I.~m~-xs, one of the first real estate developers in
Miami Beach, Fisher walked into Lvm~us'l office one day early in 1913,
introduced h~mse~f, and asked what L'~=~us was doing "clearing a great deal
of land on the
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It so happened that D.m. us was building a city. I% also happened that
L~,~,~s was short of money. ~Ithin six weeks L;_~us had borrowed $150,000
from Fisher. The loan drew eight per cent interest and as a bonus, Fisher
took 105 acres at the north end of the Lmus property ~ land for which
L~..,.~;.us had paid $150 an acre.
That deal put Fisher into Mt~m~ Beach, and back into business. He
poured more money into the development, aquired more land and did not spare
his flair for sho~nship in promoting the town. For more than 10 years
Fisher and Miami Beach were symo~us. His foresight and his capital
provided an overall developmmt of a planned community. It has been this
that has enabled Miami Beach to gain, and hold, its dom*~t place as
a vacation resort.
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~mes may have changed, but ~m~ pleasures remain about the same.
shoree
Everyone likes to s~m and to relax in the shade on a tropical/~
This is the basic reason for Miami Beach.
Probably the first cabana to be ~,~l t in M~m~ Beach was erected by
Dr. Gillespie ~oe in 1901. There is little doubt ~ that Dr. Enloe's
cabana fitted the original meaning of the Spanish word ~ a "shack" or "hut"
by the sea. Dr. Enloe would rent the cabana from t~me to time to
mainlanders for picnic vacations.
Apparently there was quite a demand for bathing facilities, even ~n
days, for many Miaians used to sail over for a swi~. So it ~'t
those
long before Miami Beach had its first bathing pavilion w ~th' s Casino.
The ~ancoasts b-~ t the Mi~ni Beach Casino, at 23rd Street, in 1912,
and tw~ years later Hardfe,s Casino was erected.
~w~g pools with their cabana clusters were pa~t ~d parcel of the
early luxury hotels and now, of course, are a "must" for every hotel with
resort pretensions. Even the city has two public swimming pools, despite
all that beach out thee.
Today it is as easy to go sw~w~g at Mi~m~ Beach as ever, and much more
comfortable. The cabana has fresh water showers, even a telephone. In the
early times there w~as no telephone, and brackish water from a pitcher pump
took the place of a shower. St~, it was fun.
Miami Beach replate ~
Some confusion existed on the ~ame of M/ami Beach fc~ several years after
the community was incorporated. It was caased by subdivisions of the initial
developers. Fisher c-~l ed his subdivision Alton Beach. The Lm~nus brothers
called theirs Ocean Beach. Only the Collins-Pancoast area was known as
Miami Beach,
Miami Beach replate ¥
~he growth of aviation and of Mi~* Beach have been peculiarly linked.
Probably the first flying field in ~lorida was established at
Miam~ Beach in 1914. It was used by ~enn Ho Our~iss in ~raining
aviators for the United States government.
'J. N. ~,,,.~.~s, who was pioneering Mi=,* Beach as Curtiss was aviation,
gave Ourtiss permission to use a tract of lan~ as an airfield. Ourtiss
built hangars where the ~leetwood hotel now stands, and his planes
buzzing over Biscayne R~y served, according to Lu~as, "to keep the eyes
of the Miami populace on Miami Beach."
Just as fledgling fliers who became U. S. pilots in ~orld War I received
their first training here, so did thousands of trainees far the Army Air
Force in World War ~, 25 years later.
Short of housing for the arm~ that had to be b,,~lt ~lmnst overnight,
the gove~,'..,.e~t took over most ~m~ Beach hotels in 1942, u.~ng tham as
barracks; the parks and golf courses as parade grounds. The whole city,
during the war years, was practically a military encampaent.
Strangely, Miani Beach now has no airport although hundreds of +-bousands
of vacationers fly to the city every year and the Jet plane has placed
less than 12 hours from an~ city in the country.
Planes are noisy, Just as were Ourtiss, first flimsy craft. The International
Airport on the mainl~d therefore serves the City very well. The airplane no
longer is needed to "keep the eyes of the Mi~m~ populace on Miami Beach."
beach replate ~
Among Mt~ Beach, s early visitors the most important, for the erea's
future, were Henry B. Lure and his 15-year-old son, Charles~ from New
Jersey. They first saw what is ~w Miami Beach in 1870 -- Just 90 years
ago -- and were impressed coconuts growing along the shore.
Coconuts in those da~s were a real money crop, gathered from the far
tropics for their oil. When the Lugs returned home it was with visions of
a coconut plantation closer to the New York ~arket than any other place in
the world. It was a dream in which they promptly interested their neighbors.
The result was a venture that finally included practically all the oceanfront
from Cape Florida to Jupiter, some~miles no~hward. It was to be one, vast
coconut planting and the land ~as purchased for 75 cents to $1.25 an acre. The
first plantings began ~ around what is now Lummus ~ark.
L :?~-(~ ~,~.
The coconut k~ngs~shipped wagons, mules, tents, a portable house and other
equipment and provisions from New York to Key West by ste~aer, off-loaded
their supplies at Key West to a schooner and sailed back to Miaai Beach.
They unloaded at Lummus Park, which was a ~mll, natural clearing in the
Jangle, floating part of their cargo ashore and transfex-~-ing the remainder
by mall boat from the schooner.
It must be remembered the si%e was as dense a Jungle as to be found
at, where in the world. Mangrove covered the lower lands in a near-impenetrable
barrier. Higher ground was thick with other native growth. E~cept for two or
three Indian trails, ~ exploration could be accomplished only behind
an ax. Ten~s were pitched and the house erected in the clearing, the~ the 25
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2-coconuts
Meanw~l · the schooner sailed for ~_ni~ and the first load of seed
coconuts. By ~he spring of 1§§3 the men had planted 38,000 nuts at
~i Beach. They then ~oved to Cape ~lorida, planting Biscayne Key. The
next location was around what is now Tlst Street, after ~bich a planting
was started near Boca Raton.
~t sounds easy, but it wasn,t. The work was so difficult, living conditions
so hardI that new gangs of laborers ha~ to be employed every year. And whan
the little clearings were hacked out and the nuts planted, troubles for the
promoters were Just beginning. Rabbits and raccoons ~ feasted dm the
tander sprouts of the coconuts as soon as they broke from the shell. Neither
guns nor poison seemed to discourage th~n.
t/d~ire incl~,~
Still, it is probable tha all the difficulties encountered,/~t~k
the lack of money that m,__de it necessary to seek new capital from time to
time, the coconut plantation would have been a success eventually. What
sealed its doom was a sharp ~zdm~ drop in the price of copra.
rncidentally, Capt. Richard Carney, who was in charge of the first
coconut plantation labor crew, later di-~m~tled the portable house that
probably was the first residence on Miami Beach, and moved it to
Coconut ~rove.
4-1ede story, miaai beach
They find themselves in the midst of change, and that is good, for without
change ~ no progress, ~ad without progress M~at Beach has no future.
They know their city, for the present at least, is ~m~ted to ~ area of some
17 square miles, more than half of which is water. They know that room for
growth now is upward, not outward.
They know, too, that growth is reaching upward. The new hotels are bigger
and taller than the old ones they are replacing. The new apartment buildings
house hundreds of f~ailies where the older ones served a score.
They know that from being dependent upon visitors for a three-months
season, Miami Beach has gro~ into a 12-months resort. They know that in
the very hall in which they meet will come in the next few months hundreds
of thouss~ds of convention delegates whose organizations, until the h~l was
completed, could not meet in Mi~m~ Beach bec~ase there was no adequate meeting
place for them.
And they know that Miami Beach is part of an urban co~plex that, for living
~nd working, is one of the most favored in the land. They m~ be depended upon
to make it the best part of that complex~
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Who was the first re,dent of Mi~m* Beach?
Probably it was ~lli~a J. ~ni~h, keeper of the Biscs~ne House of
Refuge, b,,~,~t in 1876 to "afford succor to shipwrecked per~ons..."
Other early residents included Capt. Richard Carney, a stockholder in the
company that planted coconuts on what is now Mi~ai Beach, and Charles Lure,
one of the company directors.
The Carney and L~a houses were erected in 1882 and Mrs. Lure spant the first
three years of her m~ried life here.