#151 40 Years of Miami Beach
--.
RUBY LEACH CARSON
Forty Years of Miami Beach
~
Reprinted from
f"1\.4'Sf'~: THE JOURNAL OF THE HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA
Number XV 1955
~t/~t5"~:
Miami Beach
Forty Y ears of
~-~~
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,
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~
By RUBY LEACH CARSON
It was nearly two decades after Miami was incorporated as a town before
the challenging, ocean-front strip facing it across Biscayne Bay was considered
ripe for development. Not until March 26,1915, did Miami Beach, boasting 33
voters, make its bow as an incorporated municipality, bidding for a share
of the area's fast-growing travel market.
is Miami Beach?
what
Just
are giving interest
"Miami Beach is the capitol of vacationland," said Leon C. McAskill,
1955 director of the Miami Beach Hotel Association and former publisher of
the Miami Beach Sun. "Miami Beach is unique even in the somewhat amazing
and certainly unusual development of the United States. All the superlatives
have been used - sometimes to the tiring point. Some descriptions are
unflattering, most are in glittering praise. Whatever the opinion, the un-
adorned facts reveal an unprecedented growth, an ever increasing prosperity
and a concentration of investment of 'smart money' the like of which is
probably unmatched anywhere. When one remembers that only 40 years ago
Miami Beach was a mangrove swamp, the present picture does approach the
fantastic. "
its citizens
its fortieth anniversary year,
During this,
ing definitions
community
the
"Miami Beach's community life," wrote Mayor Powell, "has been subject
to the same growth and development as its tourist economy. As the city's
resort pattern has shifted from a short winter season enjoyed principally by
3
I
,t
I
TEQUESTA
the wealthy, to a year-'round vacationland visited by close to 2,000,000 per-
sons a year. The city's permanent population has grown from a mere handful
to the present estimated 60,000."
On the city
to Paradise
come forth
Samuel A.
exclusive
of the city's fortieth birthday. The
statisticians and the all have been
These contributions will along with
future year to
shadows, the
city is to begin
the area's possi-
to make the
this now-distinguished resort
first man capable of foreseeing
formidable reclamation necessary
the Hour was Collins.
of starting the
true. The Man of
To begin the history of
with the arrival there of the
bilities and
dream
Collins, however, five other men of destiny
scene in this order: Collins' son-in-law,
N. and J. E., Miami bank presidents;
Carl Graham Fisher and his marine
come
Almost after
appeared on the mangrove-palmetto
T. J. Pancoast; the Lummus brothers, J.
and finally the sportsman millionaire,
John H. Le
engineer, vi. Looking over the old records, it is inspirational to
note that these six men, by their willingness to come to each other's assistance,
brought success to themselves beyond their fondest
to others.
and gave happi-
living to help cele-
dreams,
is
N. Lummus,
J.
Only one of these
the city's fortieth birthday.
men,
The concatenation of events which brought these men together in an epic
struggle for reclamation could not have happened precisely at this time had
not Henry M. Flagler brought civilization to the bay's edge. The arrival of
his railroad in Miami in 1896 and the building of the great Royal Palm
Hotel in 1897, had established a resort economy, creating a travel market
which has continued
day.
to expand to this
the Miami Beach
interest was transporta-
the building of the extension
in store for
main
If Flagler ever envisioned the bright
he made no further contribution to i..
therefore in 1903 he turned his
area,
tion,
4
says
"the
Beach officially call itself?
"The Closest Thing
Commerce has
it is not.
Association,
What does Miami
hall's outgoing mail is stamped this slogan
We Know." And the Miami Beach Chamber of
with this: "The World's Placation Land." "But
Rivkind, President of the Miami Beach Hotel
domain of the rich."
the city of
press,
be valuable,
Much has been said
pioneers, the economists,
delightfully informative.
the record books, when the historians close in during some
follow only the long shadows to their origin. And of those
longest will be the one cast by John S. Collins.
in recognition
the
immediately
ness
brate
5
passengers could connect with the steamship company
president.
the rails to West
Automotive transport
impact upon Florida's
economy. of Miami Beach, John S. Collins was the
firs~ to recognize this fact, and by the building of a bridge for vehicles, he
something about it. By July of 1912, when the construction of this bridge
In, Collins had already spearheaded other developments on the peninsula.
Key
time his
in January, 1912, the
was "the thing", and
For the
the
By
development
native
that
in his
the area
horticulturist
and successful
his interest
Collins was a distinguished
state, New Jersey, when in the 1880's
is now Miami Beach.
possibil-
in which he had been an
a coconut planting venture
will be said about this highly dramatic venture.
was aroused in
He had become curious about the horticultural
ities after the failure of
absentee investor. More
before the Florida East Coast Railroad
Palm Beach, that Collins made the trip
in his book "The Magic of Miami Beach",
foreword) describes Collins' emo-
1890's,
West
It was not until
had been brought south as far as
to Miami. Charles Edgar Nash,
(for which Pancoast wrote an
tions at this time
the early
approvmg
He hired two blacks to row him across Biscayne Bay to the penin-
sula and we may imagine with what mingled emotions he first set
foot on Miami Beach.
The situation was admirable, the climate was perfect. Here
summer spent the winter and thousands of people would spend it,
too, given the opportunity. It would eventually make an ideal winter
resort and was just what he had been looking for. The future could
be allowed to take care of itself, but was for the present - he
walked into a virgin jungle of palmetto scrub, kneeled and dug into
the earth with his hands, allowing the black, sandy loam to run
through his fingers, the knowing fingers of a dirt farmer with more
than half a century of experience behind him.
That settled it. The last vestige of doubt was gone. As he rose
to his feet and dusted the clinging particles of sand from his hands
Miami Beach was born. He knew that with water, fertilization, and
proper care of this land could be made. . . into a town and the town
into a city of trees and flowers and pleasant vistas.
turn
is
3t l' pomo-
Middletown,
to
To point to Collins' first active in this beach land,
backward to the middle 1880's when he encountered an old friend
interest
This friend, Elnathan T. Field of
RUBY LEACH CARSON
Key West, where his
which he was
meeting in New Jersey.
logical
to
of
5
RUBY LEACH CARSON
to Key West, where his
of which he was
with the steamship company
By the time his locomotives began moving over the rails to Key West
in January, 1912, the travel picture was changing. Automotive transport
was "the thing", and its future would have tremendous impact upon Florida's
economy. For the development of Miami Beach, John S. Collins was the
first to recognize this fact, and by the building of a bridge for vehicles, he
did something about it. By July of 1912, when the construction of this bridge
began, Collins had already spearheaded other developments on the peninsula.
Collins was a distinguished and successful horticulturist in his
state, New Jersey, when in the 1880's his interest was aroused in the are~
is now Miami Beach. He had become curious about the horticultural
ities after the failure of
absentee investor. More
a coconut planting venture
will be said about this highly dramatic venture.
before the Florida East Coast Railroad
Palm Beach, that Collins made the trip
in his book "The Magic of Miami Beach",
approving foreword) describes Collins' emo-
1890's,
West
l'L&h,
(for
tions
He hired two blacks to row him across Biscayne Bay to the penin-
sula and we may imagine with what mingled emotions he first set
foot on Miami Beach.
The situation was admirable, the climate was perfect. Here
summer spent the winter and thousands of people would spend it,
too, given the opportunity. It would eventually make an ideal winter
resort and was just what he had been looking for. The future could
be allowed to take care of itself, but was for the present - he
walked into a virgin jungle of palmetto scrub, kneeled and dug into
the earth with his hands, allowing the black, sandy loam to run
through his fingers, the knowing fingers of a dirt farmer with more
than half a century of experience behind him.
That settled it. The last vestige of doubt was gone. As he rose
to his feet and dusted the clinging particles of sand from his hands
Miami Beach was born. He knew that with water, fertilization, and
proper care of this land could be made. . . into a town and the town
into a city of trees and flowers and pleasant vistas.
turn
is
ot ? P01110-
Middletown,
to
To point to Collins' first active interest in this beach land,
backward to the middle 1880's when he encountered an old friend
This friend, Elnathan T. Field of
meeting in New Jersey.
logical
passengers could connect
president.
the early
not
TEQUESTA
6
N. J., was enthusiastic about a coconut planting project which he and some
associates had launched three years previously, in 1882. The project, how-
lack of funds since expenses involved had been
ever, had been halted by
greater than had been anticipated.
versions which have been published about this exciting
Miami Beach history agree in the main and vary only in
Besides Nash, Authors E. V. Blackman, C. H. Ward,
Hollingsworth, and 1. N. Lummus, as well as
It's a good story for the homefolks
"Are coconuts native to this
part on Nash.
penin-
The various
early chapter in
the small details.
Kenneth L. Roberts, Tracy
countless journalists, have told the story.
to know, since visitors invariably ask:
sula?" This article will rely for the most
A few coconuts, which had probably washed ashore, had succeeded in
growing near an old wharf at Miami Beach by the year 1870, when they were
seen by two northern visitors, Henry B. Lum and his IS-year old son Charles.
For years these fellows kept thinking about the economic possibilities of
planting coconuts along Florida's south east coast for shipment to northern
markets.
from the government ocean-front
several others, including Field
Lums' land included the
The land
they had purchased
acre and had interested
Osborn.
1882
an
By the year
land at 35 cents
present
which Field
The
Park area.
and his fellow-townsman, Ezra
south Miami Beach and Lummus
from
and
Lum
from the
Their acreage,
from 75 cents to
Cape
It cost
the government
but southward
of ocean
to Jupiter,
totaled 65 miles
Osborn purchased
north
property
with breaks,
$1.25 an acre.
To with the loading and unloading of provisions, and to do the
planting, coconut promotors hired 25 men from the New Jersey life-
saving stations. Old lifeboats were bought and repaired. These, along with
wagons, tents, mules, tools and food, as well as a small portable house, were
put on board a Mallory line vessel bound for Key West. At Key West they
were transferred to a chartered schooner, and taken to the Florida coast. The
sions. Much was ta1\.<:;..
men dumped the
to land.
for the first load of coconuts
of Captain Richard Carney
The schooner then headed for Trinidad
planting, and the men under the leadership
for
help
the
7
RUBY LEACH CARSON
clearing on the site
the sections of the
There was a natural
were pitched and
camp.
the tents
Middletown, N. J., set up
Lummus Park, and here
were bolted
of
of
together.
N ash tells of the old Indian trail which ran north and south, winding
among the trees and which was believed to have been used by the Tequesta
Indians and later by the Seminoles. This was widened for a wagon trail. They
were working on this when the first load of 100,000 coconuts was brought in
for planting. The labor involved was formidable, since dense jungle growth
grew close to the shore. Paths were hacked with machetes.
the alloted for Miami
Florida area to plant the rest. The
the present north beach area at the site of
38,000 nuts
they had planted
the Cape
By spring of 1883
Beach, and had
moved camp to
was established on
House of Refuge. Here, a shipment of 117,000 coconuts from
Nicarauga was brought ashore for planting. The next site for operations was
the Hillsboro House of Refuge above Boca Raton, and for this planting
another load of 117,000 coconuts was brought, this time from Cuba.
Although the original plans had called for a planting of 450,000 nuts,
by this time 334,000 had been planted. Nash writes that "by the end of the
third year's work the liquid assets of the company had been virtually ex-
hausted. This brought the active proceedings to a halt and nothing further
was planned until Nature had a chance to show what results had been
achieved."
The work had been so exhausting for the laborers that each year the com-
pany had had to recruit a new crew. It was reported that they had employed
negro convict labor.
At this point, Collins was told of the project. He advanced to his
friend Field the sum of $5,000 so that the work could be continued. Of course,
the project failed. Some of the nuts failed to put forth shoots. Some, having
sprouted and started growing, were choked out by strangler fig vines and the
fast-marching mangroves. Most of the nuts which germinated lasted
long enough to provide food for rabbits, wood rats and other animals.
a comparatively few kept growing and bore fruit.
The men had overestimated a coconut tree's yield of fruit, underestimated
ject, and had practically ignored transportation and
> were about sixty stockholders in this first big
Ii Beach.
the expense of the pro
marketing problems. There
effort to commercialize
portable house
next camp site
the Biscayne
only
Only
writer
to develop
such
was agriculturally minded," said Arthur
a go of farming developments on cleared
ocean strip not suited to farming he thought
He did not think of starting a city develop-
lanes
the
the
After thought and study and conferences with other experts, Collins
decided to begin by planting an avocado grove. Field protested, remembering
the coconut venture; but Collins had his way. When the clearing of land
by manpower began costing from $70 to $300 an acre, Collins designed a
tractor with special knife-bladed wheels. These tractors were made in the
north, shipped by train to Miami and ferried to the beach on barges. The
cost of clearing was then reduced to $30 an acre.
Back in his native city, Moorestown, N. J., Collins had left his business
interest with his son, Irving; and in Merchantville, he had left his son-in-law,
T. J. Pancoast, in charge. These interests included nurseries and the selling
of farm machinery and builders' and farmers' supplies. This combined knowl-
edge of plant life and the machinery needed for its cultivation, together with
an adventurous and inquiring mind, equipped Collins sufficiently for pioneer-
ing development of the jungle strip across Miami's bay.
But, as Historian Nash points out, "Failure had no place in Collins'
make-up." That was why Collins came down to look over the Field and
Osborn beach acreage in the 1890's. Mention already has been made of his
favorable reaction. It was some years, however, before he could return.
Collins' grandson, Arthur Pancoast, told this writer that as early as 1900
Collins and Field had been acquiring the ocean-front land at Miami Beach
by buying up shares of the coconut-planting company from the other stock-
holders. By 1906, Collins was a Miami Beach landowner, with a land-clear-
ing project under way. Arthur Pancoast established the year from the fact
that the family had record of a negro employee's death by a hurricane on
the project at that time.
of
of
were
Collins realized
the twin
In 1909, when the apprehensive Field was glad to sell his
enterprise, Collins bought Field's share and became the proud owner
largest avocado grove in the world. Arthur Pancoast revealed to this
that Field had arrived upon the scene, which he and Collins
jointly, with the complete plans for a city in his pocket.
a plan was premature.
half
To protect the young grove from the wind, Collins planted
of Australian pine trees which later became Pine Tree Drive.
TEQUESTA
swamp land first. Then that
could be available for a city later.
my grandfather
wanted to make
"Anyway,
Pancoast. "He
8
9
ment until he needed a canal for solution of his farm transportation problems.
Then he knew a canal would help in both developments.
of townsite Mr. Field had planned I do not know," con-
"Mr. Collins' idea was to pattern it after Atlantic City,
N. 1. Mr. Fisher didn't depart too much from that concept, as Atlantic City
at that time was the summer playground of the United States, and Mr. Fisher
wanted to make this the winter playground. From that point on of course,
his showmanship and salesmanship took over, and the city has gradually
evolved until it really is fabulous."
"Just what sort
tinued Mr. Pancoast.
his family.
New Jersey
Collins had the enthusiastic support of
Pancoast, arranged his business affairs in
Miami Beach and help with its development.
point on,
T. J.
live at
From this
His son-in-law,
so he could
1911 and helped Collins direct the work on his canal. It
is now Lake Pancoast, to Biscayne Bay, and quickly became
beautiful features of Miami Beach. It still retains his name.
Both Collins and Pancoast ~M ""~1 0' ,1'
He arrived in
was dug from what
one of the most
that the canal would not only
but also would help open
If homes were to
. v~I.~vU ~. .,US time
to market,
up an area in demand for residences.
be built, then a bridge for vehicles would be needed.
The Collins family organized the Miami Beach Improvement Company on
June 3, 1912, with Collins as president and Pancoast as secretary, treasurer
and active manager. The following month, July 22, work began on Collins
Toll Bridge which, when finished in March 1913, was to connect the beach
at Dade Boulevard with Miami at North East 15th Street, a distance of two
and a half .c It was to be known as the in the
,rmal
wooden bridge
1. W. Watson of
longest
1913,
mileu
the
Mayor
The wooden bridge was only half finished, however, when the unexpected
expenses caused a temporary halt in the construction. At the outset, Collins
and Pancoast had borrowed $25,000 for the project from two local banks -
$15,000 from the Bank of Bay Biscayne, of which J. E. Lummus was presi-
dent; and $10,000 from the Southern Bank and Trust Company, of which
1. N. Lummus was president. That was early in 1912. By May of that year
J. N. Lummus had resigned as bank president to organize and direct a Miami
Beach improvement company to be known as the Ocean Beach Realty Com-
pany. J. N. Lummus was born in Bronson, Levy County, Fla., and had first
visited Miami in 1895. He returned in 1904 to live.
RUBY LEACH CARSON
provide a quick way to get
which would soon be
12,
June
opening on
world. At
Miami was speaker.
If
TEQUESTA
10
In a booklet condensed from his book, "The Miracle of Miami Beach",
Lummus stated that he and his brother, J. E. Lummus, and a few stockholders
land from Lincoln Road south and
in 1912 purchased 605 acres of swamp
"immediately put men chopping down swamp, clearing and grading the
Ocean Front at the South end. We paid from $150 per acre to $12,500 per
land. The large price was paid for small tracts but we had
streets through. . . . Our development was south from
known as 'Ocean Beach'." Most of this purchase had been
acre for swamp
to have them to put
15th Street and was
the
Lum holdings.
Lummus pointed out that his Company was the first to file a plat and sell
for a subdivision. It was filed July 9, 1912.
lots
Collins' first plat was filed December 11, 1912. Collins' sale of lots was
stimulated by his announcement that Collins Bridge had been refinanced and
was on its way to completion! The fact that a patron saint had appeared
upon the scene to give needed financial aid, not only to Collins and Pancoast,
but also to the Lummus brothers, makes the year 1912 stand out as the year
that gave birth to the city of Miami Beach. Of course, almost every Miami
and Miam Beach citizen knows who this "patron saint" was
It Carl Graham Fisher.
was
This Indianapolis millionaire of Prest-OoLite fame and fortune had
come to Miami to make contact with his yacht, brought here by his marine-
engineer friend, John H. Levi. The original plan had been for the two men to
meet in Jacksonville. In January of 1912, Levi wired Fisher: "Arrived
Miami pretty little town. Why not meet me here instead of J ackson-
"
safely.
ville. John.
Fisher came, was captivated by the climate and tropical beauty every-
where, and bought a home on Brickell A venue. He was so impressed with the
wooden bridge which had been built half way across the bay by a gentleman
in his 74th year, that he made Collins' acquaintance and advanced $50,000
on the project. The total cost of the bridge was about $100,000.
as security,
real estate
mile in
the
own
to bay and nearly a
the Improve-
Then he hunted up
from J. N.'s
not only put up the bridge bonds
his first chunk of Miami Beach
ocean
Collins, not to be outdone,
as an outright gift gave Fisher
200 acres, a strip 1800 feet wide from
but
depth.
Fisher was so enthusiastic that he bought 200 acres south of
ment Company's land, and 60 acres on the bay front.
Lummus brothers, whose work had slowed down,
record. Lummus wrote
judging
II
RUBY LEACH CARSON
In 1913 my Brother and I met Carl Fisher, who had a winter home
on Brickell Ave., Miami. Fisher asked me why we did not do all
this work at once. I told him we had an awful good reason and that
was we did not have the money, so he loaned us $150,000 and we
paid him 8 per cent interest for the money and gave him 105 acres of
swamp land from Lincoln Road South to 15th St. as a bonus for the
loan. We had paid $150.00 per acre for the land that we gave Fisher.
what started Miami Beach in a big way
On July 1, 1913, according to Lummus, he and Fisher signed a contract
together with the First Clark Dredging Company of Baltimore to move six
million cubic yards of bay bottom from the bay to the bay side of the beach.
This was to fill in the bay land and deepen the bay for a Motor Boat Race
Course. It was January 15, 1914 before Fisher's first plat was filed
when he began cooperating with Collins,
in the creation of Miami Beach. Levi was
in charge of Fisher's developments which were to include man-made islands,
hotels, polo fields, golf courses, streets and subdivisions. The work advanced
despite the agonizing physical labor involved in the clearing of the mangrove
trees and the accompanying discomfort caused by the hordes of mosquitos,
and the constant danger of being bitten by poisonous snakes. Fisher's com-
pany was the Alton Beach Realty Company. It was bounded on the South by
15th Street on the North by 20th Street. on the Ocean, and Purdy Boat Ways
town was incorporated in 1915 under the name Miami
thought of the beach strip as Alton Beach, so well adver-
Fisher interests there. Only the Collins interests were
to as Miami Beach; and the Lummus area was called
on the bay.
Even after the
Beach, many visitors
tised had been the
previously referred
Ocean Beach.
the
for
the bid-
and
Even
the auction sales of lands
ders for lots in the still-swampy area went to the sales by boat.
Dammers, famous auctioneer of those days, presided at these events.
best known for his policy o( handing out new pieces of china to his delighted
audience.
they operated three
to beach at Biscayne
And business was good
estate
the
Lummus Company began selling real
from the foot of Flagler Street
one way was
the charge.
After the
passenger boats
Street. Five cents
IS
and that alone,
That,
Fisher was only 38 years of age
Pancoast and the Lummus brothers
("Doc" )
He was
built all visitors and workers
to cross the bay by boat.
and Lummus developments,
E.E.
was
were obliged
in the Collins
Before the Collins Bridge
beach area's few residents
Beach. The
which
Miami
the first
by Dr
at
of
1901
TEQUESTA
12
passengers from Miami
A more pretentious bath house was built by Dade County's sheriff, Dan
Hardie, on the ocean front near Smith's casino in 1914. The Hardie Casino
was popular for its bathing facilities, restaurant and semi-weekly dances.
Robert Gow, who among other duties, had charge of the restaurant, was the
father of five youngsters of school age who enjoyed to the utmost the social
activities the beach afforded. Alice Gow, now Mrs. Charles DeWitt Strong of
Coral Gables, enjoyed most of all the school bus trips on the Collins toll
bridge. "Those trips were fun," she recalled. "We took our fishing lines
along and fished while the driver stopped to talk to the bridge tender . We
were forgiven for being late to school when we finally arrived in Miami"
Beach Casino during 1912 and 1913 on
was the finest the area had
The Pan coasts built
the ocean at 23rd Street. two-story structure
of driftwood inside, and shingled outside. In
Arthur Pancoast had from time to time managed
the Miami
This
1914 a swimming
the Casino,
even after Fisher took it over in 1916 and spent large sums on its improve-
ment. Another interest was now consuming Arthur, however, and in 1923
he made the plunge - the building of the ocean front's first large luxury
hotel. He opened it to a distinguished clientele in 1924 and operated it
for 20 years, selling it in 1944. It was the Grossinger Pancoast after that
until 1955, when it was razed for the erection of the larger Seville.
III
was the site of established in 1876 and
operated until Its purpose was to succor to shipwrecked per-
sons who may be cast ashore and who, in the absence of such means of relief,
would be liable to perish from hunger and thirst in that desolate region." It
was manned by one keeper and had facilities for a family, if the keeper had
to who built and occupied the first home
to recall that 72nd Street and Collins avenue
Refuge,
"afford
known, built
pool was added.
the speculation as
IS
Biscayne
the
1926.
In answer to
Miami Beach, it
for
13
one. Wm. J. Smith was the first keeper. So probably he should receive credit
for being the first home-maker on the beach.
Then there was that portable house which Captain Richard Carney, one
of the stockholders in the Lum-Osborne coconut planting company, brought
to the beach in 1882 and kept there as his residence until 1886.
And even before Captain Carney moved that house to the rear of his estate
in Coconut Grove, the house had a companion structure. Charles Lum built a
two-story dwelling nearby and brought down his bride. The beach's first hon-
eymooning couple lived there three years.
In J. N. Lummus's book there is a photograph of a tiny cottage which
Mrs. Philip Clarkson had shipped from Chicago in 1913, and set up at 3rd
Street and Collins Avenue. Lummus built his own home in 1914 on the ocean
front at 12th Street, next to the present Tides Hotel. Some of the others who
built in 1914 were S. A. Belcher, E. B. Lent, Willie A. Pickert, George A.
Douglass, T. E. James and Mrs. John McSweeney. Collins built by the ocean
in 1917. In 1914 T. J. Pancoast built a mansion on the edge of the deepened
wading pool which connected Collins Canal with Indian Creek, and which
had been named Lake Pancoast. Carl Fisher's first home was built on the
Ocean and Lincoln Road in 1915.
The first hotel was built in 1914 and operated by its owner, W. J. Brown.
The Wofford Hotel and Apartments was ;econd, on the site of the present
Wofford Hotel. The Breakers was third. By 1915 the beach had one of the
largest Marconi wireless stations in the South. It had telegraph service, two
bath houses, an 18-hole golf course, mail service, a free school bus and
winter boat racing
of
the sports world was brought to the beach by Fisher. The
was held January 15, 16, and 17, 1915, by Fisher who
built the grandstand for the spectators and
He had secured the fastest speed
magazine Power Boating fea-
the winners.
compete. The national
and the developers and the
NOW WAS THE TIME
The beach was really getting under way,
several hundred persons living there decided that
for
Miami Beach was incorporated. Meet-
office building and 33 voters were registered.
incorporation.
On March 26, 1915, the town of
were held in the Lummus
RUBY LEACH CARSON
The cream
first annual regatta
not only dredged the course, but
provided the trophy cups for
boats and cruisers to
tured the event.
ings
,1
l
TEQUESTA
J. N. Lummus was given the deserved honor of being the first mayor. In
his abridged booklet he wrote that "the Lummus Company paid all the cost
of incorporating Miami Beach and paid the City Clerk's salary and all other
bills until the Town could get in some tax money in 1916."
James Whitcomb Riley planted an Indian laurel tree in the parkway on
Lincoln Road and James Avenue on April 12, 1915, and read verses he had
written commemorating the building of the National Lincoln Highway, a
Fisher-promoted enterprise. The tree which Riley planted was later moved to
the Carl Fisher Park. The poem Riley read pointed to the fact that Miami
Beach's Lincoln Road was named for this national highway. Fisher had
become nationally popular not only for that Lincoln Highway going east
and west across the United States, but for his leadership in the development
of the Dixie south.
This of ~~
ntere
running north and
Highway,
showed in Fisher's
recreation areas and
There are now two
Miami Beach.
.~ads
in
and parks.
the limits of
Lummus the time it was given for public use in 1912 has
been one of the city's favorite attractions. The gift of J. N. and J. E. Lummus,
it cost their Ocean Beach Realty Company more than $40,000 for creating
and maintaining between 1912 and 1917. The company built board walks,
planted Bermuda grass and coconut trees and put in twelve pumps and two
tennis courts when the park was given to Miami Beach. J. N. Lummus recorded
these achievements in the 1952 abridgement of his book. He considered the
park by 1952 to be worth at least sixteen million dollars.
.~~. another
ld not
and
Park from
the bay was needed and
the two Lummus
bridge across
When it became appalvuL
that the wooden bridge
brothers and Carl Fisher
last much longer,
each donated $2,000 toward expenses involved in
issue to build a three-mile causeway across
planning a $600,000 county bond
the bay. When completed in 1920 it connected Miami's 13th Street with 5th
Street at Miami Beach. Two lines of street car tracks were laid on it at a
cost of $740,000. Of course late.r the tracks were pulled up and the causeway
widened, and a modern bus transportation system established. World War
II resulted in its the McArthur
Causeway. The cause-
Roy Wilson.
getting a new name -
planned by the Lummus Company's
engineer,
construction
who pioneered
was Fisher's direct-
throughout the Fisher de-
engmeers
Levi
John H.
way was
Much credit is due the civil and
Miami Beach developments. Although
engineer at the outset, W. E. Brown remained
the
ing
14
a proper network
Beach land. His
of
his Miami
was revealed by golf courses
ten city parks within
appreciation
development of
sports facilities
city golf courses
/
15
Miami Beach
rears, until he
.v~l estate broker
the Collins
RUBY LEACH CARSON
Bridge construction.
In 1916 the Lummus Company sold part of its holdings to a group of
northern millionaires: James A. Allison, who was Fisher's Indianapolis
banker and his Prest-Oolite partner and who was to be a Fisher partner in
the Miami Beach developments; James and George Snowden, Carl Fisher and
Henry McSweeney. They built Star Island and made roads, built residences
and planted trees and shrubs on the peninsula west of Washington Avenue.
The first 1 Fisher's ocean-
residence
Road was
front His office was built in 1917 on Lincoln Road and
Washington Avenue. Then followed the Lincoln TT ot
Church and, in 1921, the Miami Beach First Natiom
From the beginning, August Geiger was Fisher's archit
Community
Alton Road.
Duilding to be erected on Lincoln
in 1915.
built Lincoln Road's first commercial building, a struc-
for 17 stores, and situated on the site of Sak's Store and
When the Lincoln Road Association was formed,
its first president. Geiger served later for ten years.
from its beginning maintained a real community
King who became its pastor in 1921, remained as
In
ture with
westward to the corner.
D. Richard Mead became
The Community Church
Rev. Elisha
1924 Geiger
location
spirit. The
leader of his flock for 18 years.
Miami Beach. V 01-
mayors, from Mrs.
in innumerable
The men did not do all of the work in the building of
umes could be written about the women! The wives of the
Lummus and Mrs. Pancoast on down the line,
ways.
were helpful
Mrs. T. J. Pancoast, president of the Miami Beach Woman's Club for
13 years, from 1928 to 1942, had been the guiding spirit of the development
of the Miami Beach Public Library. This was started by the Woman's Club
and Mrs. Pancoast not only gave of her time and thought, but helped finan-
cially. Her son, Russell T. Pancoast, was architect for the building.
To Russell Pancoast goes credit
in Miami Beach homes and business
the
for
buildings.
associate architect
Miami
the Florida State Board of Architects,
American Institute of Architecture.
designeu
for
Church by the Sea and was an
Besides being a member of
is a Fellow in the
Auditorium.
Russell Pancoast
...
{ffIIT
TEQUESTA
16
The Lincoln Hotel attracted celebrities from the political, literary, sports
and social world. Fisher's mother lived there in 1920-21. The James A. Allison
family was there and their daughter Cornelia, was an attractive and popular
As she later married a pioneer Miamian who was to become the 1938
of the Miami Beach Board of Realtors, she remained at the beach.
the
to write some of her recollections for
Miami Beach Sun. She wrote, in part
teen-ager.
president
Mrs. Frazure was persuaded
June 13, 1954, issue of the
I remember
At night, driving along the ocean one could see the eyes of droves
of land crabs shining in the car headlights and occasionally you
would see the bright eyes of a wild cat . . . . I remember . . . . Carl
Fisher's glass enclosed tennis court back of where the Albion Hotel
now stands . . . . The polo field was south of Lincoln Road between
Meridian Avenue and Alton Road.
(Mrs. Frazure also remembered when her father built Allison Hospital
now St. Francis Hospital, and)
she aptly
the sports
. . . Carl Fisher's battered old slouch hat and the snappy Panama
hat worn by the handsome first mayor of Miami Beach, J. N.
Lummus, Sr. . . . on New Year's Day of 1921 the opening of the
beautiful Aquarium that Father built at Fifth Street and Biscayne
Bay. . . . and the night before, New Year's Eve of 1921, the open-
ing of the Flamingo Hotel with a gala party, and the Sunday tea
dances held there in the gardens . . . . the nine-hole golf course
connected with the hotel and the famous Regatta for all types of
craft, from Hydro-planes to Express Cruisers, held in Biscayne Bay
in front of the Flamingo Hotel.
Referring to the trolley which made a circuit of Miami Beach,
described it as "Toonerville" type. Horseback riding was one of
Fisher had introduced, and Mrs. Frazure recalled
and the bridle paths circling Bay
and the bridle path in the center
riding horseback along the surf
Shore and LaGorce Golf Courses,
of Pinetree Drive.
She rememberd Jungle Inn, Miami Beach's "first speakeasy and gam-
bling joint, which was located in the wilderness at approximately 67th Street
and Indian Creek Drive", and that there was nothing between there and the
Firestone Estate at 43rd Street and Collins Avenue (now the
except Ocean Drive, a narrow beach sand road. With logic
her reminiscenses
F ontainbleau)
she concludes
.
is something to be re-
regret their passing to
The peaceful life of those "good old days"
membered and cherished but we should not
make way for progress on Miami Beach.
17
How well Mrs. Frazure has recaptured the flavor of life at Miami Beach
at that time is appreciated by this writer, who as a newspaper reporter for
the Miami Metropolis (now the Miami Daily News) lived at the Lincoln
Hotel that season and covered beach activities.
RUBY LEACH CARSON
was the winter President-elect Warren G. Harding came to "straw-
hat for his pre-inauguration vacation. The president-elect and men he
expected to appoint on his cabinet came on Senator Frelinghuysen's house-
boat, which was floated down Florida's inland waterways to Miami Beach.
On the trip down, they had stopped at various Florida resorts to play golf,
and now they were ready for golf at Miami Beach.
That
land'
(
When they arrived on January 29, 1921, they were taken to the Lincoln
Hotel for lunch. The host for this occasion was one of the party, Senator
A. B. Cummins, who had spent the previous month at the Lincoln. This
writer had enjoyed many conversations with the Senator and had even tried
to swing golf clubs properly under his supervision. Such informal instruc-
tion was given on the golf course across the street from the Lincoln, where
smart stores do business today. As early as that, Cummins had promised that
might have a personal interview with the president-elect when
this reporter
he arrived.
The promise was kept, but with difficulty. Crowds in front of the hotel
parted so that the smiling, bowing president-to-be could enter with his cabinet-
to-be. At the luncheon, the writer was privileged to be seated between Harding
and the honor guest at his right, who was - of course! - Carl Fisher. James
A. Allison also was an honor guest. Harding was enthusiastic about Miami
Beach and talked about it for half an hour. "Your own people here have not
awakened the possibilities of this playground of America," he began.
is wonderful. It is developing like magic." He said much more,
it
This was the only personal interview given by
to Florida, although he was followed continuously by newspaper
ing the luncheon they stood outside the dining room on the terrace, looking
inside through closed French doors. Among them were the male colleagues
of the reporter who was getting the only interview. And this reporter, while
not one to gloat, couldn't forget that her managing editor had phoned her
early that day telling her not to bother her head about Harding's arrival -
that any effort would be futile - and that the men "were it
it was this exclusive interview that made the front
to Senator Cummins
trip
Dur-
evening,
taking care of
page that
Harding during this
men.
carefully recorded.
"This
all of
But
thanks
"W
TEQUESTA
The Harding party was lodged over the week-end at the Flamingo, the
beach's second and most pretentious luxury hotel which had opened on Jan-
uary 1. On Sunday afternoon Harding visited Cocolobe, Carl Fisher's pri-
vate island 38 miles south of Miami. While at the Flamingo, he occupied one
of the villas on the Flamingo grounds. As a publicity stunt, the young ele-
phant Rosie caddied for him. His friendly interest in Miami Beach was not
forgotten. Harding Avenue was named for him.
One of Fisher's contributions which was deeply appreciated by the pub-
lic was the Flagler Memorial placed on a tiny island in the bay. It was made
in 1920 at a cost of $125,000. H. P. Peterson was the sculptor. At the four
corners of the base are symbolic figures representing Pioneering, Engineering,
Industrialism and Prosperity. In thi!:l contribution Fisher was assisted by
John B. Orr and Allison. The monument is located between Hibiscus, Rivo
Alto and Belle Islands and can be reached only by boat. In 1939 it was deeded
to
the City by the Alton Beach Realty Company.
Miami Beach was ready for a Chamber of Commerce by 1921, when
the population was estimated at 644, so on July 13 of that year T. J. Pancoast,
Line Harger and Charles W. Chase, Jr., Lambert Rook and A. J. Zoller met
to plan the organization. The Miami Herald files reveal that the By-Laws were
adopted nine days later at a meeting at Smith's Casino and that Pancoast
was elected president. By December over 350 members, (over half the beach
population), had been recruited. A site by the entrance to the county cause-
way was chosen for a Chamber of Commerce building. The structure erected
there was used until 1954, when headquarters was shifted to a new building
at 1700 Washington Avenue. The old building is now the Junior Chamber
International hea.dquarters.
Miami Beach's Chamber of Commerce was directed by Ike Parrish from
1943 to 1953. The present general manager is John G. Proctor, whose aim,
he says, is to devise and improve ways of serving visitors to the city and to
constantly work on a community development program. Mr. Proctor said
that the work of anyone of the Chamber's present 18 committees would be a
story in itself. F. B. Cresap is the 1955 president of the organization.
When T. J. Pancoast was elected as the first president of the Miami Beach
Chamber of Commerce in 1921, he remained at its head for 20 years. He
had been the second mayor of Miami Beach, serving from 1918 to 1920. His
civic contributions included also the presidency of the Miami Beach Realty
Board, which he held for several years. As a business executive, Pancoast
18
.,:
-"I, III, 'I
,
.
rT
',b
II
19
vice-
RUBY LEACH CARSON
Company and later
Pancoast Hotel Company.
for the Miami Beach Improvement
the First National Bank and the
was president
president of
Collins Bridge was sold in December, 1920, after seven years of contin-
uous use. It was replaced by the Venetian Causeway, built during 1922 and
1923 by the developers of the Venetian Islands at a cost of approximately
$2,505,300. Hugh M. Anderson was the guiding spirit in this enterprise. The
Venetian Islands are among the most beautiful of the beach residential areas,
and are greatly admired by the sight-seeing boats which make scheduled tours
of the bay.
During 1923 and 1924 Fisher's dredges poured bay bottom land along
the bayshore at 43rd Street for another luxury hotel and also for polo
g~ounds. The hotel was the Nautilus, not to be confused with the equally
swanky Nautilus built later on the Ocean. The first Nautilus required elab-
orate ground preparation. The rich top soil was scooped aside for the sand
fill, and later spread over the surface. Fifty mules and Fisher's two young
elephants, Rosie and "Young" Carl assisted in this work. Photographers of
the era left pictures of Carl pulling a sand scoop, and Rosie carrying happy
children on her back.
By July of 1924, the first coconut tree was planted on the Nautilus
grounds and the road building was proceeding. The rock for this was hauled
from the mainland on barges. They were floated up Collins Canal to the
bantam line railroad which the Fisher interests were using. They found this
little railroad almost indispensible, for with it they could pick up the tracks
and little cars and deliver them wherever most needed.
was the activity of the 1,000-horse-
which was said to force a 20-inch
time
Davis'
Also of much interest at the
power dredge named "Norman H.
stream of wet bay land
in 24 hours and
own
.
for a full mile. It could bring in 20,000 cubic yards
it had on board a complete machine and repair shop
Two other less powerful dredges also were used.
ears
IS
Nautilus opened formally
Although the structure
it houses the
ice plant.
The
luxury spot.
than ever for now
of fill
and its
Sinai
now Polo Park, one of the city's garden spots.
Cole, erected on North Meridian Avenue on Surprise
of the Miami Heart Institute.
New construction in Miami Beach during 1923 showed the biggest in-
crease since developments started. The value reached $4,185,600. The big
reached
This was the year
the American Power
TEQUESTA
on its way. In 1924 the construction figures
estate could be sold quickly, at n T1
Miami Beach Electric Compa
N. Lummus to have built more houses
than anyone man on Miami in those early years, was building the
million dollar Roney Plaza that year. It opened in 1925 as one of the most
elaborate hotels of the era. Instead of bringing interior decorators down from
New York, as did the Fisher interests, Roney employed local
Albert was Miami's first interior decorator.
talent, Miss Mary
This hostelry has
its 1955 owner being 1. Meyer Schine.
ownerships,
declared by 1.
Beach
Hinton, who
been operated under several
~ .->rofit.
to
20
Florida
$7,014,750. al
Carl Fisher sold his
& Light Company.
N. B. T. Roney,
1925,
From he.e
In
voters.
In 1935, voters
Boom was
Re'
55,000.
The estimated yearly tourists
2 million in 1955.
to an estimated
Assessed property valuation the year the city was incorporated, 1915,
was $244,815. Ten years later it was $44,094,950. Ten years later, 1935,
there was a four million dollar drop, but by 1945 the assessed property val-
uation had climbed back up. It was $85,757,650. In 1955, the figure
such dizzy
little cash
reached $374,645,800.
wrote that at the beach early in 1925 "credit soared to
small-timers came to swing big-time propositions on a
that "paper millionaires came to blossom
as
most of
after a
the rose' were said to have retained
their unsold property until the hysteria died down, which came about
stock market crash in November of that year. The boom
front hotels had the
of confidence", and
Fisher, Collins and Pancoast
continued to develop.
Fleetwood and later the
Two more bay
Floridian, the latter on the site of
appeared
the Allison Aquarium.
the boom,
Claude A
For the difficult and the explosion of
Beachites considered fortunate their leadership.
Renshaw had been made city manager in 1925, a position he holds as this is
written in 1955. Typical of the regard with which he is held is this comment
by Arthur Pancoast
after
in
days before
themselves
in his thinking, and constructive.
"Renshaw is level-headed, non-political
He has Miami Beach entirely at heart."
in 1935
jumped from 50,000
Nash
that
heights
and a lot
21
The mayor of Miami Beach from 1926 to 1928 was J. N. Lummus, Jr.
the 26-year-old son of the first mayor J. N. Lummus. As "Newt" was born
and reared on the beach, always alert to its problems, he was so highly
regarded that he had served on the City Council between 1922 and 1952. He
holds the record for being the Beach's youngest mayor. During his term the
Venetian Causeway was finished, piping to carry water from Hialeah to the
beach was installed, and the planning of the present City Hall and street
were undertaken. Lummus, Jr., later served as Dade County Tax
to 1952.
Another pioneer to become mayor was Val C. Cleary, elected in 1930.
Louis F. Snedigar, native Floridian, was elected Mayor in 1922, when Me
was 31 years of age. He was re.elected in 1924 and served until 1926.
that the Prins
which accom.
"many a shipper
grasp of what
boom; nor
Miami bank
even blossomed forth
of the
1926
the collapse
subsequent
The city
RUBY LEACH CARSON
the Lummus
to the area.
servmg
to date.
Under Snedigar's administration the real estate boom was working itself
up into a frenzy. And then, on January 10, 1926, an accident occurred which
helped precipitate the "bust" in a most unforseeable manner. The four-mast
barkentine Prins Valdemar in an attempt to leave the Miami harbor, got
grounded and rolled over on its side. Its 241-foot length completely blocked
the ship channel leading into and out of the harbor. It was 25 maddening
days before an 80-foot channel could be cut so ships could pass around it.
Ships in the meantime had lined up on the gulf stream, waiting with boom-
bought cargoes for delivery to awaiting merchants and builders. Even the
causeway was lined with impatient freighters, and many ships inside the har-
bor were unable to leave. The results were fatal to the rising tide of the boom.
wrote,
a better
There is no to fully discuss
the still-famous of '26"; nor the
failures - but Miami Beach survived them.
in the 1930's into a steady building program.
space here
"hurricane
mayor, T. E. James, was a connection of
which adds to the contribution this family made
I of the early mayors was, of course, John H.
:he City Council in 1918. Three years later he
mayor, after which he continued
member has
Kenneth Ballinger in his book "Miami Millions" wrote
Valdemar saved people a lot of money. "In the enforced lull
panied the efforts to unstopper the Miami harbor," he
in the North and many a builder in the South got
actually was taking place here."
widening
Assessor from
Miami's
f, a fact
the most distinguishea
rho was first elected to
was elected to a two-year term as
on the council. He served there more years than any other
1929
third
famil ~
One of
Levi
TEQUESTA
Golden Beach, which had been developing as a residential area during
the 1920's, was incorporated in 1929 with the Dade-Broward county line as its
northern boundary. The next municipality to develop as a result of the "spill.
ing over" of the city of Miami Beach area, was Surfside. It was incorporated
in 1935 to extend from the ocean to the bay and from 87th Terrace on the
south to 96th Street. In Miami Beach proper, the '30's were devoted to hotel
building. Although assessed property valuation dropped nine million dollars
between 1930 and 1935, by 1940 the figures had leaped to over 70 million.
The Miami Herald claimed in 1940 that Miami Beach had 3,041 homes and
239 hotels with 15,044 rooms. Besides these, there were 706 apartments. In
the year 1940, forty hotels had been built
of the Miami Daily News, in a signed
1940, gave figures to show that hotels
of Miami Beach building. "The 1940
trend toward
Thomas W. Hagan, present editor
feature article in the News on August 8,
represented then from 13 to 38 per cent
construction," Hagan pointed out, "showed a
struction. Prophets
more costly con.
on the
the
violently
that
disagree
amateur and otherwise
saturation." Hagan then gave
time still ahead of the
question of
demand was at that
more figures to show
quantity and quality of supply.
That same issue of the News announced that the City had set aside
approximately $122,565 for its advertising and publicity program. Dorr &
Hume, now Miami's oldest agency and operating under the name August
Dorr Advertising, received the city account; and Steve Hannagan, favorite
of Carl Fisher and the public generally, was to continue doing beach publicity.
Three more municipalities were to appear on the north of Miami Beach
Indian Creek Village, in 1939; Bal Harbour, in 1946 and Bay Harbor Island,
in 1947. Bal Harbour extends from 96th Street to Baker's Haulover channel.
Bay Harbor Island is on Broad Causeway which opened in 1951 and which
connects Bay Harbor Island with the mainland at 123rd Street. This is a
toll causeway. More will be said about this "Golden Strip" and its hotel and
motel economy. The last two of these towns to develop had not appeared
when W orld War II brought something else that was unexpected to Miami
Beach.
beach
to as
the
were referred
Hundreds of soldiers,
the plush hotels
that the G.I.'s
men stationed at
1942
The
War
Army.
World
honeymoons,
v~.
22
--,
23
RUBY LEACH CARSON
They occupied 85% of the hotels
Although the lights on Miami Beach were completely blacked out during
the war, no lights or traffic of any sort were allowed north of Baker's Haul-
over at night, where John M_ Duff, Jr., had developed the Green Heron Hotel.
As a retired marine captain after W orld War I, Duff had engaged in the hotel
business at the beach: first when he built the LeRoy Hotel and Villas in 1933;
and in 1938 when he leased N. B. T. Roney's Cromwell Hotel. When World
War II took the Cromwell, it also took Captain Duff. Currently Duff is
managing director of the Golden Gate Hotel
That the Miami Beach story is basically "hotels" is the opinion of Leon
C. McAskill, executive director of the Miami Beach Hotel Association in 1955.
Because of McAskill's first-hand knowledge while working with the hotels, and
because he kept in intimate touch with the hotel development while publisher
of the Miami Beach Sun, this writer asked him for permission to include here
his own previously unpublished summary of the development of hotels at
Miami Beach.
most modern,
boasts one-
*
REPORT ON HOTELS
to the world's
an industry that
top in the nation for hotels.
Slowly through the depression years of the thirties the hotel industry in
Miami Beach changed from the hands of "promotors" to the more stable and
capable hands of experienced hotel men. By the end of the third decade of
the century, the Miami Beach hotel industry had become of age and was
becoming recognized as "big business". Growth and numbers and influence
was halted, temporarily, by World War II. 85% of Miami Beach's hotels
were taken over by the Air Force, and with the facilities provided, speeded
the war's
I
end by many months.
At the end of hostilities, Miami Beach and its chief industry entered the
period of its greatest growth. After a gigantic reclamation pmject had
restored the hotels, the construction parade began. Each year during the past
decade has had a hotel building program that strove to outdo last year's final
word in elegance and perfection of appointments.
largest
The
In 1946 six new hotels were built with a total of 366 rooms.
of the six 1946 hotels was the Martinique with 137 rooms.
and stayed to become permanent citizens.
while in training.
swampland
established
*
The remarkable growth from a
concentrated vacation playground,
fourth of the hotels in a state that is near the
*
MeA SKILL'S
,
I
TEQUESTA
1947 saw the erection of the first postwar multi-million dollar glamor
hostelry. The Sherry Frontenac added 250 rooms to Miami Beach's total room
count. Six other new hotels that year brought 1947's added rooms to 785.
1947 also saw the first of the postwar additions built to existing hotels. Two
hotels added a total of 84 rooms.
As an example of the solid investors now becoming attracted to the Miami
Beach hotel industry, George Sax, Chicago banker, unveiled his glamorous
otel in 1948. That year set a record .for Miami Beach's blooming
Seventeen new hotels with an amazing total of 1576 rooms
Gold Coast skyline in 1948. Three existing hotels
Saxony H
hotel industry.
added their glitter to the
added a total of 62 rooms.
door to the Saxony, the competing-for-glamor Sans Souci led
The Sans Souci added 253 rooms and two other newcomers
total.
Right next
the 1948 parade.
added almost 200 more rooms
to the now amazing
1950 the 250 room Casablanca headed the parade of new oceanfront
seven other fine hotels built in the half-century year added (with
Mn nn more rooms, and two major alteration jobs accounted
more rooms in that year.
24
In
houses, and
the Casablau~~)
for almost
~,--~-
rooms and the Biltmore
the leaders in size of the
rooms respectively. Three other
in '51 to 628.
and Collins, with 258
Miami Beach, were
The Algiers at 26th
Terrace at the extreme edge of
built in 1951 with 258 and 230
the total of rooms
to Col.
rooms,
total to 32l.
the DiLido with 329 rooms
Two other new houses added
largest contribution
construction in 1952 was 284
,
year s
added
that
brought
In 1952 the beautiful Empress was
lins Avenue and the Ocean. Total new
and 37 rooms in additions
brought the year's
1953 saw the largest hotel built since 1946,
Lincoln Road, Collins Avenue and the Ocean.
at
160 rooms more.
Hotel history in Miami Beach was made in 1954 with Ben Novack et aI.,
crashing into the world's spotlight with the fabulous Fontainebleau on the
site of the old Firestone Estate, Collins A venue and the Ocean. With 545
rooms and every imaginable facility - and Novack and
architect, are not lacking in imagination the
Morris Lapidus, the
Fontainebleau is already
world famous. Other new structures and additions added 135 rooms at a cost
of about one million dollars.
finer hotels goes
be ready for the
and, if possible,
the Seville will
In the present year, building of newer
merrily on. The Eden Roc, the Lucerne and
new houses
new hotels
to existing hotels
....
25
RUBY LEACH CARSON
1955-56 season.
ing total, with the
being added this year, too. The
Tarleton) and the Shore Club are adding a grand
will
Roc contributing 304
Versailles,
These three beauties
Eden
and the total
to existing hotels
added rooms
55,
The ten year total of hotels built in Miami Beach is
increase in number of rooms 6988. The 14 major additions
added 831 rooms
to the making a grand total of 7801
Not included in the above totals, of course, are the many
immediately adjacent to Miami Beach in Surfside and Bal
Harbour. too, new hotels are building or are on the drawing boards,
mention those recently built which include the Sea View, Balmoral,
Emerald Isle, Arthur Godfrey's Kenilworth and the Golden
total
for the period.
beautiful hotels
Here,
not to
Bal Harbour,
Gate, among the
largest.
The number of hotels within the corporate limits of Miami Beach is
edging close to the 400 mark, and the number of hotel rooms now exceeds
30,000. The total valuation strains the imagination. It must be a half billion
dollars, and the end is not in sight. One problem may be noted; we are fast
running out of land. Remember, Miami Beach's land area is only eight miles
long and a mile or less wide. (A total of 7 square miles of land area.
begin.
of the
of
The construction of the new Seville and the Lucerne may be the
ning of a trend. These two new beauties are being built on the sites
Grossinger Pancoast and ,the Good, respectively, two of the famous hotels
Miami Beach's yesterdays.
those of us who
see the passing of old
Beach look ever ahead
pains
No doubt others are doomed to the same fate. It
knew the glories of Miami Beach in the 20's and 30's to
friends and landmarks - but the eyes of Miami
even when dimmed by a tear for departed glories.
*
Such is Miami Beach's hotel history, recorded by one who knows it.
Among those who remember the old days at the beach are the 250 members of
the Miami Beach Pioneers' Club, founded in 1949. Its president has always
been E. M. Hancock, the city's building inspector.
time man y
W. Hagan's
is still ahead of
During the decade from 1945 to the present, during which
insisted that the beach had been over. developed, Editor Thomas
conclusions of 1940 had continued to hold, "that the demand
*
*
--.
TEQUESTA
the quantity and quality of supply". And no doubt larger and still lovelier
hotels will be marching in architectural grandeur against the sunrise of
tomorrow.
When William Allen Chase became first president of the Miami Beach
Motel Association in 1953, there were 41 motels al<mg the three-mile shore
which the Association calls the "Golden Strip". There are now 61 motels
extending from Baker's
on
158th to 191st Street, Haulover to
Tradition says that the Haulover sand strip got its name from
the days before the deep channel had been cut across it and a man named
Baker had been among those who dragged their boats across, from Biscayne
Bay to the Ocean. The County has developed Haulover Park, a beauty spot
just north of the channel.
the strip from
Golden Beach.
What public relations men like Steve Hannigan, Joe Copps and Hank
Meyer have done for Miami Beach, Hal Bergida is doing for the golden, three-
mile long Motel Row. He gets to the public the story of the new de-luxe
motels with their luxurious vacation facilities. The general area boasts shop-
ping centers, fine restaurants, beauty parlors, fishing boats and pier fishing.
Local writers and radio programs have been a part of the great promo-
tional program. John D. Montgomery beginning in 1929 published a paper
for awhile at Miami Beach, and several other papers have come and gone.
The present daily paper, the Miami Beach Sun, is owned by George B. Storer
of the Storer Broadcasting Company, which owns WGBS. The Miami Beach
Times, founded as the Democrat by J. H. Wendler in 1927, is now published
Wendler.
by James
The first radio station for the beach was installed at the Fleetwood in the
20's over the call letters WMBF-Wonderful Miami Beach, Florida. In 1926
WIOD - Wonderful Isle of Dreams - was installed on Collins Island, oppo-
site the Nautilus Hotel. It was bought by the Miami Daily News in 1935. The
present station at Miami Beach, WKAT, was started by Mr. and Mrs. Frank
Katzentine in 1937. Mr. Katzentine is an attorney and a former mayor of
Miami Beach, having been elected in 1932 for a two-year term.
I
As Associate Editor Ralph G. Martin of Newsweek wrote in his issue of
January 17, 1955, "It takes publicity to make this Miami Beach magic".
Newsweek then proceeded to pay tribute to Miami Beach's city manager,
Claude A. Renshaw, and to its public relations director, Hank Meyer, who
has held that position since 1949. Referring to Meyer, the Newsweek article
said
26
1
27
RUBY LEACH CARSON
More recently it was Renshaw who brought in one of the best pub-
lic-relations directors in the business. He is Hank Meyer, who just
won a travel writers' grand award for the best travel promotion in
the world. . . . It takes Miami Beach magic to fill these hotels, and
it takes Hank Meyer to make that magic. And yet Hank talks of
tomorrow and says: "Miami Beach isn't overbuilt; it's underpro-
moted."
The travel award to Hank Meyer,
of many this nationally known publicity
was nationally "best" for photo coverage was reelected by the
Miami Beach Junior Chamber of Commerce as the outstanding young man
of Miami Beach, and nominated to the selection as one of the ten outstanding
young men in the nation. His latest honor was a citation for outstanding
achievements in public relations in the field of government. awarded by the
American Public Relations Association.
only one
1953 he
mentioned by Newsweek, was
has received. In
expert
in 1954 he
comments by
..y ou can't bottle
I
know they do,
Newsweek climaxes its Miami Beach and south Florida
quoting Hank Meyer's comment about Miami Beach magic: ..
it, or pack it, or ship it. If the American people want this, an
then they will come down here to get it."
tries
Meyer says he
"
it
But to make the people "come down here and get
to reach 160 million people as often as he can.
All of which brings the reader right back to the question posed at the
beginning of this article. WHAT IS MIAMI BEACH?
v"'u......~
'..'he
Hannigan
what a
Boy,
Fisher once told Steve
we ever had. But,
SO, WHAT IS MIAMI BEACH? Carl
Miami Beach was the only natural
it was!
"Steve,
natural