#933-18 Beach Sun Article "The Man We Forgot" on Henri Levy 1971
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CREATOR OF NORMANDY AND SURFSIDE
BEACH SUN,Wednesday, February 3, 1971 7
"Miami Beaell is the eit7 tIIat forpt to 8&7 'tJwIk
JOU' ,"8&7-.lIn. Rose LeYJ'. (SUN photo by Ardmore)
~~t'f 5 L. IG.sC
the child to a warm climate province in his native
to. recuperate. France.
So, in 1~22 the family Mrs. Levy remembers the
arrived at what . was to them, old trolly cars that ran down
"aJusll, .tropi.calparadit!e~..: Washington Avenue baekin
~~c:h.". ". ..' the days wilen people at
,'1ttthOlle . ,dais,". Mrs. home baked. bread instead
-Le~rftaIls,"e~ or bagelsfor'breakf8st and
s~chUth street;~ ""din~ b1Ke..roS~~,lamp~
~,*;i,:(h~',"l11~ii'~~:;~i~~ ",
ded:=-= 'BeaebinHenrlLevy'sday
'~_t siJtlter, the. porch' was .....tbe. RoneY,~lllzaand
Of,.~jle5tate" brQlter's beyond.that, C;:ollmsAvenue
, ..,' '. ,.' " wasavirtual,pmgleofgrass.
otfice,~ebtOkereame out It was this Miami Beach
lor',a fl'le~ c:hat.....iJeCOre thatHellri LIlVy bell*! make
tbestorm,ellded'he bad sold . . ,
H'. . ..............I&...nd t 'de la playground for the world s
. enl'l",~.. ", . . 0 veop fuurists.
l~ twocommumbes - Surf- "Someday Mom," Henri
SIde :u"'Normandy Is~e. . would say to his wife,"there
1"usgave, the famIly an, Will be huge' resorts and
excuse to stay. They settled hotels all along the ocean."
in , ,a bouse at 1030 Levy made a solemn
Washington ", Avenue., Levy promise to himself that he
paid a modicum o(attel1tion would "provide even, more
to his movie hOuses in luxuries than he promised,
Cincinnati, but most ofllis and faster than was neees-
time "as spent developing sary ."
the' properties he named Among the luxuries Levy
Normandy Beacb Nortb(now gave Normandy Isle is the
.Su1!fside} : and South. (now octagonal shaped fountain at
NormandY Isle). They"ere 71st Street and Normandy
Of course ". named after a Drive.
Levy came from Alsace-
Lorraine, France "hen 12
years < old. ,to Cmcinnati. .
OIlio where be gre" up,
married. :Rose Steeker ,and
develqped It profitable atririg
at mone; hOuses. In '1917
dI<' the Le'TS~bad a da~r~
r.:ti:C .'
'NEVlSMAKERS
By MARSHA FISHKIN
SUNstaltWriter
All... ANIt ARTISTS. Two
Miami Beach artists have
beeililwarded prizes in the
first annuaL sidewalk art
festivaL al Midway Mall.
A.wardsof ,merit were re-
ceivedby Pb,yUis,Gruen ~
stienfor"Brown . Building"
and Arthu.. ' GoOdman for
"Old " Man.~' ,The art ~stival
attracted 130 artists, from
as"r awjy all New York,
Michigan and LQuisiana.
COMlNGTOGETH&tt. Dr.
Ab~' ,Wolfson"Iounder '.
and, director; of th(l Spinoza
Fori.lm'fotlAdultEdu~tion, .
anllOlUlces. the meeting.
Of, the forum at 10 a.m. on
Feb. 4. Guest lecturer will
be Rabbi Milton Scblinsky.
The forum meets. weekly at
the Washington Federal Aud-
itorium, ,1234 Washington
Ave. . ."Nursing, Today and
Tomorrow" will be the topic
of ,talks by State President
of the Florida Nurses' As-
sociation Helen B. Keefe and
Student Nurses Assocation
President Shirley Hood at
the . meeting of District
8, F N A a t
8:00 p.m. on Feb. 4,. in the
Wolfson Auditorium of Mt.
Sinai Hospital. IIrs. ClUre
GoOd..' R.N. 1ri}1 preside at
'the bbsinessmeeting pre-
ceding the program. The
meeting is open to allpro-
Levy was also instru-
mental in planning of the
19th Street Causeway which
links Normandy, Isle to
Miami.
In 1926 a hurricane wiped
(MJtmost of Henri's dreams
and, a greater' part of his
wealth.
"His'lIrldoW"Uddatnl'diers
.wm nevI>>' ,fomtth.tevery~
thing" HeIIrl ,Levy said about .
Miami Beacb', bas come
true."
But they do Wish more
people would remember he
said it.
After;' the debris from the
storm was c1earedaway he
picked up the pieces, from
the debris of the storm and
started all over again. He
rebuilt his properties but
tore down his body. At 53
he was dead from an ulcer
fiare-up
Today his widow, Rose,
holds onto only a very few
plots of the land Henri
developed.
She still' lives on Miami
Beach as do her two
daughters.
Up And Down
lite leach
fessional registered nurses
and student nurses. .The
third book review of the
Sophie Primak series at the
Greenbrier Hotel, 3101 In-
dian Creek Drive,will be on
Feb. 4 at 1:15 p.m. The
book to be reviewed is
"Seven Minutes" by Irving
Wallace. Refreshments and
discussion follow. Contact
Rutb Bagley at 534-6477.
CONGRATULATIONS to
Dr. Alvin KaltmaD, who
has been installed as head
of the Massachusetts Bureau
of Systems Analysis. Dr.
Kaltman, who grew up on
Miami Beach, is the son
of IIIrs. Relle Grossberg,
Hi15 Michigan Ave.
. THE HERALD, SUNDAY, MARCH 14,1999
MB
liFESTYLES
In the mid-1920s, the fountain was one of the first structures built
in one of the last-developed areas on Miami Beach.
REFRESiitNG:
The Normsndy
Isle Fountain,
designed in the
Meditel'rane;sn
revival s,tyle,
~'pcr~E, a,'lrJt
obelisk at its
center that
resembles a
lighthouse.
RANDY BAZEMORE I Herald Staff
[sle's restorative fountain finally restored
In Rome, there's the Fontana
i Trevi where Anita Ekberg
)Ok a late-
igbt dip in
Ie film La
tolce · Vita.
(ew York
u the
ethesda, a
l/mbolic
;presenta-
on of the
~juvenat-
Ig power
f Central
ark's natu- REWiND
II land- ___
.::ape.
And Miamj Beach has the
~tored Normandy Isle Foun-
~in, which many see as a sym-
01 of the rejuvenation for the
orthern end of Miami Beach,
n area often overwhelmed by
le glare of glitz to the south.
Since antiquity, fountains
ave enhanced life by harmoniz-
.1g the power and versatility of
later wit!) the pleasing forms of
esthetic design.
Each. fountain's water has its
.wn movement and sound. The
"lfatermay move with gentle
GARY
TURNER
insistence or raging force.
The sound may be a soothing
trickle like a fountain in a Japa-
nese garden, or a surging splash
like the cataracts of Niagara
Fans.
Fountains may be practical, as
in the past when people used to
meet by them to collect water
for drinking or washing. Some
are allegorical, combining water
as a symbol of purification and
blessing with sculptured forms
representing historical or myth-
ological themes.
And some, like the Normandy
Isle fountain, are landmarks that
simply welcome people to gather
around on a warm day to be
refreshed by the cool splashing
of water.
In the mid-1920s, the foun-
tain on Normandy Isle was one
of the first structures to be built
in an' area that was one of the
last to be developed in Miami
Beach.
During this time, the area
caught the eye of developers
while extensive construction
was under way in North Miami
Beach.
This northern part of Miami
Beach, then called South Island,
was an untouched. mangrove
patch. The 79th Street Cause-
way, the third connection
between the mainland and the
Beach, was nearing completion.
It would bring North Beach
into closer touch with Miami.
The development of Normandy
Isle during the latter half of the
'208 was a natural outcome of
the construction of the causeway
and the. scarcity of' available
land.
The first dwellings on .... tbe
island consisted of four apart-
ment houses. These, along with
the fountain, were constructed
on the east end of the island in
1925.
Initially the developers
wanted to name the streets after
people, but Miami-Dade
County, which had control of
street names, rejected the idea.
It was decided the streets
would be named after French
towns and provinces. The
island's name also changed from
South Island to Normandy Isle.
The Lure of Miami Beach,
Fla., a promotional magazine
sent out in June 1928 to prop-
erty owners by the Miami Beach
Chamber of Commerce. hailed
Normandy Isle as the burgeon-
ing site of "what is to be one of
Miami Beach's most attractive
residential sections.
"Through the limitation of
available territory," stated the
promotional article, "it is des-
tined to be one of the last great
developments within the city
limits ofthe Beach." ,
The magazine shows pictures
of an almost barren Normandy
Isle dotted with a few apartment
houses. At that time there were
more palm trees and sand than
residential developments.
A photograph of Fountain
Park shows the Normandy foun-
tain standing like a solitary sen-
tinel in the midst of nearlv
empty space. .
Today the fountain is flanked
by numerous businesses. A
steady stream of traffic passes
by it daily. It's a landmark that
impresses even those who have
seen it countless times.
Designed in the Mediterra-
nean revival style, the taJI obe-
lisk at its center resembles a
lighthouse.
The base is decorated with
intricate tilework that gives\t
the distinct Mediterranean look.
Lion heads keep 'Natch on four
sides of the tapered tower. The
fountain's water springs up with
a gentle yet insistent force.
Unlike some fountains, such as
the Fontaine des Innocents in
Paris erected in 1549 to mark
Henri II's triumphal entry into
the city, the Normandy was
never imbued with any speCial
meaning.
For close to 75 years, it h:'ll'
served as an aesthetically pleM-
ing landmark to be enjoyed by
everyday people. It's a center-
piece or axis point where people
gather to relax and enjoy them-
sehres.
In the past, fountains were fre-
quently at the center of music
and merrymaking. They were
places where lovers met or
where children went to play.
PeopIe would leisurely stroll
around them and som'~times
cast a coin in to guarantee a
wish. These are things people
still do today.
You can see them around the
fountain at Normandy Isle.
,"W
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TV