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| Florida State Archives/Florida Memory/ Dept. Of Commerce |
By Jane Feehan
During the 1950s and 60s, tourists flocked to 30 or so kitschy places on Motel Row in Sunny Isles (north Miami-Dade County). Only one would claim world-wide attention: the Castaways Motel and its Wreck Bar.
The history of the
Castaways includes celebrity visitors and entertainers, Teamster Union
connections, underworld characters … and lots of fun.
Restaurateur and night club entrepreneur Joe Hart built the motel in 1951. The Castaways opened officially in February 1952 and turned people away its first week.
The motel sat on the west side of Collins Avenue at 163rd
Street (some accounts say he opened the first building on the east side of
Collins and expanded across the street). Designed by architect Tony Sherman, who
also designed Fort Lauderdale’s Yankee Clipper and Jolly Roger, the early Castaways
offered 72 rooms, a coffee shop, cocktail lounge and a cascading waterfall
entrance. High-pitched, open-beamed ceilings
reflected a South Pacific theme that prevailed through its 1958 renovation and remaining
years.
Hart had big plans for his successful motel from its beginning. In 1958, the Castaways expanded to 132 rooms and included what became its signature draw, the Wreck Bar.
The renovation, which some claimed was
Japanese in theme, others Chinese, was designed by Fort Lauderdale architect
Charles McKirahan and built by Robert L. Turchin Construction Company. It was reportedly financed by the International Teamsters Union.
Financing of the motel came to light during a U.S. Senate Rackets
Committee hearing chaired by Attorney General Robert Kennedy. According to news accounts, union boss Jimmy Hoffa revealed during the
hearing that his union loaned nearly $1.3 million to the Castaways in 1956. The
property, he said, was worth about $6 million. The boss, according to news sources at the time, also told the committee
that his union brass frequented the motel and docked a yacht there. According to
newspapers, it was the first knowledge of Teamster Union investment along South
Florida’s Gold Coast.
Joe Hart and company kept up the mortgage payments and the
Wreck Bar became world famous.
The bar, with its shipwreck motif, captain’s chairs, solid oak floors and brass fixtures, gave budding entertainers Ike and Tina Turner, Conway Twitty and others a stage. And the “go go girls"--all 12--known as the Wreckettes, danced to not only the music but also to the crowd’s beat of their Wreck Ball shakers.
The bar had a 5 a.m. liquor license, attracting late
night crowds when clubs closed around Miami. The Castaways could count among its celebrity customers
Lenny Bruce, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and the Beatles, who visited after their
act on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
Things changed during the 1970s. Tourism declined; there were other places to visit around the country. The economy was in a downturn. Motel Row was beginning to look a little worn.
Clientele changed. Local newspapers reported that its customers during those dark days included hookers, pimps and drug dealers (cocaine days) and allegedly underworld figures such as drug kingpin and head of the Dixie Mafia in Miami, Ricky Cravero.
Joe Hart sold the motel and its famous bar in 1979 for a reported $14 million for 14 acres to a German group eying the possibility of gambling in Florida. Smart move. One by one the motels closed and developers moved in.
The Castaways
closed March 14, 1982; it was completely demolished in 1985. Ownership passed a
few times and plans changed from building a new 1,000 room hotel to the present-day
Oceania, a high end luxury condominium with an impressive entrance gate.
Sources:
Miami Herald, Sept. 19, 1958
Miami News, May 19, 1952
Miami Herald, Nov. 25, 1951
Miami Herald, June 1, 1972
Miami Herald, March 28, 1982
Miami Herald, June 30, 1983
Miami Herald June 21, 1985
Miami Herald June 14, 1990
Miami Herald July 14, 1985