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| Croissant Park Administration Building at 1421 South Andrews Avenue |
By Jane Feehan
Many may know of or grew up in Croissant Park, one of the
oldest neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale. Few are familiar with its namesake,
Frank Croissant, and his colorful life.
Born in Brooklyn in 1887, the hugely successful real estate developer (self-described “World’s Greatest Salesman), pursued business opportunities across the U.S. After operating in Ohio and moving to Detroit where he was associated with Henry Ford in real estate, Croissant relocated to Fort Lauderdale in January 1925.
He bought about 1,200 acres in an area south of the New River and Las Olas Boulevard on the west side of Andrews Avenue. The Croissant Park Administration Building, site of his sales office, still sits on South Andrews Avenue and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Sales at Croissant Park were brisk; those were the boom days. Today asking prices for a few houses in that neighborhood are close to $500,000.
Croissant’s plans for his subdivision included a hotel, the Croissantania (also the name of a local baseball team he may have promoted). Designed by architect John M. Peterman, and built by DeCato Construction Co., the 125-room hotel failed to become a reality. Though started in late 1925, the cost of labor and shortage of materials first slowed or delayed the hotel project; it was then halted by the 1926 hurricane. By the end of 1926 and several years after, G. Frank Croissant Co. was the defendant in several lawsuits over mismanagement of money and other disputes.
Some news accounts reported Croissant was worth $30 million resulting from all his real estate endeavors, but it was said he lost most of it in the 1929 stock market crash. He probably lost a significant portion of that fortune beforehand, in the South Florida land bust following that hurricane.
Reversal of fortune did not slow down Croissant nor sour him on Fort Lauderdale. He bought tracts of land in Northern New Jersey (Teaneck, West Englewood, Bergenfield) for development. He opened offices in Europe, including London, Paris, Madrid and Mallorca, where he often talked up Fort Lauderdale, referred to then as “the Friendly City.” Croissant could claim 56 offices with 1,200 salesmen in 11 states and seven countries.
Some say he was involved in the launch or promotion of New York’s radio station WNYC. The station was established in 1924 but his involvement is unconfirmed.
He, wife Harriet and son moved to Mallorca, Spain in 1933 or 1934 where he reportedly sold more than 8,000 lots in assorted projects. Included in those lots was one he sold to actress Claudette Colbert, another to Hollywood heartthrob Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Croissant’s 13-year-old son died in a mountain climbing accident in Spain and a civil war erupted there in 1936—both spurring the developer’s return to Fort Lauderdale.
On his return, he was involved in the constructions of Port Everglades, in promoting Hialeah Park racing and operating a stable of 110 horses. He also had his sights set on a project in North Palm Beach near today’s Donald Ross Road. It was abandoned after his death. Ever the entrepreneur, he returned in 1952 from a business trip to Colombia where he landed a few dog track concessions.
A high-profile resident, Croissant remained in local headlines about his business and civic activities and frequent lawsuits. In 1950 he was charged by the federal government with participation in a $2 million international lottery ring. Charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.
In 1954, Fort Lauderdale News columnist Wesley W. Stout provided a list of items and activities that distinguished Croissant as one of the town’s most colorful characters:
- Won more horse races than all other racetrack notables in 1925-26
- Owned a 154-ft yacht, the Jemima F
- Owned three Rolls Royce cars simultaneously
- Owned a Lockheed Vega aircraft piloted by world famous Clarence Chamberlain
- Given a 476 solid gold dinner service set by his sales team (stored in a Dania bank vault)
- Gave his wife a 31- carat diamond pendant and a 22 carat stone
- “Put out of business” by the Spanish Civil War
Frank Croissant died at his Fort Lauderdale home on Andrews Avenue December 5, 1956, of a brain hemorrhage. Left to his wife, his estate was worth about $10 million.
He was, indeed, a colorful character …
Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 9, 1925
Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 5, 1925
Fort Lauderdale News, May 22, 1926
Fort Lauderdale News, July 2, 1926
Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 9, 1925
Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 10, 1939
Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 10, 1950
Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 28, 1951
Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 6, 1952
Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 12, 1954
Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 6, 1956
Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 7, 1956
Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 24, 1956
Tags: Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods, Croissant Park, Fort Lauderdale in the 1920s, Fort Lauderdale developers, history of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale communities
