Progresso Plaza: a stroll through early Fort Lauderdale history

 

Progresso Plaza
901 Progresso Drive 

Dixie Highway

By Jane Feehan 

Those of us who grew up in Fort Lauderdale have driven frequently by that Spanish-tiled building on Dixie and NE 3^rd Avenue without a glance. Progresso Plaza has been so much a part of the city’s landscape that it remains unnoticed. It would, however, be missed if it disappeared. A trip into its past may cast a different perspective about its significance.

The story began during Fort Lauderdale’s first land boom of 1910-1911, when hopes for draining the nearby Everglades for farming superseded reality.  

Lots were sold sight unseen to people around the country who eyed quick profits. Promoters threw in free lots with an Everglades purchase of 10 acres. Those free lots sat in what became the Progresso area of the city. The boom proved to be a bust when Everglades draining attempts failed. Buyers, according to news accounts, also discovered the free lots were in a swampy area without a road (a road was built in 1914). They also found out the free lots were only 25 feet wide.

A second, more significant boom occurred in the mid-1920s. Many who owned free lots given them in the 1911 Everglades purchases sold these properties for $500-$12,000 in cash during 1925. House construction soon followed. Realtors advertised a four-bedroom house on one lot selling for $2,500. Two houses on one lot were offered for $2,350. The Progresso community grew rapidly. In 1926 the Fort Lauderdale Daily News claimed it was “the most densely populated and fastest growing section of the city.”

 Adding to interest in the new community was its location adjacent to the Florida East Coast Railroad tracks along Dixie Highway. Rumors abounded about Seaboard Air Line Company (not an aviation company) and their interest in a freight and passenger stop at Progresso. A new building could serve as a train station, a market – or a much-needed post office annex. Whatever the motivating factor, the city decided to build a post office annex and trading center, the Progresso Arcade.

A legal notice in June 1926 indicated the owner and builder of the arcade (at North Dixie and Avenue D) was Stetson Company. Its principals (J.V. Slaughter, president) were from Philadelphia, PA; they operated from an office in the Palm Court Arcade in Fort Lauderdale. Frederick C. Arnold from the George H. Gillespie office at the Palm Court Arcade served as architect. John R. Hogan was tapped as contractor and engineer for supervising construction. 

The Fort Lauderdale Daily News reported the arcade was completed by late June and the post office would be finished by July 17 (timing of the legal notice earlier in June remains curious).

 After a delay in receiving building supplies, the post office opened in August 1926 and was recognized as Fort Lauderdale’s first post office annex or substation.  The arcade was marketed as a community and trading center. The post office occupied 1,300 square feet, with 640 post boxes and $10,000 of equipment and parking—an unusual amenity at the time.                                                                    

The “Triangle building” as it was referred to, featured a triangle footprint with 265 feet of frontage on Dixie Highway, 180 feet of frontage on Twenty First Street, and 170 feet on Avenue D. The building was made of concrete and stucco with “ten [sic] modern apartments each with a kitchen, living room, dining room and bath to be rented by renters of the 10 stores.”  Design of the arcade reflected a 16^th-century motif with “three towers, a Cuban tile roof, arches supporting the arcade, a courtyard and dark-colored sidewalk …”

Other than the post office substation, tenants included Gordon Delicatessen, a Sunoco filling station, a hardware store, barber shop and fruit and vegetable market.

The Great Hurricane of 1926 occurred a month after the arcade opened. Most concrete structures, as this was, made it through the storm. Businesses were less resilient. By November 15 realtors were still seeking tenants for the apartments.

Fast forward only 23 years and the arcade had hit hard times. The building was condemned in 1949, but realtor H.S. Ratliff bought the building and, according to the Sun-Sentinel, rented the 10 apartments at boarding-house low prices and opened a few retail spaces to artists. The building was sold again in 1979 to Bill Capozzi who renovated it. The Progresso Arcade or Plaza (by this time) was vandalized and sold again. A subsequent owner, Julio A. Ruiz restored the building and earned recognition with a 1986 Community Appearance Award. The stepson of Ruiz, Tony Ropiza, purchased Progresso Plaza in late November 1986, hoping to open a Spanish restaurant. 

Today, the Progresso Plaza (about 6,100 square feet) is owned by Brian Parenteau who operates the Patio Bar and Pizza there.

I spoke to a tenant recently who told me Progresso Plaza is now a “busy place.” She said there are four bars, a few hair salons, her tanning salon and a few pottery or ceramics studios. Parking in a rear lot is easy. A walk through this historic building provides a view of authentic architectural elements of the 1920s. Its history reflects that of Fort Lauderdale.

The patio at Patio Bar and Pizza

 

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale Daily News Oct 27, 1925

Fort Lauderdale Daily News July 20, 1925

Fort Lauderdale Daily News July 21, 1925

Fort Lauderdale Daily News June 9, 1926

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, June 13, 1926

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, June 27, 1926

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, July 31, 1926

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Aug. 17, 1926

Sun-Sentinel, Nov. 5, 1986

Sun-Sentinel, May 22, 1994

Tags: History of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale history, Frederick C Arnold, Progresso Arcade, Progresso Plaza

One of the first registered architects in Florida - August Geiger - his Fort Lauderdale and Miami projects

1917 advertisement from Directory of City of Miami Beach

By Jane Feehan

Fort Lauderdale’s first high school, Fort Lauderdale Central, was built in 1915. Its architect was August Geiger (1887-1968), already well known in Miami and Miami Beach for his work.

From Connecticut, Geiger settled in Miami in 1905 and opened an office in 1911. He was off and running soon after, becoming one of the first (10th) registered architects in Florida.

Miami and Miami Beach grew significantly during the early 19th century with its burgeoning tourist industry, land boom and accompanying skyline of notable buildings.

Geiger’s work includes the Lincoln Hotel and Apartments (1917) on Miami Beach, demolished long ago. His firm also designed Miami’s first “sky scraper,” the 12-story Ralston Hotel (1917), and, in the same year, the Miami City Hospital (now Jackson Memorial). 

Additionally, he designed the Miami Beach Municipal Golf Course House, the Community Theater of Miami Beach, the Dade County Courthouse, and Villa Serena, home of William Jennings Bryan, noted orator and politician. He commissioned Geiger to design his home in 1913 in Coconut Grove.

Wm Jennings Bryan home, 1920
State Archives of Florida

Geiger, known for his Mediterranean Revival style, also drew the plans for the Lincoln Road oceanfront home of Miami Beach developer Carl Fisher. In 1915, demand for the architect's style prompted Geiger to open an office in Palm Beach.  Many of his surviving buildings in South Florida have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geiger designed Fort Lauderdale Central High School (demolished in 1970) and the Fort Lauderdale Women’s Club in 1915 with his signature Mediterranean Revival imprint.  His firm drew up plans for many schools in Dade County and a few others in what became Broward County in 1915, including the Davie School. Geiger was tapped as architect of record for the Dade County School Board.  Among his later works was the $1.5 million Coral Gables High School in 1950.

Though Geiger was the design force behind Fort Lauderdale’s high school and its women’s club, the city claims Frances Abreu as its own architect. Both men brought a vision to Miami and Fort Lauderdale that defined early 19^th- century South Florida. 

Lincoln Hotel, 1922
States Archives of Florida/Fishbaugh 1922

Copyright © 2012, 2023 . All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

For more on Frances Abreu, see index for architects

For more Fort Lauderdale High School history, see index.

For more on William Jennings Bryan, see index.


Sources:
Kleinberg, Howard. Woggles and Cheese Houses. Miami Beach: The Greater Miami & Beaches Hotel Association (2005)
Miami News, Mar. 16, 1917
Wikipedia

Tags: early South Florida architects, Fort Lauderdale history, Miami history

Mid-century modern masterpiece - Sea Tower of Fort Lauderdale

 

Sea Tower 2023, rear, facing beach

Sea Tower Apartments
2840 North Ocean Drive
Fort Lauderdale

By Jane Feehan

Fort Lauderdale first saw high-rise apartments go up in the late 1950s. One, the Sea Tower, was announced in 1956 and completed in November 1957. News accounts claimed it was one of two of the city’s first high rises. The other was Spring Tide at 345 Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard. Both built by Col. T.J. Murrell (Palm Springs Corporation), they stand at 11 stories. Today they would be described as mid rises. (For more high-rise history, see index.)

This post focuses on the Sea Tower, an elegant building designed by noted Miami architect, Igor Polevitzky (1911-1978). He also designed Sunrise Tower on Intracoastal Drive in Fort Lauderdale, Hotel Habana Riviera in Cuba, once owned by mob figure Meyer Lansky  (See index for Meyer Lansky), the Albion in Miami, and several beautiful residences (Tropotype style). including the Birdcage house in Miami. The Sea Tower is described as a “masterpiece of mid-century modern architecture.”

Sea Tower was reportedly built for $2.02 million. I’m not sure if it was launched as a rental before it was recognized as a co-op, but in late 1957, news items reported it as the “tallest co-op in Fort Lauderdale.” Accounts vary as to number of units, 84, 83 or 81 apartments. Carports appeared to be an afterthought as construction began on them in 1958, after opening.

Advertised as sitting in the North Beach neighborhood, Sea Tower could also claim a city park as a nearby feature leading to the ocean. In 1957, its board announced a contribution of $4,900 to the city of Fort Lauderdale for its Vista Park, which remains. The park today refers to the beach and its parking lot steps away.

Park at rear of Sea Tower
with
 beach steps away

Ads announced initial sale prices for a one-bedroom unit at $21,000-$25,000. Two-bedrooms sold for $27,000-$39,000. Early ads indicated prices for penthouses were “available upon request.” A Fort Lauderdale News article in 1957 reported a penthouse for sale for $300,000—a hefty price tag in those days.

In 1958 real estate news waxed enthusiastic about Sea Tower’s unique offerings: kitchens with a “food preparation center,” a built-in combination food mixer, blender and knife sharpener.  Also, an opt-in membership was available for services such as car washes, laundry, food and beverage delivery, travel reservations, swimming and skin-diving instructions, beach cabanas, boat trips—even hair appointments. La de dah …

A glance at board member occupations during these early days may point to perceived justification for such services: a senior vice president of Gulf Oil, president of General Elevator Co., vice president of Retail Credit Co.; vice president of Remington Arms, a subsidiary of DuPont Co.; research engineer for the U.S. Navy and consultant to General Electric Co.

In March of 1958, news accounts reported that 25 liens for nearly $227,600 were filed against the builder, Palm Springs Company, Holland Construction and Engineering and others for unpaid bills. A court transferred the liens to corporate surety bond deposits.

Today, Sea Tower retains its elegance in this quiet beachside neighborhood. Many houses in the area, once averaging $25,000, have been replaced by mansions running for a million dollars at the low end and a few topping $20 million.

As of this post, a one-bedroom Sea Tower apartment sells for $549,000, a two-bedroom for $620,000. Bargains, considering Galt Ocean Mile condo prices.

 

 Sources:

 Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 10, 1957

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 9, 1957

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 2, 1957

Fort Lauderdale News, March 26, 1958

Fort Lauderdale News, May 24, 1958

Fort Lauderdale News, June 21, 1958

Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 2, 1958

Fort Lauderdale News, March 5, 1963

Fort Lauderdale News, May 16, 1965

Sea Tower

Tags: Fort Lauderdale high-rises, Sea Tower, Fort Lauderdale in the 1950s, Igor Polevitzky

Gateway Shopping Center: Fort Lauderdale's first shopping center ... would alleviate downtown traffic

2023

By Jane Feehan 

Fort Lauderdale announced its first shopping center in 1949. The Fort Lauderdale News reported that a “syndicate” of businessmen from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, joined by a local group headed by Richard Combes, purchased 20 acres at 10^th Street (today Sunrise Boulevard) and Federal Highway. It was the site of the closed Clyde Beatty Jungle Zoo, where lions had been raised in a pit.* After closing in 1945, the site had become an eyesore at the “very entrance to Fort Lauderdale.”

Gateway Shopping Center would not only replace the eyesore but was also expected to relieve traffic downtown (hard to believe given today’s downtown development and gridlock). A self-contained community was envisioned for the property, with shopping, hotel, apartments and private homes—similar to today’s pedestrian-friendly plans. 

The forward-thinking architect was Clinton Gamble and Associates, a big name in Fort Lauderdale’s mid-century development projects. An idea for basement parking in the old lion pit was mentioned in news accounts but the finished center came with surface parking for 350 cars.

Two buildings were completed and then leased by Gateway Properties (or Gateway Realty) headed by Arthur W. Dickson, president. T.R. “Bud” Starr**,  a former advertising executive from Pittsburgh was tapped as sales manager; he was a key player in naming and  launching the shopping center and Gateway Theater.  Leases for the shopping center were advertised for $100-$150 per front foot.

By 1951, the center, advertised as “Fort Lauderdale’s newest, most convenient and friendliest shopping center “ housed a collection of businesses including Kim’s Alley Bar (still there), Gateway Liquors, Carl’s Market, Melody Lane (cocktails), and Olwell Travel. Another building of 15,688 sf was added in 1958. Between 1951-1959, Gateway businesses included:

• Carrie Cain Young fashions
• Gateway Dress Shop
• Gateway Natural Foods
• Gateway Toy and Hobby
• Gateway Men’s Wear
• Gateway Marine and Tackle
• Georgette Vermont Dressmaking Salon
• Kingham’s Perfumes
• O'Brien Hardware
• Shoe Box
• Smith’s Drugstores (formerly on Las Olas)

Food Fair eventually replaced Carl’s Market and left before 1980. Shopping centers in Fort Lauderdale (and across the nation) sprang up during the l950s and especially the 1960s. The Sunrise Shopping Center (later the Galleria) opened in 1954, a few blocks from Gateway. As the city grew so did problems for the Gateway Shopping Center. It never seemed to lose customers, just its luster. Headlines turned negative in 1979 and 1980.

Two firebombs were thrown at Top Banana, a headshop, in 1979—allegedly by a competitor. In 1980, 18-year-old Texas native Jeanette Rogers was found strangled in a Gateway Shopping Center utility room. In 1982, a “gushing gas leak” near Gateway prompted the evacuation of 1,500 people in the center and throughout its surrounds. A paving company working on the Middle River Bridge hit an unmarked pipe below Gateway. A cloud of gas could be seen rising above the center. No one was injured in the hours-long incident.

Also affecting the center was traffic, the very thing it was once lauded for alleviating. Additionally, Gateway was owned by six to 11 absentee landlords over the years. The center needed a facelift, and it was difficult to get approvals and payment for renovations. One solution was the formation of the Victoria Park Merchants Association who assumed management of the Gateway Shopping Center during the late 1990s or early in 2000 (a current merchant said it’s now the Gateway Merchants Association).

Over the decades, merchants have come and gone such as Nathan’s Game Room, Clothes Encounters, Animal House Pet Supplies, Sukhothai (closed in 2015), and Tipico Café, which closed during the fall of 2022 because of a steep rent increase. Some have left because of personal circumstances, or failing business, but in most cases tenants left when faced with extreme rent increases. A whopping rent increase also prompted Monster Subs’ exit after a nearly 20-year run. Popular vintage shop Jezebel left early 2023. 

Native Realty, a new owner of part or all of the center (status unclear by request) came in during the fall of 2022 and raised rents. Some merchants remain in limbo because not much has been shared with them about ownership changes..

One merchant in limbo is Joseph Aminov, owner of the Shoe Doctor & Leather Spa at Gateway (BestShoeDoctor.com). Aminov came to New York City in 1989 from the Soviet Union (now Russia) with two suitcases and a family trade he elevated to  artisan’s craft with what he learned in Italy—custom leatherworks and shoe repair.

“I had 16 stores in New York,” said Aminov about his 22 years of entrepreneurship in the Big Apple.

He and family moved to South Florida in 2011 where he’s grown his business—and reputation—at Gateway Shopping Center with his craftsmanship (I‘m one of his many happy customers). Aminov is enterprising. He'd like to buy commercial property. The Shoe Doctor space is currently on a month-to-month lease because of potential landlord changes. Aminov recently tried to buy the section of Gateway his store operates in but the landlord backed out of the deal. The leather craftsman leases two other spaces, one with a 15-year term...but no storefront.

Uncertainty and rents increased during the summer of 2022 when Native Realty arrived. They reportedly represent a new buyer or are possibly the new owner of a section of Gateway. The realty company opened an office in the southwest corner of the center and claims to be owner of some of the space, including that of the Jezebel shop.

Shoe Doctor interior and
 collection of leather 

“Rents in the center have gone up about 40 percent,” said Aminov and “people are mad.”

As of April 24, 2023, one space left for lease by Native Realty: “2,400 sq. ft for $45/per SF/YR.”***

Meanwhile, let’s hope Gateway Shopping Center doesn’t fall to developers. That doesn’t seem imminent, but if  it does, they may have to get approval from residents of Victoria Park first. Stop by, parking is free and easy ... and merchants are there to please.

Additional photos below.

 *For more on the lions and Clyde Beatty’s zoo, see: https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2020/09/fort-lauderdales-lion-breeding-pit.html

 **For more on Gateway Theater and Bud Starr, see:

https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2020/09/historic-gateway-theater-continues-to.html

 ***For available space details, see:  https://www.commercialsearch.com/commercial-property/us/fl/fort-lauderdale/gateway-shopping-center-1/

Below: some sections getting flashy new paint and murals; others remain the same. The Tipico sign remains but a new restaurant will soon open at the site.

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 30, 1948

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 29, 1949

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 26, 1949

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 15, 1951

Fort Lauderdale News, June 24, 1959

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 3, 1980

Fort Lauderdale News, March 7, 1980

Fort Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel, Jan. 9, 1982

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 31, 1980

Fort Lauderdale News, May 22, 1980

Fort Lauderdale News, July 13, 1980

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 26, 1982

Fort Lauderdale News, July 29, 2000

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Jan. 16, 2022

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Oct. 26, 2022

 Tags: Fort Lauderdale shopping centers, Fort Lauderdale history, Gateway Shopping Center

Room with a waterside view: Fort Lauderdale Beach Hospital

Fort Lauderdale Beach Hospital
circa 1960

By Jane Feehan

“Come by boat or canoe,” read an unconventional invitation to opening festivities at Fort Lauderdale Beach Hospital in July 1957. The hospital was organized in 1956 to serve older patients as well as “the chronically ill and the handicapped.”

The 64-bed, four-story facility was once the Blue Water Hotel. Some who were cared for at the hospital probably felt they were at a vacation spot. It overlooked the Intracoastal Waterway, offered an outdoor patio with covering, dockage and other amenities. Headed by Dr. Louis Amato, the waterside hospital opened with elevators, laboratory and X-ray facilities and equipment for physical therapy. According to Amato, Fort Lauderdale Beach Hospital would operate as a supplement to others in the area, not as a surgery center. Surging growth in Fort Lauderdale’s population, particularly retired residents, elevated the area’s need for additional hospital beds.   

In 1964 the Katie Lambert* Foundation purchased Fort Lauderdale Beach Hospital. It was operated by Beach Hospital Auxiliary as a nonprofit, community-supported entity. The organization added about 20 beds, expanded radiology and lab capabilities and built a new entrance and emergency room. Renovations were drawn up by William H. Crawford, tapped “Architect of the Year” by the American Hospital Association.

Meanwhile, Fort Lauderdale’s population continued to grow. So did its medical community. Doctors with diverse ambitions—and politics—eventually led Fort Lauderdale Hospital in a different direction. In 1969 plans to move the hospital to a new beach location materialized. The hospital transitioned to operate as the North Beach Hospital at 2835 N. Ocean Boulevard (A1A) and opened in 1973. 

Cleveland Clinic was granted permission to operate an outpatient clinic at North Beach in 1988, which paved the way for their expansion to a permanent full-scale facilty in Weston.

By the late 1980s Broward County had nearly twice as many hospital beds as needed. Hospitals entered a paradigm that continues today across the country: national corporations buying up hospitals to create hospital “systems.” So byzantine are hospital stories today with their buyouts and consolidations, etc., that their histories are best presented as tables of chronologies rather than narratives. 

North Beach closed by the mid-to late 1990s and today it’s the site of a condominium or two with an ocean and Intracoastal view. A drive past the original site at 125 Birch Road will reveal another occupant: Springbrook Gardens … a condominium.

 *Katie Lambert was a beloved auxiliary volunteer

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 5, 1956

Fort Lauderdale News, July 24, 1957

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 13, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, April 9, 1969

Sun-Sentinel, Oct. 9, 1970

Sun-Sentinel Jan. 9, 1989

Sun-Sentinel, April 27, 1989

Sun-Sentinel, Feb. 14, 1990

Sun-Sentinel, Sept. 21, 1995

Sun-Sentinel, Dec. 20, 1997

Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, history of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale hospitals, Fort Lauderdale Beach Hospital, North Beach Hospital, architects, Jane Feehan

Gulfstream Park: A tale of two starts in South Florida horse racing

Florida Derby 1969
Florida State Archives

Gulfstream Park

901 S. Federal Hwy

Hallandale, FL 33009

954-454-7000

https://www.gulfstreampark.com

By Jane Feehan

It’s hard to believe today’s popular Gulfstream Park launched with a false start in 1939.

Local newspapers drummed up enthusiasm about the new park constructed in only a few months before the February 1, 1939 opening. Builder-developer, 29-year-old John C. Horning of the Hollywood Jockey Club and a Miami resident, and architect Robert Law Weed of Coconut Grove, assured reporters that Gulfstream’s grandstand would be “without peer at any track in the nation.”  

The grandstand could seat 7,000. Its roof extended 86 feet toward the track and could withstand 175 mph winds. The lower end of the roof sloped 52 feet from the track and would provide cover for judges and reporters; a camera was installed above their seats. For well-heeled or connected patrons, 130 boxes 8 feet by 10 feet were installed for added seating comfort and privacy. 

The 200-acre racing park sat between U.S. 1 and the ocean. Most grandstand spectators would have a view of the Atlantic Ocean just blocks away. Gulfstream’s infield held lush gardens and two lakes connected by a canal. Australian pines were planted along a driveway and around the site. Forty acres of parking were expected to be full on opening day.

In fact, the  parking lot overflowed on opening day. The crowd, estimated between 18,000 and 20,000—the largest ever to attend a track opening in Florida—jammed highways and tore through Gulfstream’s fencing to gain entry. Norwegian figure skater and film star Sonja Henie was on hand to cut the ceremonial opening day ribbon. According to news accounts, the day was “brilliant.” Newsreel cameras captured the carnival atmosphere. The inaugural event was attended by locals, winter residents and an A-list of attendees that included politicians and legendary columnist Damon Runyan.

Opening day, mutuel gambling play totaled $224,287. On the fourth day, gambling play plunged to $81,922. The revenue stream could not maintain opening day flow. An expected armored truck failed to deliver $150,000 to bankroll operations. Gulfstream Park shuttered after four days. Horning’s financial backing failed to materialize; he could not come up with the cash to continue.

Various reasons for the track’s failure appeared in news accounts. One reason may have been trouble from competitors. Hialeah sat only 12 miles from Gulfstream Park and 25 miles from Tropical Park. A state probe into gambling did not confirm improprieties. Some pointed to Horning’s youth. It appeared he had “been taken.”  The young developer, who received high praise was now considered a “chump.” The park, once off to a record-breaking fast start, sank into bankruptcy a year later in February 1940. Wrong man, wrong time.

Gulfstream Park 1948
Florida State Archives

The right man with the right timing, James Donn, Sr., purchased dilapidated Gulfstream Park in 1944. He repaired the buildings and grandstands and installed escalators and elevators. Opening day Dec. 1, 1944 was attended by far fewer—about 5,000—than the first opening. The 1944 event was affected by World War II gas rationing and other wartime impositions, but Donn’s word to pay off the track’s debts was trusted. He predicted shortly after he bought it that Gulfstream Park would be among the best in the world. He delivered.

He was already owner of the successful Exotic Gardens Florists, the company that later designed the park’s gardens and the unforgettable horseshoe wreaths seen in the track’s Winner’s Circle. In 1952, he established what became a horse racing classic, the Florida Derby. 

Some of the track’s success can also be attributed to Donn’s wrangling from Hialeah its coveted mid-winter racing dates. It took 25 years but the Scotsman, who first came to Miami in 1915 on his honeymoon with bride Nellie, lived to see Gulfstream racing during the best days of Florida winters.

When James Donn, Sr. was asked what he did for a living, he would often tell strangers he was a florist. It could also be said he was the right man who came to Gulfstream’s rescue at the right time.

For current day Gulfstream Park, visit: https://www.gulfstreampark.com

Sources:

Miami News, Feb. 1, 1939

Miami Herald, Feb. 1, 1939

Miami Herald, Feb. 2, 1939

Miami News, Feb. 7, 1939

Miami Herald, Feb. 7, 1939

Miami Herald, April 23, 1939

Miami Herald, Feb. 4, 1940

Miami News, Feb. 15, 1940

Miami News, Dec. 1, 1944

Miami Herald, July 12, 1972

Tags: Florida sports history, thoroughbred racing, horse racing, Hallandale history, Robert Law Weed, Jack C. Horning, architect, Exotic Gardens

Brief history of the jalousie window: relic or not?

 

Jalousie door and window
Nubergwer 3, Public Domain via
Wikipedia Commons

By Jane Feehan

Today, jalousies appear to be a relic of mid-20th century Florida house construction. As hurricane-resistant storm windows overtake most other types, some may ask one day “what is a jalousie window?”

Jalousie (pronounced jal-o-see) windows first appeared in mid-18th century Europe. It was thought slatted louvered windows would serve as an alternative to the clear glass panes nosy neighbors would peer through out of jealousy over furniture or parties. So goes the reason for the window and genesis of the word.

A version of the jalousie window was patented by Joseph W. Walker from Malden, Massachusetts in 1900. Advertisements for and stories about these hand-cranked louvered windows first appeared in South Florida newspapers in the 1930s. One report appeared in the Fort Lauderdale Daily News in June 1937 (the earliest mention found).

Architects Robert Hansen and Courtney Stewart designed a two-bedroom residence in Fort Lauderdale with a porch that featured “blinds of the jalousie type found so extensively in the Mediterranean that permitted a maximum of ventilation.” Corner windows on the south and east sides of a house provide the best ventilation, wrote the reporter. (This was an important consideration before air-conditioning.)

This home, owned by Mr. and Mrs. William Wolfe was built of “concrete block …trimmed in brick red and green.” It was designed for “perfect harmony with the setting and climate of Lauderdale.”

A subsequent jalousie mention did not appear in the Dade area until nearly a year later in the Miami News (March 1938). A house on San Marco Drive, San Marco Island in Miami Beach, selling for $30,000, came with West Indian style shutters with jalousie treatment for the front screened porch.

By 1939, advertisements for jalousie windows were ubiquitous in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. A story appeared about a new colonial-style house on Star Island in Miami Beach with screened “jalousie porches that gave it a tropical character.”

In June that year, a business review column in the Miami Herald featuring “facts and hearsay” and “letters and visits” indicated readers had called to ask “what a jalousie window is.” The columnist confessed he “didn’t know until recently” but discovered “it seems they are those good-looking louvered doors and porch walls that keep the rain out and let the light and air in.” 

The word was out. In September 1939 an architectural event on Miami’s Lincoln Road included a jalousie window exhibit to drum up more interest.

Jalousie windows were off to a slower start in Palm Beach County. It could be they weren’t popular on Palm Beach Island or may not have been worthy of a Saturday newspaper home section story. The jalousie window was old news by then; they were featured in most homes of the day. Ads for them appeared often by the late 1940s (probably for the West Palm Beach market).

Could the jalousie window return? Today, some companies are trying to pitch them as an energy-saving element of the modern home. Humidity anyone? They were never good on a rainy, windy day. And they weren’t safe in a hurricane. As said, what’s old is new again. Let's hope not; a thumbs down for this oldie.

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, June 30, 1937

Miami News, March 20, 1938

Miami News, Dec. 31, 1938

Miami Herald, Feb. 19, 1039

Miami Herald, Sept. 11, 1939

https://safetylinejalousie.com.au/the-history-of-jalousie

Wikipedia

Tags: Jalousie windows, SOFLA home construction history, Fort Laudedale history, Miami history, history of Fort Lauderdale, history of home construction industry

Fort Lauderdale's Harbor Beach: exclusive then and now

 

Harbor Beach circa 1980
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory/Steinmetz

By Jane Feehan

According to some news accounts, the first Fort Lauderdale development after the boom years of the 1920s was Harbor Beach.

The Harbor Beach Company, formed by George W. English, purchased land south of the U.S. Coast Station in 1940 from Fort Lauderdale pioneer Tom M. Bryan for $1000 per acre for 200 acres.

Development commenced with permitting for infrastructure, and a wall, gate and “field office” designed by Miami architect Russell T. Pancoast (grandson of Miami Beach developer John A. Collins the same of Collins Avenue).

The first 73 lots were presented for sale by the Harbor Beach Co. in January 1942. The development was advertised as Fort Lauderdale’s newest oceanfront real estate development, the “only restricted residential beach property in South Florida.” 

Other ads claimed the building requirements provided for “substantial though not necessarily pretentious homes” with sweeping vistas of the ocean, a lake (near today’s Lago Mar) and the Intracoastal. Some inland waterway lots would accommodate 110-foot boat dockage. 

An entrance to the new neighborhood was built as an extension of Atlantic Avenue (now A1A) but the development would be isolated from traffic. Lot prices were not available in early ads, but by 1945 some lots started at $4,200. In 1946 prices rose to $4500 (as comparison, lots in Croissant Park sold for about $1,000). 

Plans were in place by the mid-1940s for a private beach club (today’s Surf Club). All 73 lots in the initial “unit” were sold by 1946 when another unit (number of those lots unknown to this writer) were placed on the market. It was followed by a third unit in the 1950s. Sales must have been fairly brisk by the mid-1950s; lots then generally started at $10,000.

One house went on the market in 1955 for $37,500 with three bedrooms, two baths and maid’s quarters. Today, the walled community is home to 592 residents (according to niche.com). Singer/actor David Cassidy (The Partridge Family) once called the community home until his death in 2010. His house was placed on sale later that year for $3.9 million.

Houses today (2022) range from about $4 million to nearly $24 million. It remains one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods but is not immune to Fort Lauderdale’s super-charged development woes. Residents complain about difficulties exiting the community to merge onto jammed A1A during certain times of the day or when the bridge at the 17th Street Causeway opens for boat traffic.




Sources:

Weidling, Philip and Burghard, August. Checkered Sunshine. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1966.

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 18, 1941

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 25, 1945

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 17, 1942

Fort Lauderdale News Jan. 31, 1946

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 19, 1946

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 15, 1947

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 9, 1955

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 3, 1955

Realtor.com

For current demographics, see:

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/n/harbor-beach-fort-lauderdale-fl/

Tags: Fort Lauderdale communities, Fort Lauderdale developments, Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s, Fort Lauderdale history, history of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale architects

Broward County Defenses in WWII: of rationing and volunteering

By Jane Feehan

The focus of  Broward County war relief efforts for England shifted to defense activities after Pearl Harbor. Three weeks after that attack the Broward County Defense Council, comprised of councils in Dania, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale, Hollywood and Oakland Park, reported its efforts.

An air raid warden system neared completion with issuing more than 350 warden identification cards to volunteers.

Broward County residents were advised not to be alarmed by sudden power shut downs. Warnings of practice blackouts would be announced by newspapers and radio.

Avenger aircraft WWII
State of Florida Archives

Students in their last semester would be eligible for diplomas if they entered the armed services and their work deemed meeting set standards.

A resolution to pay expenses for architect Clinton Gamble to attend a course on building protection at the University of Florida was passed by the county.  Gamble would then return to Broward and supervise air precaution work on school buildings.

Taxi and truck owners in the county were urged to register their vehicles with the council. Also, all private car owners were asked to register their vehicles if they volunteered to support the war effort with their cars.

Ex-service men and former police officers formed an auxiliary unit under direction of Sheriff Walter Clark. His office was  "crowded to capacity with patriots offering their time and resources to observe and track down illegal activities when paid officers were occupied with other duties."

The Broward Defense Council was also involved in rationing of products and supplies during WWII. A national ban on the sale of tires went into effect December 11, 1941. Soon after safety boards were established in Broward County and throughout the country to handle rationing of tires. Rubber for tires was imported from areas in the Pacific occupied by or in conflict with Japan and its allies. Rubber was needed to manufacture truck tires for military vehicles.

Other rationed items included gasoline, canned goods, sugar, meat, dairy products--and a list expanded so frequently that some asked "when are they going to ration the rationing?" Rationing was necessary to feed and support US troops and to help produce military goods. 

Tags: Broward County in WWII, Fort Lauderdale in WWII, Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s, Fort Lauderdale history, Broward County history

___________

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale Daily News Dec. 19, 1941

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Dec. 28, 1941

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Jan 8, 1943

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Jan. 21, 1943

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Feb. 17, 1943

Tags: Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s, WWII in Broward County, Fort Lauderdale during World War II, film research. Rationing, Fort Lauderdale history, Broward County history, Fort Lauderdale in WWII

Broward General Hospital: the prequel

 

Broward General 1949, 505 SE 17^th Street
Florida State Archives

By Jane Feehan


Since the 1920s hospitals in Broward County have been built, leased, sold and operated by different entities. The history of Broward General Hospital, now Broward Health Medical Center, exemplifies the balance of community needs and business dynamics we associate with more recent decades.

Its predecessor, located on “five beautiful acres,” was the Fort Lauderdale Memorial Hospital (telephone number 330). It was opened by Dr. Scott Edwards reportedly in 1924, though some accounts indicate a later date. The location of the 37-bed hospital was probably near downtown. It was not in Hollywood, the current city of the Hollywood Memorial Hospital; Hollywood Hospital was operating in 1937. (Addresses during the city’s early days were not as important to publish as they are today).

Memorial was leased by the Broward County Commission. That arrangement terminated in 1937 when it was sold to Medical Services, Inc. a private company. To start anew in another facility, physicians banded together that year to form the Broward Hospital Association. Headed by J.D. Camp and Ernst Bratzel, the association also included, among others, Robert Lochrie, Carl A. Hiaasen and George English (many names we’re familiar with today).  An initiative to establish a new hospital was approved by the county and moved forward with community and local government support.

The building chosen for a hospital was the Granada Apartments at 505 SE 17th Street. Designed by architect Robert G. Jahelka and owned by Nobel Jarrell of Goldsboro, MD, the three-story building (rendering above) with its wide and hospital-appropriate hallways sold for about $25,000. A loan for $15,000 was secured and a fund of $11,000 was raised for purchase and conversion of the building. That left $1,000 to complete the purchase. Another $25,000 was required to install an elevator and buy medical equipment.

The Fort Lauderdale News reported in 1937 that city pioneer John Lochrie, from a Pennsylvania hospital where he died, guaranteed funding required to complete the project “in order that recent hospital difficulties might be corrected.” It’s not clear the difficulties he referred to were at the end or beginning of the fund raising nor how much his contribution was.

Broward Hospital opened in early 1938 (telephone number 666) with 60 beds including those for newborn. Several wings were added in 1942 and 1948 raising the capacity to 142 beds. The North Broward Hospital District was formed in 1950 and disbanded the same year when an expansion request was denied (it was re-established). By 1961, the bed count was 468. Today, part of Broward Health, Broward Medical Center (1600 S. Andrews Ave.) provides about 700 beds and is part of a network of medical facilities throughout the county.

Copyright 2022. Jane Feehan

  

 Sources:

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, April 2, 1929

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, July 13, 1929

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Jan. 12, 1932

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Jan. 2, 1937

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, July 7, 1937

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, July 8, 1937

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Sept 21, 1937

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Nov. 24, 1937

South Broward Tatler, June 4, 1937

Broward Health

Wikipedia

 

Tags: Broward Hospital, Broward General, Broward Medical Center, Broward General Hospital history, Broward Health, Fort Lauderdale history

Pearl Harbor spurs Broward County and Fort Lauderdale defenses for WWII

 

Fort Lauderdale Beach 1941
 State of Florida Archives

By Jane Feehan

The focus on Fort Lauderdale and Broward County war relief efforts for England shifted to defense activities after Pearl Harbor. Three weeks after that attack, the Broward County defense council reported the following to the Fort Lauderdale Daily News (Dec. 19, 1941) about its efforts:

• Near completion of the air raid warden system and more than 350 air raid warden identification cards issued to volunteers.
• Broward County defense council advises residents not to be alarmed by sudden power shut downs.
• Warning of practice blackouts with due notice through the press and radio.
• Students in their last semester will be eligible for diplomas to enter the armed service if their work is deemed up to set standards.
• The Broward School Board passes a resolution to pay expenses for architect Clinton Gamble to attend a course on building protection conducted by the University of Florida; Gamble will return to Broward and supervise air precaution work on school buildings.
• The defense council asks all taxi and truck owners in the county to register their vehicles with the council.
• Also all private car owners who want to volunteer use of their autos are urged to register with the council.
• Sheriff Walter Clark conducted a meeting of ex-service men and former police officers to form an auxiliary unit under direction of his office. They will observe and track down illegal activities when paid officers were occupied with other duties.

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Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s, WWII in Broward County, Fort Lauderdale during World War II, film research, Clinton Gamble, Broward County history, History of Fort Lauderdale, architects

Yesterday's Casino pool and today's Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center

            Florida State Archives

 

By Jane Feehan

The Las Olas Beach Casino and Pool, first built about 1915, attracted both pool swimmers and day trippers to the beach. The wooden structure underwent replacement in 1927 with a Mediterranean building designed by Fort Lauderdale architect Francis Abreu. The municipal complex included an Olympic-size pool 60 by 165 feet, and three to 12 feet in depth. The $125,000 structure officially opened Jan. 29, 1928.

A story in the Fort Lauderdale Daily News (Nov. 24, 1941) claimed “the pool is filled several times weekly with 420,000 gallons of filtered salt water pumped by three wells from more than 20 feet of rock and shell and sand. The chlorinating system is one of the best in the south.” The municipal building also included a wading pool for children and hundreds of lockers for visitors.

The same story touted the Las Olas Beach Casino and Pool as the “training ground of champions as well as one of the finest pools in the south.” It also hosted an annual national aquatic forum, which drew “the country’s outstanding swimmers and divers from schools and colleges in every corner of the land … [it] is a dripping wet trial session for pet strokes, new dives, water ballets and other natatorial kinks.”

Casino Pool 1966

The building sat just south of Las Olas Boulevard. It was demolished in 1965 to make way for new development. That year the buzz in town:  Fort Lauderdale was to be the "Swimming capital of the world."

The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), constructed a block or two west of the old Casino, was dedicated in 1965. The swim meet in December 1966 drew more than 2,000 participants. CBS sports was on hand to broadcast the event, "a CBS Sports Spectacular."

The ISHOF, now the  Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center underwent renovations and opened January 2023.

  

It has been a long time since the city was the "swimming capital of the world" or was the site of a televised "sports spectacular." 

https://www.parks.fortlauderdale.gov/beach/aquatics/fort-lauderdale-aquatic-complex

CBS and international swimming:

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/09/17/cbs-sports-international-swimming-league-october-16/

Other sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 29, 1928

Miami Herald, March 8, 1965

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 25, 1966

Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, swimming history, Fort Lauderdale in the 1920s, Florida history, architect Francis Abreu, film research

Florida State Archive/Florida Memories - mid century

Addison Mizner's Palm Beach: 38 estates, a club and Worth Avenue

 

Mizner's home off Worth Avenue

By Jane Feehan


Addison Mizner’s (1872-1933) Palm Beach architectural legacy includes 38 estates, a club and Worth Avenue.

Invited to Palm Beach in 1918 by his friend, Paris Singer (Singer Sewing Machine), Mizner first designed the Everglades Club, originally planned as a convalescent home for wounded World War I soldiers.

The club's design, a fusion of Moorish, Renaissance, Gothic and Venetian influences appealed to Mrs. Edward Stotesbury, a wealthy Philadelphian, who commissioned Mizner to create her Palm Beach home, El Mirasol. It was his first concept for a Palm Beach home, the first of the ocean side estates known as Mizner’s Row.

Everglades Club

A few estates were demolished over the years, including El Mirasol (its archway stands at North County Road, north of Wells Road, original site). Those remaining can be identified by Terra cotta tiles, minarets, towers, archways, fountains, columns - elements of Mizner’s “Mediterranean Revival” style.

The distinctive Mizner imprint still emblazons the Everglades Club on Worth Avenue and the architect’s former residence across the street at Via Mizner. Mizner named the adjacent Via Parigi for his friend, Paris Singer. Today, both vias are popular with shoppers, diners, and visitors.

Sources:

Palm Beach Historical Society

https://pbchistory.org/

https://www.pbchistoryonline.org/

O'Sulllivan, Maureen. Palm Beach Then and Now. West Palm Beach: Lickle Publishing, 2004

Tags: Addison Mizner, Palm Beach architecture, Palm Beach history