Why History? It's about identity.

Postcard circa 1960s - Bahia Mar and South Beach  
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

By Jane Feehan

Many who spent their school years hating history are the same who seek social media sites or reunions reliving their own. They look for high school and college alumni and other groups for "remember when" discussions about concerts, musicians, oldie goldies tunes, favorite movies or nightclubs, hangouts or memorable characters from their past.

Why? What's so great about our past? It's history, after all. Everyone has a history. 

It's not only about reliving shared experiences. One's past experiences are woven into the fabric of who one is now. It's parallel to the nurture side of the nature/nurture equation of human development.  

The same can be said about a city, state, region or a country, which are more than geographical boundaries. People are probably more familiar with an area's accents or colloquialisms, foods or ways of cooking--even clothing--than its borders. These are elements of an identity, a personality, a common culture. If one digs deep enough, they'll discover the history behind each element including boundaries.

Postcard -Miami Biltmore, Coral Gables 1937
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

Students dislike school room history because of how it was (and still is) taught. Teachers make history unrelatable when they present in a brittle-dry, lifeless, formulaic style. Today it may come with an agenda-driven overlay. Thankfully, many adults return to history when they can read on their own about what they find interesting. There is something to be said for this "free-range history."  

A reminder for those who blog: keep it short. History is for everyone, not just for researchers and scholars. Long missives discourage the casual reader, the non-historian.

Without history some say there is no future. Its ancillary could be the oft-repeated "those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."*  

History should breathe and live; it's foundational to everyone's identity, to a country's identity.

__

Postcard - a Bit of  Old Spain in Miami, 1949
Florida State Archives/ Florida Memory

______

* Variously attributed to Irish-British writer Edmund Burke (1729-1797) or British stateman, writer and historian Winston Churchill (1874-1965) but most likely written by Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952). 

Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, Florida history, Miami history, Palm Beach history, Jane Feehan

South Florida's first automobiles: who drove what and when?

First car in Miami belonged to C.H. Billings, 1899
a Locomobile
Florida State Archives, Florida Memory

 

By Jane Feehan

 Automobiles soared in popularity across the United States and into the Florida frontier by the late 1800s. I’ll leave the provenance of the automobile up to other historians as it seems to remain in dispute*. Below is a brief overview of the status of motorized vehicles during the first years of  20th-century South Florida. 

First, the national backdrop.

According to History.com, 30 American manufacturers produced 2,500 motorized vehicles by 1899. More than 480 companies entered the production fray a decade later. Henry Ford, though not the first car maker, produced the cheapest one, his Model T selling for $285 in October 1908 (preceded by his Model N for $500**). 

Cars were referred to as “horseless carriages” in the 1890s. By 1900, the word “automobile” entered our lexicon. Automobile enthusiasts had already formed clubs and held races during the late 1800s and first decade of the 20^th century.

Determining who owned the first automobile in Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties is problematic. Owning first and registering first don’t match up and some records went missing. Some owned vehicles before registration was required.  A registration ordinance, proposed in Miami in 1904 and passed in January 1905, details many of the same obligations as the requirements codified by the state of Florida in 1905.

The umbrella requirement was that every auto had to be registered with the Florida Secretary of State (the overseeing entity transferred to the State Comptroller office in years following).

Some provisions will evoke a chuckle:

The vehicle registration number had to be displayed on a tag “in Arabic numerals of at least 3 inches by 2 inches.”

Every vehicle operating on the road must have a bell, horn or whistle and two lamps.

Motorists must signal when approaching horses or other draft animals and must stop immediately if signaled to do so by one driving or riding these animals.

Vehicles must abide by a reasonable speed and/or the state determined speed limit.

Boards of county commissioners are empowered to set times for speed tests or races on public roadways.

No vehicle can cross a street or turn a corner at more than 5 miles per hour (Miami ordinance).

Vehicle operators must be 16 years old (Miami ordinance).

                                                                      The first registration records were handwritten.

Florida Memory/Discover/historical records:
 https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/346940

So, who owned the first motorized vehicle in Miami?  News accounts indicate it was Mr. C.H. Billings, a construction "engineer," in 1899. He drove a steam-powered “locomobile (at top of this post)."The Miami Evening Record in 1904 described it as "fast" -- relevant to walking no doubt.

1906 Model E Glide - Author unknown (Not Bryan's car) 
Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal Oct.1, 1905

The first car registered with the state (and probably first owned) of Broward County belonged to Fort Lauderdale pioneer Reed A. Bryan in 1906.  He drove a Glide (produced 1902-1925), a four-cylinder, 45-horsepower automobile. It was later given to the city’s fire department for their use. There were far fewer cars in Broward County; paved roads were rare. Only two were available in Fort Lauderdale: Brickell and Andrews avenues. Both offered only single lanes.

George W. Potter, surveyor and illustrator from Boynton Beach in Palm Beach County beat Henry M. Flagler to the state registration records. Potter registered his 4-horsepower Waltham Orient Buckboard in November 1905. Flagler followed the next month with registration of his open-air, quiet, steam-powered touring car manufactured by White Motor Company.

An automobile section appeared in the Miami Herald in 1912 with “items of interest to automobilists everywhere.” After all, “the greatest future lies ahead in the auto industry.” Prescient, indeed.

 *See the fascinating timeline linked below from the Library of Congress about when the automobile was invented.

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/motor-vehicles-aeronautics-astronautics/item/who-invented-the-automobile

** See Ford Company history at:

https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/50201/#:~:text=Most%20runabouts%20featured%20one%2D%20or,the%20bestselling%20car%20in%20America

__________

Sources:

https://www.boyntonhistory.org

Broward Legacy – Hughes, Kenneth Survey of old cars. Vol. 21, No. 3-4, 1998 https://journals.flvc.org/browardlegacy/issue/view/3742

Miami Evening Record, Jan. 22, 1904

Miami News, Oct. 26, 1904

Miami Herald, Oct. 4, 1911

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 31, 2015

Tags: Automobile history, early automobiles in South Florida, early automobiles in Miami, early automobiles in Palm Beach County, Fort Lauderdale history, Miami History, Palm Beach history

Where Fort Lauderdale shopped in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s

 

Downtown Fort Lauderdale circa 1950
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

By Jane Feehan

Many remember the big department stores in Fort Lauderdale, but some smaller stores and businesses listed below may have fallen from memory. A quick and incomplete survey of where Fort Lauderdale shopped in December-March of 1950, and December of 1960 and 1970 indicates a shift from the smaller family-run businesses to the larger, more ubiquitous department stores. The chain stores gained in popularity when they migrated from shopping districts to shopping centers or plazas. 

Also listed are a few car dealerships and other businesses whose owners gained wide recognition because of signature advertising or other well-known pursuits. Complete addresses are included where they could be found. Note – these businesses serve as a snapshot in each of the years mentioned. Other businesses that some may remember but are not on this list may have operated later in the decade. Again, the list is incomplete (of course there was/is Publix, Winn Dixie, etc.) 

Las Olas Boulevard circa 1980
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

December-March 1950

Belk-Lindsey – (department stores) 108 S. Andrews

Bunning the Florist – South Andrews

Burdines Department Store on Andrews Avenue.

Causeway Lumber – 2701 S. Andrews Avenue

Chemist Shop – 817 E. Las Olas Boulevard

David Leonard Shoes – 716 E. Las Olas Boulevard

Duval Jewelry – 208 S. Andrews Avenue

Fort Lauderdale Lincoln Mercury - 501 S. Federal Highway

Gill Construction Company – 105 E. Las Olas Boulevard (and later hotels)

Holsum Bakery – “Home-town bakers for 37 years”

Jordan Marsh – Sunrise Shopping Center

King Oldsmobile - Sunrise Boulevard

Lauderdale Shoe Store – 224 S. Andrews Avenue

Lovett’s Food Stores – 220 N. Federal Highway

McFarlenes – (televisions) – 300 East Las Olas Boulevard

Ray Allen (men’s and boy’s fashion) – 114 E. Las Olas Boulevard

R.H. Gore Orchids – 1611 SW 9^th Avenue

Rhode’s Furniture – 203 SW First Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue – Sunrise Shopping Center

Scott’s (fashion) – Andrews and 2^nd Avenue

Sears on Andrews Avenue

Smith’s Boulevard Pharmacy - 607 E. Las Olas Boulevard

Thomas F. Gustafson - Painting and Decorating, Interior-Exterior – 822 SW 17^th Street

Watty & Son (jewelry) – 1225 E. Las Olas Boulevard

Wellens Furniture – 223 SW First Avenue

December 1960

Belk Lindsey – South Andrews Avenue

Bird Camera Shop – 617 E. Broward Boulevard

Browning King & Co. – “Attire that is tailored to suit millionaires” - 442 E. Las Olas Boulevard

Burdines – Sunrise Shopping Center

Carl’s Furniture – 808 W. Broward Boulevard

Castro Convertibles – N. Federal Highway

Dart Drugs – 114 S. Andrews Avenue

Goody Shoes – W. Broward Boulevard

Hale Piano – S. Andrews Avenue

Helmly’s – furniture and appliances – 419 S. Andrews Avenue

Ivy Shop – men’s fashion – 7 S. Andrews Avenue

Jefferson Department Stores– N. Federal Highway

Jordan Marsh – Sunrise Shopping Center

Mangurian’s - (furniture) – 3700 N. Federal Hwy

ModernAge (furniture) – Federal Highway

Pan-American Tire Co. – 3010 S. Federal Highway

Pullman’s Furniture - 738 N. Federal Highway

Saks Fifth Avenue – Sunrise Shopping Center

Sears at Searstown, Federal and Sunrise

Sterling’s (fashion for men and boys) – 27 Wall Street

Miller’s Jewelers – 201 SE First Avenue

Overbrook Music - 1001 E. Sunrise Boulevard

December 1970

Associated Carpets – 3991 N. Federal Highway

Bill Binko Chrysler Plymouth – 1750 N. Federal Highway

Burdines – Sunrise Shopping Center

Britts – Coral Ridge Shopping Center

Discount Land – furniture – 4000 N. Federal Highway

Dutch’s Appliances – 2930 N. Federal Highway

Jefferson Super Store - Federal Highway

Jordan Marsh – Sunrise Shopping Center

K-Mart – Oakland Park Boulevard

Levitz Furniture – Powerline and NW 12^th Street

Massy-Yardley Dodge – 1600 M. Federal Highway (today in Plantation)

Penny’s – Coral Ridge Shopping Center

Sears at Searstown – Federal and Sunrise

Zayre – Broward Boulevard

 

Saks Fifth Avenue 1955 - Fort Lauderdale
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

For more retail history, see index for "Fort Lauderdale retail history"

 

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 4, 1950

Fort Lauderdale News. March 3, 1950

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 11, 1960

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 12, 1970

Tags:  Fort Lauderdale history, History of Fort Lauderdale, About Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale's Ocean World: Popular aquarium until ...

 

Dolphin feeding circa 1965
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

By Jane Feehan

Ocean World opened in July 1965 with significant publicity.

The only aquarium in Fort Lauderdale, the attraction was marketed to tourists, residents and conventioneers. It occupied six acres on the north side of the 17th Street Causeway (once next to Tony’s Fish Market).

The center piece of the entertainment venue was a three-story, 90-ft circular tank, “Davy Jones Locker.” Its 17 feet of water was home to porpoises, sea lions and sea turtles. Wall aquariums held an assortment of fish; sharks swam in a moat surrounding the tank. Daily shows featured porpoises and sea lions performing tricks for a gallery that could seat up to 800, many of whom were encouraged to feed dolphins and other fish at designated times and places around the tank.

The man behind the operation was Charles “Charlie” Beckwith, a New York transplant who moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1963. He claimed he was an “idea man” for one newspaper interview. Before moving to Florida, he owned several flower shops under the name Idlewild Airport Florist at Idlewild Airport—later named John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was successful in acquiring a tax-free status for those shops, a relatively new concept at the time for U.S. airports.

Beckwith was also successful with Ocean World Inc. where he served as president and chair of the board. His brainchild, the marine park, often captured headlines for answering calls to rescue injured sea turtles, dolphins and sharks on local beaches. Some divers brought injured sea animals found in local waters to the aquarium. Most animals that survived injuries remained at the aquarium; a few performed. Its pantheon of live sea characters included Pegleg Pete, an old sea turtle missing a fin, Ginny, a porpoise, and Dimples the Dolphin (a porpoise). According to the park, Dimples was the only dolphin in the world who could perform a triple forward somersault in mid-air. Ocean World expanded its collection of wildlife to appeal to schools for their educational programs. They brought in parrots and an assortment of other birds. The park’s population grew to about 200 animals, including otters, an alligator and a monkey named Gilligan.

Dolphin at Ocean World Circa 1965
Florida State Archives/ Florida Memory,
Postcard collection

In 1984, Beckwith sold Ocean World. Education Management Corporation, who also owned the Fort Lauderdale Art Institute, acquired Ocean World. They operated the marine park until it closed August 31, 1994. EMC claimed declining attendance, revenue loss of $1.1 million in 1992 and insufficient space for expansion (but enough for developing several strip shopping centers) drove the decision. Not a destination attraction, Ocean World's demise did not affect the city of Fort Lauderdale.

Its run of 29 years was a good one but not without controversy.

Ocean World filed a suit in 1975 against nearby Everglades Marina, Inc. and its insurance company for a fire that produced smoke they claimed killed Dimples. In 1976, four parrots were stolen.

Animal activism gained advocates during the 1990s. In 1992, the USDA closed the park for nearly two weeks in June, accusing Ocean World of animal abuse. A dolphin had died after being dropped accidently by staff, breaking its tail. The park paid a $20,000 fine. During that decade, two attendees sued,  claiming a dolphin had bitten them during feeding. One claimant was awarded $20,000.

Alligator wrestling, circa 1965
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory
Postcard collection

Beckwith and wife Lois moved to the US Virgin Islands after selling Ocean World. They returned stateside to live in Palm Coast, Florida. He died in 2016. And the animals? At closing, EMC offered many to other marine parks; an accounting of their subsequent residences and fate are unknown to this writer.

During the past few years, there had been talk (silence now) about launching a marine park or exhibit near or in the Galleria. The push to develop every square inch of land in this city for expensive housing and Galleria re-development plans may have thrown water on that idea. Can’t say another park of confined animals will excite as many as Ocean World once did. We’re in a new paradigm of animal welfare for which I, for one, am grateful.

 

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, May 29, 1965

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 12, 1965

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 15, 1966

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 6, 1965

Fort Lauderdale News, March 19, 1972

Fort Lauderdale News, May 14, 1972

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 29, 1972

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 10, 1994

Orlando Sentinel, July 5, 1994

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/news-journalonline/name/charles-beckwith-obituary?id=15053748

Tags: Fort Lauderdale attraction, Fort Lauderdale marine park, Fort Lauderdale aquarium, performing dolphins, Ocean World, Charlie Beckwith, Fort Lauderdale history, Broward County History

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

Bahia Mar: "more business, publicity to Fort Lauderdale than any other man-made attraction"

 

Bahia Mar circa 1960s,
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

Bahia Mar
801 Seabreeze Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

By Jane Feehan

The following about Bahia Mar does not serve as an historical account of the business transactions that have shaped it over the years, though some will be mentioned. In 1949, the Miami News claimed Bahia Mar was the only land in Broward County that had not been privately owned; that may explain its complicated history.

Some would say its history began in the 1870s.

The United States government built a string of five Houses of Refuge in 1876 in Florida from Cape Florida to the Indian River to provide shelter for the shipwrecked. One refuge, New River House No. 4 was moved in 1891 from its first site near Hugh Birch State Park (Bonnet House) to the beach across from today’s Bahia Mar where the third Fort Lauderdale was built.

The United States Coast Guard operated from the site, a gathering place for social activities into the early 1900s. It served as Coast Guard Station No. 6 during World War I. From the inland waterway—today’s Bahia Mar—the base played an active role in World War II defense activities in South Florida. 

After the war in 1946, the federal government declared the site as surplus, placing it in the public domain.

Bahia Mar 1951
Florida State Archives/
Florida Memory

The city of Fort Lauderdale purchased the property for $600,000 but did not have enough funds for its development.

Private investors, led by Ohioan and developer William E. Schantz* raised funds to build a yacht basin that opened in December 1949. It offered 450 boat slips, shopping, a restaurant with cocktail lounge (Patricia Murphy’s Candlelight Restaurant did not open there until 1959) and 650 parking spaces.

Newspapers lauded the $2.5 million project. Some claimed the marina, with “three miles of docks," brought more publicity, recognition and business "than any other man-made attraction” to Fort Lauderdale. It led to declaration by city boosters that Fort Lauderdale was the “yachting capital of the world.” One news account reported Bahia Mar was the first yacht basin in the nation to be listed on Coast Guard navigation charts.

Not long after opening, the developers declared bankruptcy and the site reverted to the city. The city leased it back to the private sector in 1959 (yes, it’s complicated). Since 1959, Bahia Mar has served as home to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show featuring some of the most spectacular luxury yachts seen anywhere. 

About 100,000 pay to see the display in late October, early November each year. Today the yacht basin holds 250 boat slips (some land now operated by the adjacent International Swimming Hall of Fame houses 40 slips), the Double Tree Hotel, yacht brokers, shopping and restaurants and other amenities.

Bahia Mar now faces a major transition. Value of the 38.65-acre Bahia Mar property is estimated (in 2022) at $256 million as Fort Lauderdale oceanfront land has fallen piece by piece to developers. The city signed an initial 50-year lease in 2022 with Jimmy and Kenny Tate of Rahn Bahia Mar Hotel. It could be extended another 50 years (status of this arrangement unclear).Their $1 billion plan for Bahia Mar includes, at this point, replacing the current 296-room hotel with a new one and building condos and commercial space. Developers plan to share revenue with the city derived from operations (hotel, marina, condos).

Plans were approved by the city  commission in 2023 for a hotel and three condo towers as controversy swirls around the project's scope.

Resident support is mixed. Some fear the project’s impact on beach traffic and its impact on the boat show; others welcome the needed revamp. Stay tuned …

 

Bahia Mar 1968
Florida State Archives/ Florida Memory

Sources:

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

Gillis, Susan. Fort Lauderdale: The Venice of America. Charleston: Acadia Publishing, 2004.

Fort Lauderdale News, March 7, 1949

Miami News, Sept 1, 1949

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 3, 1949

Fort Lauderdale News, April 10, 1955

New York Daily News, Jan. 27, 1957

New York Daily News, June 15, 1958

Sun-Sentinel, March 30, 2022

Real Deal, April 6, 2022

https://www.marinalife.com/marina?slug=bahia-mar-resort-and-yachting-center

https://bahiamaryachtingcenter.com/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=yext

https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2014/03/houses-of-refuge-fort-lauderdale-and.html

For more on Houses of Refuge, see:

https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2014/03/houses-of-refuge-fort-lauderdale-and.html

For more on William E. Schantz* see:

https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2021/06/bahia-mar-yacht-basin-cabbage-palm-logs.html

Tags: Bahia Mar Marina, Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s, Fort Lauderdale in the 1950s, yachting capital of the world. Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Fort Lauderdale history

Sunset Theatre: Fort Lauderdale's early theater, a link to its WWII hero, Sandy Nininger and ...

 

Sunset Theatre (vertical sign) next to the
 taller Sweet Building
1939 - Looking north on Andrews
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory/Romer

 

Postcard depiction of Sunset Theatre next to
Sweet Building
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

 

Sunset Theatre
313 South Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale

By Jane Feehan

Entertainment in the United States shifted from live performances to a hybrid that included film in the 1920s. Early Fort Lauderdale was no exception to the shift.

The Sunset Theatre, by some accounts, opened in 1922—just 11 years after the city was established. Located at 313 South Andrews Avenue (and later adjacent to the Sweet Building that went up next door), the theater housed more than 750 seats. It served as a popular place for live concerts, vaudeville acts, musical benefits, meetings and events for the Lion’s Club, Woman’s Club and other civic groups.

The building the theater occupied was once owned by early Fort Lauderdale developer M. A. Hortt. Rental office space there was offered through classified advertisements of the time. No doubt it was a popular place from which to operate a business. The theater was a high-profile operation and everyone knew where it was; why not open a real estate or medical office at the same address?

When The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille’s blockbuster with a cast and extras of 5,000 was presented at the theater in 1925 (about two years before the first “talkies”), Fort Lauderdale over-capacity crowds were turned away for both the afternoon and evening showings. The turnout was a testament to both the popularity of the Sunset and wild interest in film. 

Early movies were accompanied by live orchestras. The Fort Lauderdale theater provided its own Sunset Theatre Orchestra, but The Ten Commandments came with its traveling “orchestra of 20 men.” Ticket prices for other live performances and movies went for 50 cents to two dollars. I could not find ticket prices for a movie, but chances are the 10-25-cent movies came decades later when musicians’ pay was not a factor.

There is an interesting side note for those who know of the first awardee of the Medal of Honor of World War II, local hero Alexander (“Sandy”) R. Nininger, Jr. (see https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2020/07/first-wwii-congressional-medal-of-honor.html). 

His father, A.R. Nininger, was tapped as manager of the Sunset Theatre in 1928 and oversaw its transition to talking film. Recruited from Ocala where he managed the Publix-Saenger-Sparks Theaters (for Publix film connection, see https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2021/01/about-that-name-publix-and-its-link-to.html).

Nininger senior was quite the promoter of the Sunset enterprise; he frequently invited a variety of guests to attend shows for free, such as the Boy Scouts and other civic organizations for which he was mentioned frequently in the Fort Lauderdale News. He also promoted amateur acts from the theater to broadcast on radio. (Nininger senior accepted his son’s Medal of Honor in Tampa in February 1942.)

Some sources indicate Sunset Theatre ceased operations in 1953, though ads for movie schedules were published into early 1954. Business details remain murky, but the theater emerged in 1954 as the Sunrise Art Theatre offering plays, foreign films and a temporary venue for the Little Theater. The building closed in the 1970s.

 

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 15, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 24, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, May 21, 1928

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 10, 1928

Fort Lauderdale News, Jun 24, 1933

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 20, 1954

Tampa Tribune, Feb. 11, 1942

Gainesville Times, Oct. 1, 2021

CinemaTreasures.org

Tags: About Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale movie theaters, Fort Lauderdale in the 1920s, Fort Lauderdale theater, Fort Lauderdale history

Fort Lauderdale tourist accommodations in the 1920s

Dresden Hotel on the New River circa 1920
Florida State Archives/ Florida Memory

Fort Lauderdale has come a long way in the hospitality industry since the 1920s. This photo made front page of the Fort Lauderdale Herald, March 3, 1922.

Fort Lauderdale was beginning to appreciate its tourists, especially after the Las Olas bridge and causeway to the beach opened in 1917. Hotels and apartments are listed from top left to right, second row left to right, etc.

Hotel Broward, the first tourist hotel in Broward County, lies center, number 5. Most of the buildings listed in the photo were not on the beach. 

1. Gilbert Hotel
2. Smith Apartments
3. Dresden Apartments
4. Wallace Apartments
5. Hotel Broward
6. Palms Hotel
7. Shippey House
8. New River Hotel
9. Las Olas Inn (beach side)






 

Wallace Apartments 1917 Las Olas
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

Hotel Broward  circa 1920
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

Smith Guest House circa 1920
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

Las Olas Inn at the beach, circa 1920
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, history of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale in the 1920s

Boats not required for the best in South Florida fishing

By Jane Feehan

I’ve visited all its fishing piers while growing up in South Florida. I've been as intrigued by the activities of anglers on the boards as by the surrounding blue waters. Recently, as a Florida historian, I saw an opportunity to quench my interest in angling while learning a bit more about this area’s topography by reading Steve Kantner’s Ultimate Guide to Fishing South Florida on Foot (published by Stackploe/Headwater and available on Amazon). This book provides all that—and more.

A disclaimer: I am not an angler nor will ever be. But Kantner’s knowledge of these subtropical environs—the Everglades, canals, lakes, spillways, beaches, jetties, docks, and their ecosystems—impresses anglers, tag-alongs and spectators like me.

Kantner's book is not only about the remote, secluded honey holes where he has guided both novice and expert fishing hopefuls but also about urban settings such as city of Oakland Park through which the natural Cherry Creek tributary runs. He considers this the “most pristine in-town waterway in all of South Florida.” Who knew. This is a must-read for anglers who call South Florida home.

The book also serves as a primer for anglers living near water in other parts of the state or country. He writes “the current is what triggers the action” and it’s the “wave action that serves as catalyst for shoreline fishing." That's useful information for land or sea anglers nearly anywhere. Kantner, who has a biology degree, reveals where the places are, how to get there, where to park, what to bring, the species that inhabit each, what time to catch them and how. His book is also a trove of information about flies, lures, and rigging, some of which he's invented or developed and bear his name.

There’s something for everyone who loves South Florida in this guide. It’s well written, informative, chock full of beautiful photos and more than anything, fascinating. Kantner cooks up a lot of what he catches. If only he could include his recipes in this tome ...


Tags: Fishing in South Florida, Steve Kantner, Landcaptain, Steve Landcaptain Kantner

Fort Lauderdale's Natchez Plantation House - beach landmark, old memory

 

Natchez Plantation House 1961
Florida State Archives

Natchez Plantation House

735 N. Atlantic Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL

By Jane Feehan

Not sure when the Natchez Plantation House was built, but for many growing up in Fort Lauderdale it was part of A1A’s scenery during the 1960s and 70s. It was the first tourist building that met the eye on the strip after the Bonnet House.

Advertised as a 12-unit building with furnished units for short-term or yearly leases, this anachronistic structure was demolished at least a decade ago. The city turned down a proposal for a 22-story condo at the site in 2003 (days when development was restrained under Mayor Jim Naugle).

In 2016, the Natchez property was valued at $25.9 million. A land swap for parking was proposed by the city that year, but it was controversial because it sat next to the historic Bonnet House. The swap was proposed to entice beach goers to use Sunrise Boulevard rather than Las Olas for beach access. In 2022, signs on construction fencing around the site read, "Temporary Fire Station 13 and parking." Asphalting is underway. The swap was made for the city's use.

July 2022, asphalting underway

A few news pieces about the Natchez Plantation House appeared in the 1960s. One clip, an advertisement for a secretary/receptionist was funny, if not informative, about that decade. The pay offered was $70 a week to assist with a variety of duties including welcoming visitors and operating an editorial office for publisher Charles C. Thomas of Illinois. The add also promised “health and accidents.” Surely a reference to insurance.

Vacant property - in 2022

In July 1961, a piece in the Fort Lauderdale News reported that the Natchez Plantation House, plus acreage, was traded for Palm Patio Apartments at 2922 Banyan Street. The trade was handled by Averill and Co., a local real estate firm. About a year later the same newspaper reported that Charles C. Thomas, publisher, purchased the Natchez from Frances and Jack Wallace.

Today, traffic is often backed up at Sunrise and A1A on weekends—on and off season. With the state of today’s traffic congestion, drivers will take any navigable route without encouragement from the city. The project  replacing the Natchez Plantation House will be the first on the strip after the Bonnet House, an overture to the city’s famous beach south of Sunrise Boulevard. Let’s hope it plays well.

 

 __________

Sources:

 Fort Lauderdale News, July 15, 1961

Fort Lauderdale News, July 21, 1962

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 12, 1962

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Dec. 19, 2016

Tags: Fort Lauderdale Beach,  Fort Lauderdale in the 1960s, Fort Lauderdale history

Fort Lauderdale: from plow and trowel to beach towel

Fort Lauderdale Beach

 

By Jane Feehan

Settlers first came to Fort Lauderdale with farming in mind. It was the Everglades they set their hopes on; its rich dark muck was a farmer’s dream—if the Everglades could be drained.

To promote interest in developing farmlands in 1911-1912, city pioneers and Board of Trade delegates traveled to nearby cities by train with a large banner advertising Fort Lauderdale as Gateway to the Everglades. The message: “Our little town is the gateway that leads not only to the Everglades but to success.”

A variety of promotions were used to entice settlers into farm life. In 1911, The Everglades Land Sales Company advertised a "celebration" or exhibition to show off a swamp plow, the Buckeye Traction Pulverizer. A successful tool in Louisiana, it was sure to be in Florida. It could plow 10 acres a day at $3 per acre unlike the “old way” at $6 per acre. Prospective land–and plow—buyers were directed to Fort Lauderdale where they could take a boat to the South Canal and to the company’s experimental farm. It was expected to “attract a large number of people.” (No follow up on this claim.)

In 1922, even though hopes waned about draining the Everglades, the Carmichael Development Company touted Fort Lauderdale as the “Key City to the East Coast of Tomorrow.” The community it was promoting, Placidena, did not sit in the Everglades but in town (today a city subdivision).

Everglades postcard 1935
Florida State Archives

Advertisements shifted away from Everglades by the mid-1920s. Draining exploits failed; Mother Nature prevailed. Messaging was different.

Seaboard Holding Company ads elevated new reasons for moving to Fort Lauderdale while lowering prominence of the Everglades:

• It is on the ocean
• It is on Dixie Highway
• It is below the frostline
• It is at the Everglades
• It is 26 miles north of Miami
• It is 41 miles south of Palm Beach
• The FEC (Florida East Coast Railway)
• The Seaboard Air Line Railway is coming through (airline here refers to shortest rail route)
• The New River is 90 feet deep, right in the city
• It has churches, schools, banks, hotels, golf courses, fishing, bathing, boating and a wonderful climate all year round.

Today, most are moving here for many of the reasons above but even more important, to get away from other states. Many will be unhappy residents during summers when weather is not wonderful but might feel at home with the congested roads and burgeoning high rises.

Fort Lauderdale 2021

For more on draining the Everglades see: 

https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2021/01/napoleon-bonaparte-broward-and.html

-----

Sources:

Miami Daily Metropolis, Jan. 23, 1911

Miami Daily Metropolis, July 19, 1911

Miami Herald, Dec. 30, 1922

Miami Herald, April 7, 1926

Tags: Gateway to the Everglades, Fort Lauderdale development, Everglades farming, Fort Lauderdale land sales, Fort Lauderdale history

Determined to move to Fort Lauderdale 100 years ago ... on foot

One man's way of traveling to Fort Lauderdale 100 years ago could become more popular this century with fuel expenses continuing to rise. Probably not. But, like many today, Jake Emich was determined to come to Florida--Fort Lauderdale--specifically.

A story from 1920 reveals how early Fort Lauderdale captured the imagination of Northerners (spelling and punctuation as in the story).

Jake Emich, eighty-five years of age, but rugged and strong, finished a walk from Cleveland, Ohio, when he arrived in Fort Lauderdale the latter part of last week. Mr. Emich left Cleveland the first of July, stopping for several days in Kentucky.

This is not the first long walk that the aged man has made. Several times he has walked across the continent, which probably accounts for his ability to make such a long voyage at his advanced age. It is probably his last one, however, for he likes Fort Lauderdale and declares that he will rent or buy a farm in this section and engage in farming.

Tags: Fort Lauderdale in the 1920s, Fort Lauderdale history

 

Source:

Fort Lauderdale Herald, October 15, 1920

Fort Lauderdale's War Memorial Auditorium: tribute to the fallen transformed

 

War Memorial Auditorium 1967
Florida State Archives

War Memorial Auditorium
800 NE 8th Street
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304
https://www.fortlauderdale.gov

Owned and operated by Fort Lauderdale, the War Memorial Auditorium opened January 14, 1950. The building seated 2,100 and served as a venue for wrestling matches, exhibits, shows, graduations, dances and more.

Miami News columnist William McHale, Jr. wrote about the memorial building, constructed for $450,000, shortly after it opened:

In the summer of 1946 civic groups began talking about a suitable commemoration for men
and women of Fort Lauderdale who had served in the recent war.

Ideas on what that memorial should be were plentiful, but Fort Lauderdale was in the swirl of a rapid growing period, and the need for a big gathering spot was pretty apparent. So the plan to
build an auditorium was approved by the civic organizations and work began in a hurry -
Miami News, Feb. 23, 1950

The War Memorial Auditorium is located at the 86-acre Holiday Park, which opened in 1947.

In 1948, some residents thought the auditorium would be too big for a small city the size of Fort Lauderdale. When it opened, others said it was not only a tribute to those who died in war but also a symbol of what the living could accomplish.

Today, the War Memorial Auditorium is seen as too small for this growing city. It is undergoing a major transformation.

The city of Fort Lauderdale and the Florida Panthers hockey team entered into agreement in June 2019 to renovate the facility. The Panthers are providing $45 million to build a public skating rink and a team training rink. The city will contribute $800,000 and lease its seven acres for $1 per year for 50 years to the Florida Panthers. The project should be completed summer of 2022.

Under renovation 2020

It is expected the facility will serve as a new family destination. Skaters can cool off in the rink. It will also seat 4,000 for a variety of performances or shows. A 5,000 sq ft restaurant will overlook the park, which will be newly landscaped with additional trees. Lots of excitement to come--and frustration with traffic.

Let us not forget the reason the War Memorial Auditorium was built.

For what's to come see:  https://ftlwarmemorial.com

____

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 24, 1948

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 14, 1950

Sun-Sentinel, Jan. 26, 2018

Sun-Sentinel, Oct. 18, 2019

Sun-Sentinel, March 3, 2022

Tags: Fort Lauderdale in the 1950s, War Memorial Auditorium, Florida Panthers, 

Fort Lauderdale history

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