Coral Ridge Shopping Plaza opens in Fort Lauderdale with Britts as anchor - 1962

Today: new name, new stores

By Jane Feehan

Construction plans for Coral Ridge Shopping Plaza were announced August, 1960.  James Hunt and Steve Calder, under the aegis of Coral Ridge Properties, and Jack Cantor of Miami-based Cantor Company, teamed up to develop a 33-acre track at Oakland Park Boulevard and Federal Highway.

A 275,000 square-foot shopping center with parking for 2,500 cars opened late 1962 on the $8 million property. Its two anchor stores were JCPenney and Britts Department Store. The plaza was constructed in four sections, or covered malls and was later enclosed, giving rise to the claim it was the first airconditioned  mall in Florida. (According to some sources, Hollywood Mall, in Hollywood, FL built in 1964, is the first airconditioned mall in South Florida with a major department store; another source claims Lauderderhill Mall, opened in 1966 on N. State Road 7, was the first enclosed, air-conditioned mall built in the southern United States; by then the Coral Ridge Plaza was already enclosed and airconditioned.)

Britts opened Nov. 8, 1962. It was owned by the JJ Newberry Company, which had been known as a five-and-dime retailer in its early days. The first Britts was built in Fort Lauderdale. Newberry chose the name out of 200 suggestions. In 1928, the company had taken over a chain of Britts dime stores in the Pacific Northwest. Newberry wanted a name that was short and easy to remember for its more upscale department store; Britts it was.

The 165,000 square-foot store had 204 departments on two floors. They sold televisions, gourmet food, and home services such as decorating, roof painting and landscaping. Britts also had an art gallery – and a fur salon with items ranging in sale from $159 to $1,600. They also offered cold 

storage for furs, a service my mother used during the humid off season.  A hearing aid center also drew shoppers. One of its biggest attractions was a great cafeteria with a cocktail lounge. Those who grew up in Fort Lauderdale during the 1960s may also remember a promotional visit by Michael Landon, Little Joe Cartwright of the TV show, Bonanza.  He patiently signed hundreds of autographs that day at Britts.

Three additional Britts stores opened in Lauderdale Lakes, Palm Beach Lakes, and Winter Haven. By the late 70s, JJ Newberry was acquired by McCrory Stores. McCrory’s soon entered its decline and eventually went bankrupt. Britts in Fort Lauderdale was closed during the early 80s. JBryons moved in and also met its demise. Today, Target is now the center’s most popular anchor store. Coral Ridge Shopping Center is now Coral Ridge Mall.

Sources:

New York Times, Aug. 24, 1960

New York Times, Nov. 9, 1962

Palm Beach Post, Nov. 21, 1978

Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale in the 1960s, Fort Lauderdale shopping centers, Florida film researcher,  historical researcher

Port Everglades welcomes Bay of Pigs prisoners, families

New arrivals aboard Shirley Lykes
Courtesy of Robert Del Pozo,
then child in center

By Jane Feehan

Most think of Miami as the debarkation city for Cuban exiles aboard ships after Fidel Castro came to power but Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades welcomed more than 2,000 Cuban citizens in 1962 and 63.

After the disastrous exile-led Bay of Pigs Invasion of April 1961, more than 1,000 men of Brigade 2506 were captured and convicted by the government of the island country. Some were executed, others sentenced to prison for life. Castro decided to ransom the remaining prisoners - and their families.  Successful negotiations for prisoner release and release of more than 1,000 relatives included ransom (“indemnification set by the revolutionary tribunal”)  of polio vaccine, tractors, food and other supplies.

Supplies and equipment totaling $53 million was gathered and sent to Fort Lauderdale. Ships affiliated with the Committee of American Ship Lines donated services to the Red Cross to expedite the exchange. Part of the ransom was loaded aboard the SS African Pilot in Fort Lauderdale Dec. 21, 1962. On December 27, 923 prisoners and family members aboard the returning ship entered Port Everglades to a warm welcome. Two days later, President John Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline met the ransomed prisoners in a Cuban freedom rally at the Orange Bowl. 

Other family members remaining in Cuba sought freedom.

Castro told the U.S. he would allow a second group of relatives free for another ransom. On Jan. 25, 1963, the SS Shirley Lykes entered Port Everglades with 1,170 Cuban passengers. They received a more subdued greeting than the one offered the African Pilot with its freed prisoners. Fourteen buses were on hand to take the exiles to Miami and six ambulances took some to hospitals.

The manifest included 390 men, 527 women and 253 children - 14 people on stretchers and the Del Pozo family pictured above. Adults told stories of having to leave keys to their homes and cars to Castro. Some felt they were too old to start again in the U.S. Others looked forward to new opportunities, new lives.

Each was given a bag at Port Everglades from the Red Cross with food and toiletries. Children received toys. The SS Shirley Lykes also came laden with 250,000 vials of polio vaccine; Castro said he didn’t need it. Some said it was because there wasn’t enough refrigeration on the island; others said he might have received it from another source.

For many of those exiles that winter, including the Del Pozo family pictured above, Fort Lauderdale provided their first glimpse of the U.S., their new country. 

Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

Sources

Miami News, Dec 20, 1962

Palm Beach Post, Dec. 29, 1962

Miami News, Jan. 25, 1963

Tags: Cuban exiles in Port Everglades, Port Everglades history, Bay of Pigs, Fort Lauderdale history, film research