The Idlewyld story - Hortt converts swamp to top-tier real estate

 

By Jane Feehan

The history of Fort Lauderdale’s Idlewyld neighborhood reflects the story of Fort Lauderdale’s M.A. Hortt. A former streetcar conductor and gold prospector from Utah, “Al” Hortt came to Fort Lauderdale in 1910. Possibilities for wealth generation were far greater here than in the desert.

The city saw its first land boom in 1910, when, according to Hortt, it claimed only 121 residents. As he wrote in his biography, Gold Coast Pioneer, he arrived when Fort Lauderdale was just a “wide spot” in the road. Not for long. News spread “up north” about Fort Lauderdale’s real estate. The early boom proved to be an early bust but Hortt’s roster of subsequent land deals (and travel escapades), could spin heads. The focus here, however, is Idlewyld.

Hortt and business partner Bob Dye bought a piece of swampy land in 1921 that spanned from the Las Olas bridge (opened 1917) to the “intersection of New River Sound” and beyond. They envisioned a subdivision on part of it but needed a developer with money. Hortt was familiar with Miami developer Carl Fisher’s success in converting Miami Beach's water-logged land into desirable real estate; he wanted to apply the same method in Fort Lauderdale.   

According to Hortt, he took a beach walk near Las Olas where he met visitor Tom Stillwell. Stillwell was looking for a real estate opportunity and the garrulous broker had just the deal: if Stillwell could put up $50,000, they could create a company with $100,000 of land and cash assets; Stillwell would get a 50 percent share. 

To convince the visitor about development possibilities, Hortt took him to Miami Beach to view Fisher’s projects. Stillwell was sold on the development idea for Fort Lauderdale and brought in three partners from Indiana. The New River Development Company was formed in 1921 and dredging of the Intracoastal and New River Sound began. Dredging would provide the soil to build up the swampy tract.

The name Idlewyld was chosen and its land platted. Streets, sidewalks, water mains and electric lines were installed after dredging.

To buoy its appeal, coconut palms were planted along its streets. However, for months only a few lots sold. They lowered prices and gave lots to the investors for building homes. The Indiana partners pooled resources and built one house. The company also offered to give away 10 lots for house construction. By year’s end, only four houses were built; the town experienced a real estate slowdown. 

Intracoastal view,
with Las Olas Bridge at left

As is often said today, the best time to advertise is during an economic slump. Savvy Hortt suggested he would handle advertising if a deal could be made with the partners. He wanted a 25 percent commission on sales of all lots. Prices would depend on location and would run $2,500 to $5,000. The New River Development Company approved and the first advertisement went to the Miami Herald.

One article in the Miami Herald reported that a promotion of the subdivision would include free transportation from Miami, dinners and a river trip. An ad in the same paper beckoned visitors to buy a lot in “Fort Lauderdale’s sub-division deluxe with people you’ll be glad to have for neighbors: men of wealth and social standing and a-1 character.”

The advertising campaign proved to be a success.  Hortt claimed in his book that he and Dye sold every lot “in less than one week,” and each for the price originally agreed upon. Success led to plans for a $250,000 hotel in Idlewyld. Promised to be “bigger and better than any yet planned” the hotel was expected to sit on six lots and open in one year.

The Idlewyld neighborhood gained attention. Hortt built his home there. In 1925, while on one of his many trips, he was offered $60,000 for that house. Upon his return he upped the price to $75,000 (a steep price then) and sold it to businesswoman Helen Brooks Smith. The sale made local headlines.

Less than a year later, the aftermath of the 1926 hurricane brought the South Florida real estate boom to a halt.  It’s interesting to note that during the storm, the U.S. Coast Guard’s houseboat station, Moccasin, was lifted from its mooring and thrown across the waterway near Idlewyld. The Coast Guard took up temporary quarters in the “deluxe” subdivision in two houses donated by W.C. Kyle until they could re-establish their base.

Hortt remained solvent and developed several neighborhoods such as Beverly Heights. He was recognized for guiding Fort Lauderdale’s recovery from the storm. He served as mayor and commissioner of Fort Lauderdale and then bought large tracts of land in Pompano Beach, where he died (750 Ocean Blvd.) in 1958 at 77.

And Idlewyld? It remains one of the city’s most beautiful neighborhoods with many of the original houses replaced with multi-lot sized homes selling for millions (as of this post, 17 on the market). The Riviera Isles/Idlewyld area is home to 508 residents. 

Hortt’s legacy includes not only his sales record of early city communities but his recognition of waterside locations in boosting real estate values. Many who came to Fort Lauderdale in the early 1900s thought real estate fortunes were to be found in agricultural land to the west. Hortt knew better.

Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

Sources:

Hortt, M.A., Gold Coast Pioneer. New York: Exposition Press, 1955.

Miami Herald, Jan. 20, 1924

Miami Herald, Feb. 20, 1924

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 25, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, April 17, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 13, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 16, 1926

Fort Lauderdale News, June 20, 1926

Fort Lauderdale News, March 1, 1952

Fort Lauderdale News, April 15, 1958

Tags: Idlewyld neighborhood, M.A. Hortt, Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale communities, history of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale in the 1920s, Jane Feehan

Edgar Gould, his island off Las Olas and a new page in Fort Lauderdale history

Plans drawn for development - 1940
Courtesy of Debbie Gould Tucker

By Jane Feehan

Edgar Davis Gould’s purchase of a swampy, mangrove-covered island off Las Olas Boulevard in March 1940 was reported as the largest single transaction in that area since the boom days of the 1920s. Created in 1925 with soil dredged from New River, the property had been held by Mr. and Ms. W.L. Mensendieck since 1935. The sales price was not revealed in news accounts.

Work began within 10 days after the contract was signed with installation of a water main by the city of Fort Lauderdale and immediate landscaping with royal palms. Gould planned 50 lots. He worked with other property owners and the city to widen and beautify the bridge to the area off 23^rd Avenue (an area now known as Seven Isles but at one time Lauderdale Isles). Fort Lauderdale News claimed, “development of Gould Island writes a new page in history of Fort Lauderdale’s growth.”

Gould also may have written a new page in sales history.

In May of 1941, the Fort Lauderdale News reported he had sold eight more lots than any agent selling off Las Olas. Gould had set a record: he sold 10 lots in 10 days. He made big waves after arriving in 1940, just months before the “island” purchase and launch of its development. Lots generally went for $4,000. Larger, waterfront lots sold for $17,500 in 1944. The island was completely developed by 1945.* A recent (2023) search of real estate listings there featured a house for sale for more than $31 million.

Some said Gould’s immediate sales success was a credit to his planning skills. Others would say his law degree from Harvard University in 1900 set his course. Though he practiced law in Boston, his birthplace, he changed careers after five years. He stepped into advertising in New York City and then served as manager and director of the Regal Shoe Company.

Granddaughter Debbie Gould Tucker, today a St. Augustine resident along with husband Bill Tucker, says the family isn’t quite sure why he left New Rochelle, New York but it may have been because his son (Debbie’s father) and namesake Edgar D. Gould II or “Bill” as he was called, was serving in the U.S. Navy in Fort Lauderdale where he also made his home.

The senior Gould’s move to Fort Lauderdale was a good one at the right time. His sales record, the newspaper reported, “establishes him as number one representative of the spirit, tempo and enterprise which has kept Fort Lauderdale in the van [guard] of the nation’s fastest-growing cities for the last decade.”

Gould Castle and widened bridge circa 1940
Courtesy of Debbie Gould Tucker

He built one of the first homes on Gould Island in 1941 on Del Mar Drive. The architect was Carlos B. Schoeppl and the builder was Richardson Construction, Debbie’s uncle. He landscaped the home with a circular tower (thus its name, Gould’s Castle) with a Victory V and with two royal palms on either side as “sentinels” (see photo). It was dressed up with planted “Legion of Honor marigolds,” a fitting acknowledgment of World War II efforts.  

Advertisements for the island highlighted 97.5-foot frontage on lots that were already graded to street level in a community just two or three minutes to the beach and three or four minutes “to town.” One ad closed with encouragement to “call your broker or Mr. Gould at his home at 1621.”

Gould’s real estate endeavors included the purchase of Donaldson Apartments from the Donaldson estate in 1943 for $45,000.  It was the largest real estate transaction of the week prior to Dec. 11. 

The building featured 10 large apartments and a penthouse (it remains today as a renamed boutique hotel behind the Sheraton at 300 N. Birch Rd.). This is what Debbie Gould Tucker remembers fondly of grandfather’s Fort Lauderdale legacy.

“We spent summer days there, just off the beach, with a clear view of the Intracoastal,” Debbie recollects. “During the winter, visitors—family friends—came from New Rochelle for three months. My grandmother Lalia, Edgar’s wife, lived there with her sister after he died.”

Gould died Jan. 28, 1945, at age 70 just a few years after moving to Fort Lauderdale. He left a big legacy in a short time including his son, Bill, who went into local yacht sales, granddaughter Debbie, and her three siblings, Patty, Billy and Eddie, all born in Fort Lauderdale. They are also related to the Slayton family (auto sales). Bill Gould’s children grew up near the Las Olas Isles, but Debbie often drove—well, nearly flew—over today's seven bridges connecting the streets of Gould Island for fun (as a few of us did as highschoolers).  Her husband, Bill Tucker, is related to Verne Tucker who contributed a column in the Fort Lauderdale News, Sun Strokes, a chuckle maker.

A chat with most anyone born in Fort Lauderdale during the 1940s or 50s tends to weave a map of family connections with contributions to our history. 

This, the way we used to be …

Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

 -----

*Today, Seven Isles is home to about 1,100 residents in 315 households on nine streets:

Aqua Vista Boulevard

Barcelona Drive

Castilla Isle

Del Mar Place

De Sota Drive

De Sota Terrace

Pelican Isle

Sea Island Drive

Seven Isles Drive

 

 

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, March 1, 1940

Fort Lauderdale News, March 18, 1940

Fort Lauderdale News, May 7, 1940

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 6, 1940

Fort Lauderdale News, March 9, 1941

Fort Lauderdale News, April 27, 1941

Fort Lauderdale News, May 25, 1941

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 14, 1941

Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 4, 1941

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 2, 1941

Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 25, 1943

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 11, 1943

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 2, 1944

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 29, 1945

Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, history of Fort Lauderdale, Seven Isles, Fort Lauderdale communities, Edgar D. Gould, Debbie Gould Tucker

Lumber schooners delivered what railroads could not to Fort Lauderdale

 

Abandoned lumber schooners, Miami 1926
State Archives of Florida

By Jane Feehan

 “A new era in water transportation for Fort Lauderdale” was heralded in 1925 with the arrival of schooners delivering lumber. The Florida East Coast Railway could not meet the delivery demands of the city’s construction boom; ships expanded its logistics.

To supplement rail efforts, schooners were pulled out of storage or quickly constructed as “lighters” to move lumber, other building materials, plumbing supplies or furniture from Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville and other east coast ports. They traveled by ocean or inland waterway. Ships brought what the railroad could not.  It wasn’t necessarily the easiest solution.

In November 1925, the 73-foot Spanish schooner Padro Garcia hit electric wires strung across New River, causing city outages until Southern Utility Company came to the rescue. About 4,500 volts lit up and damaged the ship’s anchor chain and other metal parts. The crew of eight along with a tabby cat and brindle bulldog were rescued. So were 80 tons of expensive 100-year-old Spanish tiles.

Storms wrecked a few ocean-going schooners off the Florida coast (crews were all saved). When they arrived at the harbor of Fort Lauderdale, some ships encountered problems navigating the sand bar blocking Lake Mabel, which was not cleared and opened as a port until 1928 (later Port Everglades). Other schooners coming down the waterway needed power boat or tugboat assistance moving through Tarpon Bend on the way to city docks.

Ships also carried cargo to the Las Olas Sound in the Idlewyld area. In December 1925, the largest schooner to arrive in Fort Lauderdale, the 215-foot Richmond with its nine-foot draft, was temporarily grounded in 7.5 feet of water while trying to reach the sound. It carried 320,000 feet of lumber, but the crew had to offload 130,000 feet to raft ashore; it was bound for Broward Lumber Company who picked up the valuable wood near the Las Olas Bridge. (Opened in 1924, the company advertised its motto: “We invented service in Fort Lauderdale.”)

The three-masted Richmond, sailing from Savannah, stopped in Fort Lauderdale on August 25, 1926, just weeks before the devastating September hurricane. The ship had been temporarily sidelined by a storm near Jacksonville and carried 300 tons of Long Island gravel. The cargo was used for repair from another hurricane and construction of the city’s waterworks, including its sewers. Little did they know that Fort Lauderdale would soon need other recovery supplies.

Mills and Mills, the company that owned the Richmond, established offices at the Sunset Building on Andrews Avenue. They hoped the schooner would be making a Fort Lauderdale stop every three weeks. They anticipated that Fort Lauderdale would be developed into “one of the finest seaports in Florida.”

Mills and Mills was right about Fort Lauderdale’s status as a seaport. Nature and economics proved them wrong about the viability of lumber schooners. After the Great Hurricane of 1926, South Florida boom days turned into an economic retreat. 

Many schooners were abandoned, especially in Miami (see photo above) where there was far more dockage at Bayfront. But the reason to abandon wasn’t necessarily the devastating hurricane; seldom was there a return cargo. Most abandoned schooners were destined for lumber salvage.

Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

  Sources:

Miami Tribune, Nov. 30, 1924

Fort Lauderdale News, June 18, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 13, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 3, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 4, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, March 6, 1926

Fort Lauderdale News Aug. 26, 1926

Miami Herald, March 24, 1926

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

Fort Lauderdale's Little Yankee Stadium: work now, play later and people power

 

Little Yankee Stadium,
State Archives of Florida

Little Yankee Stadium

Today,  Floyd V. Hull Stadium
2800 SW 8th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315
954-828-7275

 

By Jane Feehan

Some called him “candidate for a nuthouse.” But Floyd Vance Hull, attorney and father, showed the city of Fort Lauderdale what could be done with a little elbow grease and a lot of community spirit.

In June of 1963 he presented a plan for a Little League ballpark to the city commission and its parks and advisory board. The proposed site was a “swampy” piece of “surplus” city land, not far from where the  Yankees trained. 

The catch: the park wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime; it would be paid for with donations. He asked only that the city prioritize Little League operations for 10 years in exchange for a dollar a year. Hull’s proposal raised eyebrows and stoked ridicule. Mayor Cy Young held little regard for the idea and had wanted to sell the land.

Perhaps on a dare or convinced by Hull’s enthusiasm, Fort Lauderdale approved the plan in September 1963.

Hull delivered. By January 1965 he had raised more than $200,000 in cash, materials and labor. About 1,100 contributors stepped up to the plate (and were individually credited per terms of agreement); donations continued to flow as the first phase of the project was completed that month. 

Over 60,000 cubic yards of fill was donated and then leveled at no charge. About 12,000 square feet of sod was laid by volunteers—mostly fathers, mothers, Little League umpires and players. A slogan was adopted, “work now, play later.” Lighting eventually installed was deemed as good as that of Yankee Stadium and the Orange Bowl.

Little Yankee Stadium transitioned from a crazy idea to reality. City and county officials were “astonished.” Hull lauded retired U.S Army Reserve Captain Alan Morton and his Fort Lauderdale engineering unit for bringing the project to fruition. His team of 131 reservists worked with trucks on the field as part of their weekend training commitment.

In mid-February 1965, the Federal Little League and its senior division held tryouts for 24 teams with slots for 400 kids, 9-15 years old. A tournament was held that summer. The Broward County School Board installed 2,000 feet of fencing in exchange for rights to play junior varsity football at the park, which soon held three baseball fields and one football field. Sponsors such as Powell Ford lined up to help pay for state tournaments.   

By March 1971, stadium facilities, valued at $750,000 held 1,000 seats, included a press box, concession and restroom building. Little League headquarters claimed the park to be the “finest facility of its kind in the nation" and the “number one Little League facility in the world.” 

The Big League World Series featuring 16-18 year olds, was held at Fort Lauderdale’s Little League Stadium for 29 years until 1998. Slammed by low attendance and difficulties securing hotel accommodations for its nine-day schedule, the series moved to another state. (The series ran its course from 1968 until after the 2016 games.)

Today Fort Lauderdale’s Floyd Hull Stadium, a city park, features baseball/softball facilities, grills, tables, swings and more for recreation.   

Floyd Hull, president of the local Federal Little League, the Little League Stadium and director of the Big League World Series retired in 1998 or 1999. He was born in Fort Lauderdale, graduated from Pompano Beach High School and the University of Florida law school. He served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) from 1951-1954 and as municipal judge in Fort Lauderdale. A husband and father of four, he died at 87 in 2015. 

His was a life well lived and testament to “people power.”  

Today we need more with Hull’s vision, enthusiasm and ability to rally community spirit.

 Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 10, 1965

Fort Lauderdale News, May 21, 1967

Fort Lauderdale News, March 30, 1971

Fort Lauderdale News, April 3, 1973

Sun-Sentinel, Sept. 10, 1998

Sun-Sentinel, Dec. 29, 2015

Tags: Little Yankee Stadium, Floyd Hull, Fort Lauderdale sports, Florida sports, baseball, Fort Lauderdale history, Little League, Big League World Series

Short lived Winterhurst leaves Fort Lauderdale ice hockey legacy

 

Photo by Duckhunter6424, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

By Jane Feehan

Winterhurst, Fort Lauderdale’s first ice rink had a short run in the mid-1960s. Its most enduring legacy, perhaps, was interest in the feasibility of Florida ice hockey.

Ohioans Doris and John Nolan announced in September 1962 that ground was to be broken for an ice skating facility at 2829 North Federal Highway (today site of a Tesla showroom and service center). They brought 12 years of experience operating ice rinks in their home state and had raised $575,000 for their Fort Lauderdale project.

The 16,000-sf space would house an 85 ft by 185 ft ice rink with seating for about 800. A snack bar, lockers, rental skates, blade sharpening and sports shop to sell skates would also be available. A lot went into construction of that ice rink: 10 miles of pipe encased in concrete and 120 tons of refrigeration. Sepper Construction built the facility with a standard size ice hockey rink, and refrigeration experts Ahrendt Engineering oversaw rink construction.

It seemed like a good idea. The Viking, an ice-skating arena/restaurant and cocktail lounge had opened with some fanfare that summer in Dania Beach with Don Granger as president. The Nolan’s project had the support of Fort Lauderdale Mayor Cy Young who was enthusiastic about adding to Fort Lauderdale’s tourist attractions.

Winterhurst opened February 8, 1963. An opening attraction, the Zamboni, “a mechanical marvel,” cleared and polished skating surfaces (versions still operate today). Weekly advertisements for the rink announced a seven-day morning and night schedule for individual skating and figure skating clubs.  

By October that year, sponsors such as Cars-A-Popin and Anaconda Realty rallied to organize the South Florida Hockey Association; it was headed by Steve Craig. The association introduced their teams (based on age divisions), players and the sport to Fort Lauderdale on October 28, 1963—the first competitive ice hockey game in Fort Lauderdale. (Ice hockey was already a thing in Miami by the early 1960s.) 

Winterhurst hockey tickets, according to advertisements, were a $1.10, including tax. The association organizers hoped to see a “full-fledged professional hockey league” in South Florida. They also envisioned Fort Lauderdale as “one of the world’s sports centers.”  

Whether spurred by the high cost of operating or low attendance, the Nolans began transitioning Winterhurst to a teen dance center in 1965. They wanted to take a couple of months off to melt the ice and open the doors to teens for part of the year.  Fort Lauderdale teacher David McKinley partnered with the Ohio couple to oversee a place for local kids to go. Winterhurst could host as many as 3,000 dancing teens and already had a powerful sound system.

By June 1965, the place was opened to large teen dances, a hootenanny with square dancing and pool tables (a note from parents was required to play) and pinball machines. The arena was also the site for band auditions and charity flea market sales. The first dance drew 500 teens; about 1,350 attended the second dance. Competition may have come from the Armory where teen dances had been held for three years by 1965. There were also teen dances at the War Memorial Auditorium during those years.

Winterhurst patrons were locked out in October 1965 by the building’s landlord. (Some history is missing here because first news accounts indicated the Nolans owned the building.) The couple said they had not paid rent for two months while ice melted at the rink.  Another hangout for teens, Code 1, followed the Winterhurst occupancy. The Nolans moved on to manage the Orleans Inn in Pompano.

And ice hockey? Is this a back-to-the future tale about the Florida Panthers? Not exactly. But it does point to the keen interest locals and new residents have held in the sport since the 1960s. 

The missing ingredient was money. That arrived with billionaire Wayne Huizenga. He founded the Florida Panthers in 1993 after the National Hockey League granted him an expansion franchise. 

The Florida Panthers played in Miami until 1998 until they moved to Broward County to play at the FLA live Arena in Sunrise.The Florida Panthers, still on the move, will open a training facility at the War Memorial in late 2023. Skating will be open to the public as well as restaurants and other amenities.  

A full circle tale …

 Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

Sources:

Photo of skates: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tubeskate.jpg (D

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 29, 1962

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 25, 1963

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 26, 1963

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 17, 1963

Fort Lauderdale News Nov. 3, 1963

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 23, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, April 3, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, June 2, 1965

Fort Lauderdale News, June 11, 1965

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 15, 1965

Fort Lauderdale News, July 22, 1966

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 18, 1967

Florida Panthers

Tags: first competitive ice hockey game in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale ice skating, Florida Panthers

Broward County and Fort Lauderdale traffic congestion: it's elementary in a vertical city

Galt Mile - Fort Lauderdale 2020

 

By Jane Feehan

South Florida traffic issues have commanded headlines for decades, offering little more than hope that roads will catch up to population.

During the 1950s the worst traffic jam in Florida was reported to be the bridge over Fort Lauderdale's New River at U.S. Highway 1, where it took 45 minutes to cross. The Henry E. Kinney Tunnel opened in 1960, helping to ease the traffic problem. That year Broward County’s population was counted at about 343,000, up from 83,000 residents in 1950.

Traffic was abysmal in 1979, the decade that many high-rises were built (and recession followed). East-west routes were inadequate (and still are in most areas). There were 793,074 registered vehicles in Broward County that year with a census of 986,000 residents. Commissioner Anne Kolb said, “Broward County roads are terrible.” She was right way back in 1979. Parts of A-1-A in Pompano then were already at 140 percent capacity, and that was only one example of the traffic problems.

Mega hotels & condos
Fort Lauderdale Beach 2021

Expectations pointed to about one million Broward County residents by 2000. That estimate was wrong. According to the U.S. Census, 1.6 million lived in Broward that year. In 2022, the population jumped to nearly 1,984,000 residents with 1.623 million auto vehicle registrations, according to  Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. (Broward County reported 1.9 million registered vehicles but probably included all vehicles, including mobile homes and vessels.)

Downtown Fort Lauderdale is booming with one project after another getting a green light from the Fort Lauderdale commission. A reported 40 projects to include 16,000 condos and apartments were in the pipeline in July 2022. New projects are announced each month—sometimes weekly. It’s already a problem getting emergency responders through downtown. Fort Lauderdale is now a vertical city. And, residents are leaving downtown as fast as they can. Quality of life issues, I’m told.

A Broward County 30-year one-penny sales tax passed a vote in 2018 and is expected to raise $16 billion for transportation projects, including rapid transit options. 

Miami-Dade passed a half-penny tax in 2002 for transportation improvements. Let’s hope Broward County’s one-penny tax is better directed. Miami-Dade’s tax has been diverted to maintenance and operations and special projects. “A lot of the transportation promises of two decades ago have not been fulfilled,” reported WLRN.

As with California, it’s doubtful Florida drivers in this big state will be using mass transit. The problems (and additional expense) always seem to be getting riders from rail stops to final locations. There is no synchronization of north-south initiatives with east-west follow-through.

And “rising seas?” When are engineers and government officials going to get brave enough to admit that developing mega hotels and mega condos on nearly every square inch of Broward County affects water runoff and adds to flooding problems? And of course, traffic is worse than ever (visualize evacuating in an EV when a hurricane threatens or returning in one when there's no electricity).  As Sherlock Holmes used to say, “It’s elementary, my dear Watson.”

 Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

Downtown Fort Lauderdale 2022: the vertical city

Other Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 7, 1979

Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

The Real Deal, July 1, 2022

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Jan. 28, 2023

Broward County (Broward.org)

 

Tags: Broward County traffic problems, Broward County history, Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale traffic, Fort Lauderdale downtown, downtown Fort Lauderdale

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. (Residents of this condo were forced to evacuate Sept. 27, 2024 because the building was deemed unsafe.)

 *Katie Lambert was a beloved auxiliary volunteer

Copyright © 2023, 2024. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

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

Sun-Sentinel, Sept. 27, 2024

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

No need for fish tales in early Fort Lauderdale ... only a fish count

 

Deep Sea Fishing advertisement
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory circa 1930

 

By Jane Feehan

Visitors knew before Fort Lauderdale was officially established it offered great fishing.  Fishing yarns would be exchanged in the late 1890s and early 1900s at the Stranahan Trading Post on the New River and aboard the settlement's first party houseboat, the Wanderer.* 

In 1930, the Fort Lauderdale Daily News praised the city's fishing opportunities:

People fish everywhere in Fort Lauderdale--from any of its countless bridges, from city docks in the heart of the business section, from the jetties--and with equal success, property owners of waterfront homes have been known to make record catches ... standing in their own front yards.

There were few tales about the fish that got away because they didn't. The fish count was the story.

Amidst the city's growing fishing reputation, which included the tale of a whale**, deep sea fishing charters emerged as a viable and growing business during the 1930s. Advertisements for deep sea fishing on the "Cruiser Joy" first appeared in Fort Lauderdale in 1939.  

The vessel, docked at the Andrews Avenue Bridge, was owned and operated by Captain Darcy Willis. Several hours fishing aboard a boat for $2 with bait and tackle ... a bargain even then. Willis was already known as a sports fishing guide in Morehead City, North Carolina where he won a few fishing tournaments. His name and his next boat, Joy II, also appeared in local newspapers in 1940. News acccounts track his fishing exploits from Fort Lauderdale to the Saint Lucie River. He and his fishing passengers caught kingfish, amberjack, sailfish and at one time a reporter wrote, a 322-pound sunfish. By the late 1940s it appears Willis was operating once again in Morehead City. He seems to have droppd off the Fort Lauderdale radar after that. 

Another popular charter fishing boat of that decade, the Reel Lucky, owned and operated by Captain Reuben Munroe, garnered media attention in the late 1930s with news about several large "hauls" of fish. 

From informal fishing trips to charter fishing excursions, to rodeos that drew competing anglers during the 1930s (and today), fishing in Fort Lauderdale remains a popular pastime and sport. The fish, however do not remain as plentiful, but hope for a good catch springs eternal. 

* For more on the Wanderer, see search box

** For the whale tale see search box.

Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

Sources: 

News and Obsever (Raleigh), Aug. 20, 1930

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Dec. 1, 1930

Fort Lauderdale News, March 25, 1935

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, March 4, 1939

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Feb. 22, 1940  

News and Observer, April 26, 1948

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

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

First car in Miami 
C.H. Billings, 1899
a Locomobile
 State  of Florida Archives

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

__________

Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

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

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,  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

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

 Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

 

Saks Fifth Avenue 1955 - Fort Lauderdale
Florida State Archives

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” at 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. According to news accounts, EMC claimed declining attendance, revenue loss of $1.1 million in 1992 and insufficient space for expansion 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, the Fort Lauderdale News reported four parrots were stolen

Animal activism gained advocates during the 1990s. In 1992, it was reported that 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.

  Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

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.

Copyright © 2020, 2022. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

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