Progresso Plaza: a stroll through early Fort Lauderdale history

 

Progresso Plaza
901 Progresso Drive 

Dixie Highway

By Jane Feehan 

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

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began during Fort Lauderdale’s first land boom of 1910-1911, when hopes for draining the nearby Everglades for farming superseded reality.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The patio at Patio Bar and Pizza

 

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale Daily News Oct 27, 1925

Fort Lauderdale Daily News July 20, 1925

Fort Lauderdale Daily News July 21, 1925

Fort Lauderdale Daily News June 9, 1926

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, June 13, 1926

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, June 27, 1926

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, July 31, 1926

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Aug. 17, 1926

Sun-Sentinel, Nov. 5, 1986

Sun-Sentinel, May 22, 1994

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