Warner Bros film showcases Florida, boosts tourism - 1950s

Chasing the Sun – Warner Bros., 1957
The Wonders of Nature’s Playground! On Land – and Under the Sea
Owen Crump and Charles L. Tedford, Writers
Andre de la Varre, Director

By Jane Feehan

In 1957, Warner Brothers released Chasing the Sun, a short movie that Herb Rau of the Miami News praised as doing the best job of selling Florida than was ever witnessed. The 31-minute film, directed by Andre de la Varre, told a story of travel in Central and South Florida seen through the eyes of an Austrian artist. Much of it highlighted attractions; some of those remain open today.

Color cameras caught the iconic water skiing girls at Dick Pope’s Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven (closed in 2009). The film also featured Miami attractions: Parrot Jungle (now Jungle Island), Rare Bird Farm (closed), Monkey Jungle (open) and Theater of the Sea in Islamorada (open).

A publicity piece provided by Warner Brothers, who had released 19 films about Florida during the 20 years prior to the 1957 film claimed, “Without question, Chasing the Sun does the greatest selling job for Florida to date, either by magazine, newspaper, or motion picture.” They expected 50 million to view the movie across the U.S.

Before the film was released, however, Miami Beach was drawing hordes of tourists to the Fontainebleau, Eden Roc and a growing roster of glamorous hotels. Arthur Godfrey was broadcasting his popular TV show from the Kenilworth. In 1957 the first leg of the Florida Turnpike was completed. New towns were established in Broward County, including Plantation in 1953. National Airlines saw a need to establish a route to accommodate keen interest in Florida and, in 1958, began non-stop passenger jet service between New York and Miami.

It could be the film reflected as well as promoted the growing interest in Florida.

Sources:

Miami News, Nov. 10, 1957

IMDB.org

Tags: Films about South Florida, Miami Beach in the 1950s, Miami in the 1950s, 
Florida film industry research

Hurricane history snapshot may hold surprises

Aftermath of Superstorm Sandy,
near Breezy Point, NY

By Jane Feehan

The North Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Always cause for speculation by the media, government, and the public, hurricanes are the topic of discussion for six months a year. 

Many tend to contrast and compare seasons in their life time, but weather history (and climatological history) has a backdrop of many decades and centuries.

Official hurricane tracking, however, spans a comparatively short time though an early printed weather map showed a hurricane off the U.S. coast between Jacksonville and Savannah Sept. 28, 1874. 

Early reporting came via oral accounts of local conditions. Decades later, ship radios played a key role in transmitting storm conditions and information from sea. Aircraft reconnaisance began in the mid 1940s. The first satellite for hurricane observation was deployed for the 1967 season.

Statistics for damage costs go up each decade, in part because more people live on coastlines and construction costs may rise each decade, if not year.

1. Hurricane deaths: most then, as now, die of drowning.

Most deaths:
Great Hurricane, mid-October 1780 in the Lesser Antilles: 22,000
9,000 died in Martinique
4,000-5,000 in St. Eustatius
4,326- Barbados

Thousands off shore

Also before the 20th century (and there were several, but stats not official):
Cheniere Caminada Hurricane, 1893, also known as Great October Storm
770 died in Louisiana
An estimated 2,000 died in Mississippi

Most US deaths 20th century:
Galveston Hurricane, Aug 27, 1900: official number is “at least” 8,000 with some estimates at 12,000

Second Deadliest in US 20th century:
Hurricane of 1928 or Okeechobee hurricane

2,500 deaths - official count as of 2003. Unofficially, the number exceeds 3,000. Bones of human remains continue to be recovered in rural areas.

Three others-not US- most deaths attributed to:
Aug. 25, 1930-Dominican Republic - about 8,000 died

Oct. 2, 1963-Flora in Haiti and Cuba - about 7,000 deaths
Sept. 18, 1974-Fifi in Honduras - between 3,000 and 10,000 deaths 

2. Forecasting Errors. There are many variables in forecast accuracy but there seems to be a correlation in: 

Years dominated by hurricanes or tropical storms that move through the low latitude easterly trade winds typically hold the lowest number of forecast errors.

Years in which hurricanes or tropical storms move through the mid-latitude westerlies (as during El Nino years) hold the largest number of errors.

3. Worst decades for Florida hurricanes:

1940-49: 10 hurricanes

1920-29:   8

1960-69:   8

2000-09:   7
2010-19:   3 and several near misses and tropical storms. Irma in 2017, Cat 5 Michael in 2018. 

Hurricane Ian of 2022, a Cat 5, was the deadliest hurricane to hit Florida since the 1935 storm, with a 161 deaths. 

4. Number of hurricanes to strike mainland U.S. each decade. A report is not yet published for the post 2004 decade. "Most-ever" assessments of all Atlantic tropical storms when basin activity couldn't be widely observed and measured accurately until the satellite era are questionable. Since 2000, another metric--Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE)--is also reported. This metric was developed by William Gray and his associates at Colorado State University during the 1990s. 

U.S. hurricane strikes by decade:

         

Years since 2004
Below are highlights only, not complete analyses, of Atlantic hurricane season summaries produced by the National Hurricane Center and Statista. Numbers change at times depending on new data, thus a delay in complete reporting.

2005
There were 28 named storms, 15 hurricanes, seven major and four hit the US. Since reliable records began around the middle of the 20th century (1944) only one season had exceeded 20 named (no names then but classified) storms before 1944 and that was 1933.

2012 

Two destructive hurricanes hit the US: Sandy and Isaac.

 The season ranks "above nornal, but not exceptionally so."

2017
Three major hurricanes struck the US in 2017: Harvey, Irma and Maria

2018
Two hurricanes, Florence and Michael made U.S. landfall (and two of tropical-storm strength) in 2018. That year, the North Atlantic hurricane season saw 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and two major hurricanes. This is above the 1981-2010 average of 12.1 named storms, 6.4 hurricanes, and 2.7 major hurricanes. The number of named storms ranked as a tie for the tenth most on record. 

2020
The North Atlantic had 30 named storms, which broke the previous record of 28 in 2005. Of those 30 storms, 13 were hurricanes, six of which were major hurricanes that struck the U.S. Both these totals are the second highest on record behind 2005.

2021
Two major hurricanes hit the U.S. in 2021. Eight tropical cyclones, including the two major hurricanes, made landfall in the contiguous U.S. in 2021, down from eleven in 2020.

2022 
Three major hurricanes struck the U.S. mainland in 2022. The North Atlantic hurricane activity was near its 1991-2020 average. Near normal but below basin activity slightly below average.

-----

Sources:

National Hurricane Center:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdec.shtml

https://sos.noaa.gov/catalog/datasets/hurricane-season-2012/

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/MIATWSAT.shtml

https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/damaging-2022-atlantic-hurricane-season-draws-to-close

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/A_brief_history_of_the_United_States_Hurricane_Warning_Service-Dunn.pdf


Statista:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/621238/number-of-hurricanes-that-made-landfall-in-the-us/

Tags: Hurricane statistics, hurricane history, hurricane deaths, deadliest hurricanes, Florida hurricanes, historical researcher, film researcher 

Fort Lauderdale's first beach developer

By Jane Feehan

David Clifford “D.C.” Alexander saw the mangrove-covered barrier island of Fort Lauderdale in 1909 and visualized its future.

Only Hugh Taylor Birch’s home (now a state park), the hunting lodge of Birch’s law partner, John McGregor Adams, and a wooden bath house sat on Fort Lauderdale’s beach then.

Ohioan Alexander came to Fort Lauderdale in 1909 after graduating from Stanford University – before the city was incorporated in 1911 and when only a few hundred residents called it home. Most residents lived along New River and looked toward the Everglades as their farming future. Alexander looked east and appreciated the settlement's beach side prospects, especially after spending time on California’s coastline and watching it develop.

During 1913, in a transaction that pre-dated (barely) the development of Miami Beach, Alexander purchased a tract along Fort Lauderdale’s beach that Adams sold to Georgia State Senator (and later U.S. Senator) Tom E. Watson.* The land, which included Adam’s old lodge (converted into the Las Olas Inn about 1917), stretched from today’s Granada Street to what is now Bahia Mar Marina. Alexander sub-divided the property with hopes of selling lots.

No doubt it was considered a risky venture. The beach was accessible only by boat at the time. That soon changed; the Las Olas Bridge was built in 1917-1918 and Alexander’s dream was realized.

He later gave property, 100 feet running south of the Casino pool (razed in 1965) to the city to be used as a park, now known as D.C. Alexander Park at 501 Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard.

Alexander went on to be president of Fort Lauderdale’s first bank and a prominent civic leader. He lived at 211 South Atlantic Blvd. at the time of his death in December, 1950.

----------------

* U.S. Senator Tom Watson (1856-1922) was a well-known national figure during his time. The Populist Party tapped him as both presidential and subsequently, vice-presidential nominee.  After he sold his Fort Lauderdale property to Alexander, he and his wife wintered in Jupiter. Serving Georgia, he died of asthma or a brain hemorrhage while in office.

Sources

Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Jan. 1, 1951

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flgsbc/resources/biographies.html

Gillis, Susan. Fort Lauderdale: The Venice of America. Charleston: Arcadia (2004).

Tags: Fort Lauderdale beach, Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale developers, Fort Lauderdale in the early 1900s

Art Deco and Miami Beach's revival

Aerial view of Art Deco area  -
 Florida State Archives

In May 1979 one square mile was designated “Old Miami Beach,” a historic preservation area comprising more than 1,600 buildings from the 1920s and 30s. Registered with the National Register of Historic Places, the area covers one fifth of the city from 6^th to 23^rd streets between Ocean Avenue and Alton Road.

Many refer to the area as the Art Deco District. Linear symmetry, gaudy ornamentation, and spires characterize many of the buildings of the Art Deco style. Most structures were built of Keystone, a limestone quarried in Florida. Roots of the term art deco came from the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs.  The term entered the English lexicon in the late 1960s.

The assorted architects of the buildings, which included Henry Hohauser, Roy France, L. Murray Dixon (and others) were not aware they were employing any particular style, nor did residents in Miami Beach, until the arrival of Barbara Capitman in 1973.

Capitman was a New York design journalist who saw something in Miami Beach that many did not – a distinctive style. For her, the buildings – hotels, apartment buildings and theaters - defined the city. She became the driving force behind the movement, along with friend Leonard Horowitz, to preserve the Art Deco District.

Miami Beach was inert in the late 1970s; one hotel was built in the late 60s but many of the old buildings were occupied by elderly residents. A battle against developers, some long-time residents, and old-time hotel owners ensued to preserve the area with its distinct architecture. When it was over, the federal government certified 400 buildings as historic.  Federal tax incentives were made available to those who renovated and rehabilitated their buildings in the historic style. Buildings could be knocked down but advance notice would have to be given and incentives would be taken away.

Some hotels were renovated and revived, beginning in the early 1980s; others were revived and then shuttered. Old Miami Beach has seen its ups and downs and buildings have seen their share of serial owners but South Beach is now viewed as one of the trendiest, most sophisticated destinations and night spots in the United States, with emphasis on youth, sophisticated dining and entertainment.

Thanks, Barbara Capitman (d.1990) and friend, Leonard Horowtiz (d. 1988) and legions of others who worked with them to preserve Art Deco architecture, ensuring Miami Beach’s place in history.

Sources:

Kleinberg, Howard. Woggles and Cheese Houses. Miami Beach: The Greater Miami Beach Hotel Association (2005).

Miami News, May 15, 1979

Miami News, Dec. 26, 1987

Tags: Art Deco Miami Beach, Miami Beach history, Miami Beach hotels, Miami Beach architects, film research, Miami Beach history

Miami Beach's first oceanside grand - Roney Plaza Hotel

Roney Plaza Hotel, circa 1930 - Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

By Jane Feehan

The Roney Plaza Hotel opened in February, 1926. Built by N.B.T. Roney (Newton Baker Taylor Roney) of Camden, NJ, the $2 million project was the first large luxury hotel on the ocean in Miami Beach.*

Roney, a lawyer who was more interested in construction than law, first came to Miami in 1909 passing through on a trip from Cuba. With investment notions, he returned to the Magic City in 1918. The following year, he bought the Biscayne Hotel on Flagler and Washington Avenue. Roney gained notoriety as a wheeler dealer or “Man with the Golden Touch.”  News accounts relate his quick deals and spectacular purchases in New Jersey and Florida.   

In 1924 Roney announced his plan for a luxurious hotel in Miami Beach. The site for the Roney Plaza - Collins Avenue at 23^rd and 24^th streets – was purchased from from T.J. Pancoast and John S. Collins during February, 1925. Roney hired New York architectural firm Schultze and Weaver* to design the most ambitious of his 30 ongoing projects in Miami Beach.

A year later advertisements for the opening of the Roney Plaza Hotel welcomed visitors to elegant dining, 15 acres of formal gardens and gracious rooms. It became the place to vacation in Miami Beach, drawing European royalty, high society, and Hollywood notables. Roney hosted NJ Governor Morgan F. Larson - one of many prominent politicos who were to stay at the hotel - for his three-week honeymoon during the 1920s. 

Roney Plaza Hotel circa 1920 Florida State Archives

Neither the devastating hurricane of 1926, from which the hotel emerged structurally sound, nor the Depression stopped Roney from adding to and improving his hotel. In 1931 Roney spent $200,000 to build a pool and cabana colony. He sold his interest in the profitable Roney Plaza to Henry L. Doherty, a financier, utilities expert and oilman, in 1933.

With a string of owners, the hotel continued to take center stage in Miami Beach until it faded in the 1950s; other glamorous hotels such as the Fontainebleau competed for the limelight. The Roney Plaza was torn down in 1968, making way for the Roney Apartments. Today, after a $25 million renovation, the building stands as the Roney Palace, a resort and condominium.* 

Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

 _________

* Carl Fisher's Flamingo Hotel was actually the first grand hotel in Miami Beach but it sat on the bay side.

*The firm also designed the Coral Gables Biltmore, Miami’s Freedom Tower, and the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

*Roney died in 1952. He left a rare map collection to the University of Miami in Coral Gables and a legacy of being one of Miami Beach's most significant developers.

Sources:

Miami News, July 3, 1922

Kleinberg, Howard. Woggles and Cheese Holes. Miami Beach: The Greater Miami & Beaches Hotel Association (2005)

Florida International University archives

USGenWeb Archives

Tags: Miami Beach hotel history, Miami Beach history, Miami Beach during the 1920s, Florida hotel history, first large, luxury ocean front hotel in Miami Beach,  Roney Plaza Hotel

Fort Lauderdale's ketchup factory and the Progresso Company

Tomato picking,
Fort Lauderdale 1909
 State of Florida Archives

By Jane Feehan

Fort Lauderdale was a major vegetable shipping center during the early to mid 1900s, especially after the New River was connected to Lake Okeechobee via the North New River Canal in 1912. 

One of the most profitable crops in the area was tomatoes, and so it followed that the city also served as the site of a large ketchup factory.

Harbauer Company, a Toledo-based manufacturer of “high grade condiments,” leased the former Fort Lauderdale Lumber Company for four years commencing in 1918 to make ketchup. For months, locals in the young city (incorporated 1911) followed news of its setting up in Fort Lauderdale near the New River.

Forty rail cars of machinery rolled into Fort Lauderdale for the new factory. But additional machinery was needed before the red condiment could be produced. During the first year, Harbauer made tomato paste to send north to turn into the finished product.

George B. Doust served as the plant’s local manager. He and other company executives eyed the 4,250 acres of tomatoes growing in fields south of Fort Lauderdale to beyond Hallandale for potential profits.

But Harbauer was not the only company to see green in those red Florida tomatoes. V. Taormina Co. of New Orleans set up a ketchup factory in a rented facility in Dania in 1918. Vincent Taormina and Joseph Uddo merged their New Orleans-based companies to form The Uddo and Taormina Corporation and created the Progresso label in 1927. 

Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale Sentinel, Mar. 8, 1917

Fort Lauderdale Sentinel, Nov. 30, 1917

Fort Lauderdale Sentinel, Jan. 30, 1918

https://www.generalmills.com/news/stories/how-progresso-got-its-start

Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, Dania history, catsup history, Florida tomatoes, ketchup history, film research, Florida film and TV researcher, Progresso brand history

Fallout Shelters a Miami Growth Biz in the 1960s

Shelter sign in NYC

The Cold War heated up to nearly white hot during the early 1960s. The Soviet Union resumed testing of A-bombs in 1958 and continued into the new decade. They began building the Berlin War in August 1961 to mark their sphere of influence in Europe. 

President John F. Kennedy decided one of the most effective steps the U.S. could take to show that it stood firm in Europe was to immediately develop an air raid shelter program.

Kennedy wanted to convince the Kremlin that the American people (far more cohesive then) were willing to undergo an atomic war if necessary rather than to back away from the Russians in Europe. JFK told Americans it would be possible to organize or build shelters quickly by reinforcing public buildings and constructing safe havens at individual homes.

American entrepreneurs smelled a new opportunity and turned home shelter building into a growth business. By September 1961, 19 manufacturers in Miami were approved by the Dade County Office of Civil Defense to build home fallout shelters.

Newspapers published articles about companies and their offerings and pages were filled with advertising. Shelters ran from $1,195 to $2,495 and could be constructed to protect from six to 12 people in fortifications that ranged in size from 10 feet by 8 feet to 14 by 16 feet.  Some could be installed adjacent to a house or in a garage (there weren’t many basements in South Florida). All qualified for financing under FHA’s Title 1 home improvement program.

Shelter advertisements nearly shouted with:

No down payment!

All forms of financing!

Shelters - use as playrooms or for storage!

Adequate shielding is the only effective means of preventing radiation casualties!

Do it yourself, just send $1 for plans!

Ancillary businesses opened to manufacture appliances for shelters and devices to power ventilation blowers, TVs and lighting.

By the mid - to late 1960s, fears diminished and, as with Dr. Strangelove, Americans learned to stop worrying and to love the bomb. Perhaps some today are used as hurricane shelters but more than likely, most are gone.

Sources:

Palm Beach Post, July, 17, 1961

Miami News, Sept. 24. 1961

Miami News, Nov. 16, 1961

Tags: Miami business in 1960s, Miami during the cold war, Fallout shelter business