Old Florida Book Shop - a bibliophile's treasure in Fort Lauderdale

 

William Chrisant & Sons’
Old Florida Book Shop

3426 Griffin Road (not far from Tropical Acres restaurant).
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
Open Monday-Saturday: 11 am-6 pm; Sunday, 1-6 pm
954-319-1441
williamchrisant@gmail.com
https://www.oldfloridabookshop.com/

 By Jane Feehan

Many who visit this blog may also be interested in a local one-of-a-kind bookstore. 

Old Florida Book Shop, independent of the big book selling chains, reminds me of a few such stores in New Orleans with books tightly lined up from entrance to rear and up to the ceiling on dark wood shelving and in elegant mahogany, glass-doored cases. There’s literally more than meets the eye at this Fort Lauderdale store. Books are stacked behind the visibly shelved tomes as well. It’s a treasure hunt for bibliophiles.

And what would such a store be without a cat? Peter the cat would like you to think this is his place, but the Old Florida Book Shop belongs to William Chrisant who came here 13 years ago from Philadelphia. He brought thousands of books about countless subjects: American literature, ancient history, antiques, architecture, art, biographies, mathematics, medicine, local histories, and much more. He continues to build the collection for customers.

There is a small section on Florida, another on the American West, the Bahamas and various cities throughout the country, to mention a few categories.  Books flow in and out so genres may expand. Old Florida Book Shop, represented as “Buyers and sellers of books, antique maps, vintage magazines and ephemera since 1978,” also sells some books online (https://www.oldfloridabookshop.com/). Books on shelves outside the store are available to browse and purchase any time, even after hours. It operates on an honor system arrangement that works well. 

Store front where books are always available. Seen from street.

Old Florida Book Shop sits in a small strip center, which belies its quaint atmosphere. Expect to enter a different world after opening the door to this establishment with its rich, dark wood, Oriental carpets and wide universe of wonderful books, maps and periodicals. And let Peter know he’s the boss, in a manner of speaking.

Peter

 

Books abundant

Topics, some arcane or fascinating

Tags: Fort Lauderdale Book Shop

Fort Lauderdale's Croissant Park and its colorful developer Frank Croissant - of Roll Royces, diamonds and a solid gold dinner service

 

Croissant Park Administration Building
 at 1421 South Andrews Avenue 

By Jane Feehan

Many may know of or grew up in Croissant Park, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale. Few are familiar with its namesake, Frank Croissant, and his colorful life.

Born in Brooklyn in 1887, the hugely successful real estate developer (self-described “World’s Greatest Salesman), pursued business opportunities across the U.S. After operating in Ohio and moving to Detroit where he was associated with Henry Ford in real estate, Croissant relocated to Fort Lauderdale in January 1925.

He bought about 1,200 acres in an area south of the New River and Las Olas Boulevard on the west side of Andrews Avenue. The Croissant Park Administration Building, site of his sales office, still sits on South Andrews Avenue and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Sales at Croissant Park were brisk; those were the boom days. Today asking prices for a few houses in that neighborhood are close to $500,000.

Croissant’s plans for his subdivision included a hotel, the Croissantania (also the name of a local baseball team he may have promoted). Designed by architect John M. Peterman, and built by DeCato Construction Co., the 125-room hotel failed to become a reality. Though started in late 1925, the cost of labor and shortage of materials first slowed or delayed the hotel project; it was then halted by the 1926 hurricane. By the end of 1926 and several years after, G. Frank Croissant Co. was the defendant in several lawsuits over mismanagement of money and other disputes.

Some news accounts reported Croissant was worth $30 million resulting from all his real estate endeavors, but it was said he lost most of it in the 1929 stock market crash. He probably lost a significant portion of that fortune beforehand, in the South Florida land bust following that hurricane.

Reversal of fortune did not slow down Croissant nor sour him on Fort Lauderdale. He bought tracts of land in Northern New Jersey (Teaneck, West Englewood, Bergenfield) for development. He opened offices in Europe, including London, Paris, Madrid and Mallorca, where he often talked up Fort Lauderdale, referred to then as “the Friendly City.” Croissant could claim 56 offices with 1,200 salesmen in 11 states and seven countries.

Some say he was involved in the launch or promotion of New York’s radio station WNYC. The station was established in 1924 but his involvement is unconfirmed. 

He, wife Harriet and son moved to Mallorca, Spain in 1933 or 1934 where he reportedly sold more than 8,000 lots in assorted projects. Included in those lots was one he sold to actress Claudette Colbert, another to Hollywood heartthrob Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Croissant’s 13-year-old son died in a mountain climbing accident in Spain and a civil war erupted there in 1936—both spurring the developer’s return to Fort Lauderdale. 

On his return, he was involved in the constructions of Port Everglades, in promoting Hialeah Park racing and operating a stable of 110 horses. He also had his sights set on a project in North Palm Beach near today’s Donald Ross Road. It was abandoned after his death. Ever the entrepreneur, he returned in 1952 from a business trip to Colombia where he landed a few dog track concessions.

A high-profile resident, Croissant remained in local headlines about his business and civic activities and frequent lawsuits. In 1950 he was charged by the federal government with participation in a $2 million international lottery ring. Charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.

In 1954, Fort Lauderdale News columnist Wesley W. Stout provided a list of items and activities that distinguished Croissant as one of the town’s most colorful characters:

• Won more horse races than all other racetrack notables in 1925-26
• Owned a 154-ft yacht, the Jemima F
• Owned three Rolls Royce cars simultaneously
• Owned a Lockheed Vega aircraft piloted by world famous Clarence Chamberlain
• Given a 476 solid gold dinner service set by his sales team (stored in a Dania bank vault)
• Gave his wife a 31- carat diamond pendant and a 22 carat stone
• “Put out of business” by the Spanish Civil War

Frank Croissant died at his Fort Lauderdale home on Andrews Avenue December 5, 1956, of a brain hemorrhage. Left to his wife, his estate was worth about $10 million.

He was, indeed, a colorful character …

For more on Frank Croissant, see: 

https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2021/02/frank-croissant-worlds-greatest-salesman.html

 Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 9, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 5, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, May 22, 1926

Fort Lauderdale News, July 2, 1926

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 9, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 10, 1939

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 10, 1950

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 28, 1951

Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 6, 1952

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 12, 1954

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 6, 1956

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 7, 1956

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 24, 1956

Tags: Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods, Croissant Park, Fort Lauderdale in the 1920s, Fort Lauderdale developers, history of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale communities

Mid-century modern masterpiece - Sea Tower of Fort Lauderdale

 

Sea Tower 2023, rear, facing beach

Sea Tower Apartments
2840 North Ocean Drive
Fort Lauderdale

By Jane Feehan

Fort Lauderdale first saw high-rise apartments go up in the late 1950s. One, the Sea Tower, was announced in 1956 and completed in November 1957. News accounts claimed it was one of two of the city’s first high rises. The other was Spring Tide at 345 Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard. Both built by Col. T.J. Murrell (Palm Springs Corporation), they stand at 11 stories. Today they would be described as mid rises. (For more high-rise history, see index.)

This post focuses on the Sea Tower, an elegant building designed by noted Miami architect, Igor Polevitzky (1911-1978). He also designed Sunrise Tower on Intracoastal Drive in Fort Lauderdale, Hotel Habana Riviera in Cuba, once owned by mob figure Meyer Lansky  (See index for Meyer Lansky), the Albion in Miami, and several beautiful residences (Tropotype style). including the Birdcage house in Miami. The Sea Tower is described as a “masterpiece of mid-century modern architecture.”

Sea Tower was reportedly built for $2.02 million. I’m not sure if it was launched as a rental before it was recognized as a co-op, but in late 1957, news items reported it as the “tallest co-op in Fort Lauderdale.” Accounts vary as to number of units, 84, 83 or 81 apartments. Carports appeared to be an afterthought as construction began on them in 1958, after opening.

Advertised as sitting in the North Beach neighborhood, Sea Tower could also claim a city park as a nearby feature leading to the ocean. In 1957, its board announced a contribution of $4,900 to the city of Fort Lauderdale for its Vista Park, which remains. The park today refers to the beach and its parking lot steps away.

Park at rear of Sea Tower
with
 beach steps away

Ads announced initial sale prices for a one-bedroom unit at $21,000-$25,000. Two-bedrooms sold for $27,000-$39,000. Early ads indicated prices for penthouses were “available upon request.” A Fort Lauderdale News article in 1957 reported a penthouse for sale for $300,000—a hefty price tag in those days.

In 1958 real estate news waxed enthusiastic about Sea Tower’s unique offerings: kitchens with a “food preparation center,” a built-in combination food mixer, blender and knife sharpener.  Also, an opt-in membership was available for services such as car washes, laundry, food and beverage delivery, travel reservations, swimming and skin-diving instructions, beach cabanas, boat trips—even hair appointments. La de dah …

A glance at board member occupations during these early days may point to perceived justification for such services: a senior vice president of Gulf Oil, president of General Elevator Co., vice president of Retail Credit Co.; vice president of Remington Arms, a subsidiary of DuPont Co.; research engineer for the U.S. Navy and consultant to General Electric Co.

In March of 1958, news accounts reported that 25 liens for nearly $227,600 were filed against the builder, Palm Springs Company, Holland Construction and Engineering and others for unpaid bills. A court transferred the liens to corporate surety bond deposits.

Today, Sea Tower retains its elegance in this quiet beachside neighborhood. Many houses in the area, once averaging $25,000, have been replaced by mansions running for a million dollars at the low end and a few topping $20 million.

As of this post, a one-bedroom Sea Tower apartment sells for $549,000, a two-bedroom for $620,000. Bargains, considering Galt Ocean Mile condo prices.

 

 Sources:

 Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 10, 1957

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 9, 1957

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 2, 1957

Fort Lauderdale News, March 26, 1958

Fort Lauderdale News, May 24, 1958

Fort Lauderdale News, June 21, 1958

Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 2, 1958

Fort Lauderdale News, March 5, 1963

Fort Lauderdale News, May 16, 1965

Sea Tower

Tags: Fort Lauderdale high-rises, Sea Tower, Fort Lauderdale in the 1950s, Igor Polevitzky

Whatever happened to White Castle and Royal Castle, two hamburger kings

Lining up at Royal Castle opening in 1969 - Tallahassee
State Archives of Florida/Slade

 

By Jane Feehan

Not an in-depth history of two iconic burger joints, this post answers “whatever happened to.” White Castle and Royal Castle operate today. Find out where below.

White Castle

White Castle, established in 1921, is touted as the granddaddy of burger joints. Founded with a borrowed sum of $700 by Walter A. Anderson and E.W. “Billy” Ingram in Wichita, Kansas, the company established headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. It was incorporated as White Castle System of Eating Houses Corporation. The company operated at the vanguard of the carry out concept with its invitation to “Buy ‘em by the sack.” The company also patented the use of holes in their square burgers for fast cooking. Sliders (only 12 cents) served as mainstay of the business.

Billy Ingram (died 1966) moved to Miami where he opened two stores in 1958 (perhaps a third). The first one was located at Flagler and NW 27 Avenue. The other unit operated near NE 163^rd Street. By the mid 1960s competition ramped up with McDonald’s, Burger King, Lum’s, Neba, Arby’s and others claiming market space. By 1967, White Castle closed in Florida. Supply chain issues were to blame, according to news accounts.

Today the company operates more than 300 units throughout the U.S., mostly in the Midwest and Northeast. It resumed expansion in 2015 after a 56-year hiatus with a store in Las Vegas. News for White Castle aficionados in Florida: their largest store (4,500 sf) opened in 2021 in Orlando off Interstate 4. Good move; it serves more hamburgers (some plant-based) than any of their other stores. Some say it’s the biggest burger joint in the world.

Royal Castle

William D. Singer (died in 1988) founded Royal Castle in Miami in 1938. By the 1960s, they had 150 locations in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Ohio. In 1969, Royal Castle with its round burgers (and breakfast items) ranked third in the nation for fast food or “short order” restaurants with 175 units.

In 1969, John Y. Brown, through his Performance Systems, Inc., bought the chain, which had gone public, for about $9 million. Brown had fast food experience. He purchased Kentucky Fried Chicken from its creator Harland Sanders in 1964 for $2 million. Today it’s worth more than $19 million. Performance Systems also owned Minnie Pearl’s Fried Chicken when it acquired Royal Castle.

Rapid expansion took a toll on Performance Systems. Royal Castle dissolved in 1975 (Brown served as governor of Kentucky 1979-1983 with wife and Miss America, Phyllis George at his side. He loved South Florida where I met him during the 1970s; he died in 2022).  

Good news for Royal Castle fans: ONE remains in Miami at 2700 NW 79^th Street. Owned and operated for years by James Brimberry and his wife, Josephine, the store was purchased by their grandson James in 2019.

For indepth information, see  Burger Beast.

Sources:

Miami Herald, Nov. 13, 1958

Fort Lauderdale News, July 18, 1963

Fort Lauderdale News, May 21, 1966

Miami News, March 29, 1968

Miami Herald, March 2, 1969

New York Times, Jul 15, 1988

Miami Herald, July 15, 1988

Tampa Bay Times, Nov. 26, 2019

New York Times, Nov. 25, 2022

https://www.whitecastle.com

 https://burgerbeast.com/royal-castle/

https://burgerbeast.com/?s=white+castle

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/white-castle-celebrates-successful-first-year-in-orlando-301531331.html#:~:text=White%20Castle's%20restaurant%20in%20Orlando,just%20one%20year%20in%20business

Tags:  Florida restaurant hisory, White Castle Hamburgers, Royal Castle Hamburgers

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 ….

 -----

*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 in 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.

  

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 and the seasonal sweep of the city broom

By Jane Feehan

Fort Lauderdale was image conscious from its earliest days. Preparing for winter season visitors with clean-up squads was a common sight during the 1920s. “The entire city could feel the sweep of the city broom.”

Squads also cleaned up for school openings and baseball games. Beautification efforts included planting and removal of weeds, sand spurs and palmettos. It wasn’t always about beautification and weeds and trash. Fort Lauderdale’s Board of Health cleared vegetation to mitigate mosquito breeding.

Cleaning vacant lots and clearing the banks of waterways produced some amusing results. Stories about the removal and cutting down of thick undergrowth pull back the curtain on days before the city’s high-velocity development. In 1928 teams cleared weeds and other vegetative matter between Las Olas and south to the Casino Pool for visitors and local beachgoers. New River and Las Olas beach were considered two of “the city’s greatest assets.”

City teams also cleaned up the Rio Vista neighborhood. Thanks to the crew's work, residents reportedly could see across the river [New River] for the first time as well as its boat traffic. It was also noted that the owners of an apartment building “in a certain section of the city” adjacent to New River said the clean-up squad made “the lovely stream visible.” As a result, the owners raised rents “on the strength of the proximity to the water.”

In a West Las Olas neighborhood, a clean-up crew discovered sidewalks the “public has almost forgotten.”  A nearby vacant lot cleanup produced discarded mattresses, automobiles, city sewer piping and live dynamite that had been buried on the spot for two years.  

Stranahan Field underwent some critical clean up in 1925 that minimized excuses for errors and improved its image. Baseballs hit to the outfield were frequently lost in high grass and weeds. Cutting down the vegetation produced a “first class ball field.”  

Ross Clark, Board of Health president, said they could not clean up the entire city. “People are going to have get involved in the “cleanup cause” if we are to be absolutely pure and undefiled.”  A cleanup week was designated by the city in 1936 to foster public participation in clean up activities.

We’re still not, nor could ever be, "absolutely pure and undefiled," but people get involved today by volunteering for waterway and beach cleanups. The city has relegated lot clearing to property owners and trash pickup services.

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, June 24, 1925

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 6, 1928

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 12, 1928

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 15, 1928

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 1, 1930

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 9, 1931

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 14, 1936

Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale in the 1920s, Fort Lauderdale in the 1930s