Where have Florida's oranges gone?

Florida postcard 1907,
State Archives of Florida

 

By Jane Feehan


Florida oranges have seen better days. Today, they are hard to find at local grocery stores. Closely affiliated with Florida’s brand since the mid-20th century, the state’s citrus crop has been hit with disease and development the past few decades.

Citrus is not indigenous to the Sunshine State.

According to the state of Florida, oranges were brought and planted here during the mid-1500s, when Spanish explorers settled in what became St. Augustine. The orange, however, originally came from China. The first commercial citrus grove in Florida was established by Jesse Fish of St. Augustine in 1763. Though farmers in the Carolinas and Georgia started to grow oranges in the 1830s, their hopes for the new crop were dashed by a severe freeze in 1835.

Citrus fared far better in Florida in 1835, especially at Merritt Island (Brevard County) where grower Douglas Dummett planted oranges and developed a grafting process adopted by farmers around the state. Interest in Florida as a viable place to live and do business grew with rail service in the 1890s. Rail brought visitors and expanded commercial opportunities such as packing houses for fruit and vegetable transport.

Recurring freezing weather in 1894 and in 1895 shifted the citrus growing business southward for a time. Growers gradually adapted techniques to keep ice off citrus trees throughout the state during a freeze. Business boomed; postcards with images of oranges and orange groves were available by the early 1900s. Potential growers from other states were encouraged to move to Florida to enter the citrus business. Orange groves eventually dominated landscapes in Lake Wales, Winter Haven, Clewiston, Frostproof, Vero Beach and locations across Florida.

Orange growing reached new heights with World War II and the production of frozen juice concentrate for soldiers to improve their nutrition while they were deployed to battle fronts. Florida orange juice advertisements in popular magazines such as Life Magazine and on television were ubiquitous by 1960. In 1967, orange juice was declared the state beverage by the Florida legislature (Fla.Stat.15.0.32). Florida and orange juice were entwined in the state’s branding efforts into the 1970s. (Side note: Brazil has ranked as world leader in production of orange juice concentrate for decades.)

At the height of the fruit’s popularity, orange grove acreage began its decline. As the state’s population grew so did pressure for housing and other development. A ride on Florida’s turnpike past Clermont, for example, reveals subdivisions where fragrant groves once sat.

There’s more to the decline of Florida’s citrus business: the greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing or HLB to growers. China has dealt with the disease nearly 100 years. According to the Christian Science Monitor, HLB, a bacterial disease, was once deemed a bioweapon by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA claims the greening disease as the “most serious citrus disease in the world.” The University of Florida reports HLB was first discovered to be in Florida as early as 1998. Other sources report the disease took off in 2004-2005 when it was spotted in Miami.

Orange groves in Clermont,
off US 27 circa 1960
State Archives of Florida

Because of the disease, many growers are considering other crops such as cotton, blueberries, alfalfa and sugar beets. Some, according to the Christian Science Monitor, are looking at the pongamia tree (pea family) as a possible protein alternative to soybeans and also to market as a biofuel. Some growers have abandoned their groves. There were 7,000 growers in 2004; in 2023 there were only 2,000. 

Who is the state’s largest citrus grower? The answer may surprise Texans familiar with the name King Ranch and their cattle in south Texas. Florida’s largest orange grower is the King Ranch. According to the ranch, they are the top grower “with more than a dozen separate grove locations throughout the southern half of Florida and totals 40,000 tree-planted acres.” They are the largest producer of juice oranges in the U.S.

Many abandoned groves have become part of the Florida Power and Light Solar Energy Centers. Sixty three locations throughout Florida power 945,000 homes with thousands of acres of solar panels. Let’s hope they figure out a way to dispose of panels when they need to be replaced every four to five years. Some panels are composed of toxic (EPA can’t decide if all are toxic) materials, burying them in Florida soil would be another hit to the state’s agricultural industry—solar farms already mar the state’s natural beauty.

The good news is citrus still brings $6.5 billion to the state’s economy and Florida produces (as of 2023) 73 percent of the Valencia oranges in the U.S.

 Sources:

Christian Science Monitor, March 2, 2023

Treasure Coast News, Nov. 9, 2023

Florida Department of Agriculture

University of Florida Research and Education Center

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  

https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2022/12/09/Densification-How-Brazil-s-orange-juice-sector-produces-more-with-less#

https://king-ranch.com/operations/citrus

https://www.visitflorida.com/

Tags: Citrus, Florida oranges, King Ranch,  Florida agriculture

The Biltmore Hotel in early Coral Gables: Florida's perfect kingdom of beauty and pleasure

 

Biltmore Hotel rendering 1924, State of Florida Archives

By Jane Feehan

Much has been written about the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables since it was proposed in 1924. Its story reflects an uneven timeline of openings and closings, owners and renovations, to its current state of world class elegance and hospitality.

This post focuses on its provenance and concludes with a brief synopsis of its history to current status.

George E. Merrick, developer and real estate promoter, established Coral Gables as a planned community—one of the first in the United States. His vision included a hotel at the town’s center.

That vision transformed to reality through the efforts of world-renowned hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman. Bowman headed the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Corp. A booming Florida, and especially the Miami suburb of Coral Gables, held high promise for an elegant hotel. On Nov. 25, 1924, Bowman and Merrick announced plans for developing the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

The following month, land was platted for the hotel at the south end of Esplanade Columbus. A golf course and its country club sat adjacent to the project. The dominant architectural feature of the hotel was a tower, the Giralda Tower or campanile, inspired by the Giralda bell tower at the Seville Cathedral in Seville. Some suggested the hotel be named The Giralda.

The hotel was expected to hold about 400 rooms and would cost $10 million. To ensure a ready date of January 1926, a $40,000 surety bond, the largest of its time in Florida, was purchased through Aetna Casualty and Surety Company to guarantee several million dollars for the project. Thompson-Starret Company of New York was tapped as builder and Schultze and Weaver, also of New York, chosen as the new hotel’s designer. The structure was completed in only 14 months.

Biltmore dining room,
State Archives of Florida

This Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, a massive, but elegant structure, was lauded as the finest, perhaps largest Biltmore. On January 15, 1926, it opened its doors to an eager crowd of 1,500 elegantly attired party goers. They hoped to see if the hotel lived up to its maxim, “nothing is too good for a Biltmore.”

According to news accounts, those hopes were met. An elevated ramp off Anastasia Avenue brought visitors to a main entrance flanked on each side by six smaller entrances. All led to a lobby 400 feet long and wide. Flood lights from the hotel roof illuminated the entire building, including the Giralda Tower, featuring a sculpted figure of the Roman goddess, Faith, carrying “the triumphant banner of Constantine.”

An exceptionally tall three-sectioned ceiling twinkled with stars against a “liquid blue sky.” Upon entering, visitors experienced a Spanish motif, accented with “rare” Spanish and Italian furnishings and design elements from Persia, Egypt and the Mediterranean. The lobby opened to a large patio noted for tiles imported from Seville, Spain, an ornate Italian fireplace, two elegant chandeliers and heavy formal drapes that produced an “old world” ambiance. 

The dining room held a dance floor lined with small Spanish tables. Chef Durand, brought in from the Westchester Biltmore, reportedly once served as chef to President Woodrow Wilson.

A 250-foot pool sat between the golf course and hotel. Fifteen feet deep at one end, the pool held 1.25 million gallons of water. Colonnades graced the pool’s perimeter. Nearby, a playground and small pool welcomed future children guests.

About 600 employees were brought in from a few of the New York Biltmore hotels to ensure a smooth grand opening. Some sailed in on the Robert E. Lee, a Clyde Co. liner. Later news accounts indicate a permanent staff of about 300 worked at Biltmore Coral Gables. The hotel expected to be busy with a booked winter season.

Bowman (L) and Merrick
State Archives of Florida 1926

 

At the opening party, three orchestras played as patrons strolled through a staged fashion show in the dining room. Manikins donned with colorful evening wear, including jewels and furs, drew excited comments. Elevators were available to take guests to each floor on rugs and carpeting covering floors equal to a path 38 miles long.

The next day, newspapers were abuzz about the grand opening affair. The hotel “is a poem of architectural beauty.” It opened “amid a blaze of color” and the event was “formal to the extreme.” It would “usher Miami, its finest suburb, Coral Gables, and entire state of Florida, into a new era of magnificence” and be known as "Florida's perfect kingdom of beauty and pleasure." The Biltmore Hotel and Country Club in Coral Gables pointed to a stellar future.

It was not to be—at least not for decades.

The Great Hurricane of 1926 hit South Florida on September 18. Its 150 mph winds devastated much of Miami and surrounding areas. Stepping up to the emergency, the Biltmore housed and fed about 2,200 made homeless by the storm; it escaped major damage.

By early January 1927, the Biltmore in Coral Gables was back to reporting or advertising its activities. Though the hotel was ready for a busy tourist season, the Miami area was not. It was the beginning of the end of Miami’s first building boom. Biltmore Coral Gables never fully recovered. 

The Great Depression soon followed. 

In 1942, a year of war, the U.S. Armed Forces used the hotel as a military hospital; the Veterans Administration ran the place until 1968, when the General Services Administration assumed control.

Ownership reverted to the city of Coral Gables via a federal act and a National Parks Program. In 1972, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1992 Coral Gables leased the Biltmore Miami Coral Cables to the Seaways Group, headed by Gene Prescott, for 99 years. Under Prescott’s guidance, the hotel has been restored to its once former glamour.

An interesting (to me!) side note: George E. Merrick died when he was nearly 56 years old in 1942; John McEntee Bowman died in 1931 also at 56.

Biltmore after the 1926 hurricane,
State Archives of Florida

See index for William Jennings Bryan and his role in promoting Coral Gables.

For more on Gene Prescott, see: https://coralgablesmagazine.com/the-passion-of-prescott/

Miami News, July 27, 1924

Miami News, Dec. 11, 1924

Miami News, Aug. 9, 1925

Miami Daily News and Metropolis, Jan. 15, 1926

Miami News, Jan. 16, 1926

Miami Tribune, Jan. 16, 1926

Miami News, Jan. 11, 1927

Tags: Biltmore Hotel Miami Coral Gables, Coral Gables history. George E. Merrick, John McEntee Bowman

New Year 2024, meet Miami headlines from 1924

 

Miami 1924 - State Archives of Florida/Romer

Below is a sampling of headlines from sections of the Miami News-Metropolis of January 1, 1924. A mix of local and national stories show how some themes remain the same a century later.

Panoramic view of Coral Gables from Water Tower Showing Development of Two-year-old Town

Coral Gables from the water tower 1924

 

Thousands See Monster Parade  - Seven miles of floats pass in colorful array

Fruit and Flower Pageant – 40,000 view the parade that stretched more than 100 blocks. It was a “typical June day in January.” Note: Miami held a variety of parades in its early days, including Labor Day, Shriner’s, Palm Fete and Orange Bowl parades. See index or search for Orange Bowl.

 

Construction of Large Concrete Fronton at Hialeah for Spanish Game of Jai Alai Introduced from Cuba Opened Feb. 2, 1924 (see index for short history). Most are closed today, but one still operates in Dania.

 

Hialeah Fronton 1924 State Archives of Florida

 U.S. Stirred Over Obregon Lack of Force  

“Washington hopes Mexican revolution will be halted … disappointed over its failure to solve internal problems…policy limits supply of arms.” Alvaro Obregon served as president of Mexico from 1920-1924. Deemed a centrist and peacemaker, he was assassinated in 1928.

 

Mystery Marks Liquor Supply in Washington

“Unusual conditions for guzzlers.” Why has so much illicit liquor appeared during the holiday season, the reporter asks (Prohibition – 18th Amendment, 1920 – 1933). Conflict arose between local police and federal agents about enforcing the law against liquor. Confiscated liquor disappeared or mysteriously “turned into water.”

 

Man with a drink in tourist photo booth at Hardie's Bathing Casino
during Prohibition 1920-1933 State Archives of Florida

Democrats See Chance to Win in 1924 Election

“Politically the coming year holds more at issue than is usually the case.”

Calvin Coolidge, Republican, succeeded Warren G. Harding as president when he unexpectedly died in 1923. A booming economy and world peace favored Coolidge, who won the 1924 election as the second vice president tapped as president via circumstance who later won the presidency in an election.

President Calvin Coolidge and wife Grace
State of Florida Archives

Tags: Miami in the 1920s, Miami Jai Alai Fronton, Fruit and Flower Pageant 

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

One expectation for Broward County Convention Expansion a puzzle

View from 17th Street bridge: Hotel rising at Convention Center 

By Jane Feehan 

The Broward County Convention Center expansion will dominate the 17^th street causeway area when completed.

The convention center first opened in 1991 and currently offers 600,000 square feet of meeting and other space. The $1.3 billion expansion, expected to open late 2025, will increase meeting capacity to 1,200,000* square feet. Project plans include a larger waterfront plaza with restaurants, an amphitheater, additional water taxi service, and a new bypass road from Federal Highway.

Its 29-story hotel – Omni Fort Lauderdale—with 800 rooms will be the area landmark instead of Pier 66, which rises 17 stories and has been the local eyecatcher since 1965-66. The convention center is expected to bring 1,000 new jobs, increased tax revenue, and visitor traffic and their business to the area.

Massive hotel,
lots of parking

About that traffic: an area impact statement says the completed expansion will decrease traffic because convention programming will "attract larger, international shows that draw a fly-in audience, rather than regional conferences which typically bring in more vehicles," thus relieving congestion on 17^th Street.  

Also mentioned in the project description are plans to promote community-based events with outdoor entertainment, more restaurants and…expanded parking for these additional local happenings. This seems to present a contradiction in traffic expectations. Not all locals will use the bypass road. If so, what about Federal Highway congestion? Local events bring in more local vehicles, something the planners say they will avoid with fly-in visitors. Let's hope these fly-in visitors don't rent cars.

Larger conventions and additional local entertainment, yet improvement in Fort Lauderdale’s traffic congestion. It's a puzzle.

----

Note: The largest convention center in the U.S. is McCormick Place in Chicago with 2.6 million square feet. The Miami Beach Convention Center offers 1,400,000 square feet of convention space.

Sources:

Broward.org

Wikipedia

Miami Beach

Tags: Broward County Convention Center, Broward County Convention Center Expansion, Fort Lauderdale traffic congestion, Fort Lauderdale attractions

A South Florida parrot primer

 

Captive parrots - Parrot Jungle
State Archives of Florida

By Jane Feehan 

Flocks of parrots noisily flying at dawn and dusk around Broward County are a familiar sight today. Many older residents who grew up here say they rarely, if ever, saw these colorful birds during the 1950s and 1960s. The mythology of the introduction of these non-native exotic noise makers runs deep.

Newspapers present various theories about where they came from and report several early sightings. One account points to the unintentional release of parrots from an opened crate at Port Everglades in 1967. 

Others tell a tale about a bar owner releasing pet birds near Wilton Manors a few decades ago who was responsible for their introduction to that town. 

Florida railway developer and one-time oil tycoon Henry Flagler was known to have an affinity for parrots, keeping many on his Palm Beach property (Whitehall) uncaged but fed. They remained there for years after his death in 1913; that may explain a reported parrot roost at the Breakers Hotel during the past 20 years and flock sightings in Lake Worth. 

Fort Lauderdale News reported the first sighting of a flock in Broward in 1975. During the 1940s “a rare bird farm” operated in the Miami area. Flocks were spotted in south Miami-Dade County during the 1990s.

Newspaper and personal accounts aside, scientific research tells a probable story about South Florida parrot origins. One scholarly paper notes most of these exotic birds escaped from pet owners and pet stores or were deliberately released by owners and smugglers (Distribution, Populations, and Documentation of Parrots in Broward County, by Bill Pranty and Susan Epps, Vol. 30, Issue 4, Article 1, Jan. 2000). Most releases, however, have been unintentional.

About 20 species were spotted in Broward County in 1990. In 2000, Pranty and Epps reported 31 species, 20 of which were unknown before then. They suggest parrots have probably been released here since at least the 1950s. Worldwide 350-410 species exist with most originating in Central and South America (some from Pacific Islands). The Carolina parakeet was the only species native to Florida, but they were killed off by poachers by the early 20^th century.

Florida's extinct Carolina
 parakeet
State Archives of Florida

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported on flocks in Dania that seemed to appear and disappear suddenly in the early 1990s. A story suggested people captured many to sell as pets (wild birds make lousy pets of course). 

In 1995, utility workers in Deerfield Beach were seen sweeping parrot nests from tall light fixtures. Most of these birds nest in dead palm trees but some have been spotted setting up residence in vacated osprey nests.

Pranty and Epps* observed parrot populations in Dania, Wilton Manors, Fort Lauderdale’s Hugh Birch State Park, Coral Ridge, Harbor Beach, Las Olas Isles, Poinsettia Heights, Rio Vista, Victoria Park, and Oakland Park. Among species they observed were Quaker or monk parakeets (some also live successfully in Chicago!), Orange-winged parrots, Red-headed parrots, Yellow-headed parrots, and Black-hooded parakeets. The two scientists reported a large jump in all parrot populations from the early 1990s to 2000 even though poachers regularly decimate local populations.

With the human population growth of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County comes additional parrot species and even more flocks. Lucky for these garrulous birds, most of us love hearing, if not always sighting, them.

 

* Susan Allene Epps has also written a book, Parrots of South Florida (2007) available on Amazon.

Sources:

Distribution, Populations, and Documentation of Parrots in Broward County, by Bill Pranty and Susan Epps, Vol. 30, Issue 4, Article 1, Jan. 2000

Fort Lauderdale News, May 24, 1970

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 12, 1975

Fort Lauderdale News June 29, 1985

South Florida Sun Sentinel, Aug. 30, 1995

South Florida Sun Sentinel, Jan. 29, 1990

Tags: Parrots in Fort Lauderdale, parrots in Wilton Manors, Broward County parrots, Fort Lauderdale history

One of the first registered architects in Florida - August Geiger - his Fort Lauderdale and Miami projects

1917 advertisement from Directory of City of Miami Beach

By Jane Feehan

Fort Lauderdale’s first high school, Fort Lauderdale Central, was built in 1915. Its architect was August Geiger (1887-1968), already well known in Miami and Miami Beach for his work.

From Connecticut, Geiger settled in Miami in 1905 and opened an office in 1911. He was off and running soon after, becoming one of the first (10th) registered architects in Florida.

Miami and Miami Beach grew significantly during the early 19th century with its burgeoning tourist industry, land boom and accompanying skyline of notable buildings.

Geiger’s work includes the Lincoln Hotel and Apartments (1917) on Miami Beach, demolished long ago. His firm also designed Miami’s first “sky scraper,” the 12-story Ralston Hotel (1917), and, in the same year, the Miami City Hospital (now Jackson Memorial). 

Additionally, he designed the Miami Beach Municipal Golf Course House, the Community Theater of Miami Beach, the Dade County Courthouse, and Villa Serena, home of William Jennings Bryan, noted orator and politician. He commissioned Geiger to design his home in 1913 in Coconut Grove.

Wm Jennings Bryan home, 1920
State Archives of Florida

Geiger, known for his Mediterranean Revival style, also drew the plans for the Lincoln Road oceanfront home of Miami Beach developer Carl Fisher. In 1915, demand for the architect's style prompted Geiger to open an office in Palm Beach.  Many of his surviving buildings in South Florida have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geiger designed Fort Lauderdale Central High School (demolished in 1970) and the Fort Lauderdale Women’s Club in 1915 with his signature Mediterranean Revival imprint.  His firm drew up plans for many schools in Dade County and a few others in what became Broward County in 1915, including the Davie School. Geiger was tapped as architect of record for the Dade County School Board.  Among his later works was the $1.5 million Coral Gables High School in 1950.

Though Geiger was the design force behind Fort Lauderdale’s high school and its women’s club, the city claims Frances Abreu as its own architect. Both men brought a vision to Miami and Fort Lauderdale that defined early 19^th- century South Florida. 

Lincoln Hotel, 1922
States Archives of Florida/Fishbaugh 1922

Copyright © 2012, 2023 . All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

For more on Frances Abreu, see index for architects

For more Fort Lauderdale High School history, see index.

For more on William Jennings Bryan, see index.


Sources:
Kleinberg, Howard. Woggles and Cheese Houses. Miami Beach: The Greater Miami & Beaches Hotel Association (2005)
Miami News, Mar. 16, 1917
Wikipedia

Tags: early South Florida architects, Fort Lauderdale history, Miami history