May 2005
23 posts
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The Best Deal Possible?
Earlier this year it appeared that a compromise was finalized that would preserve some of the facades of Hollywood’s Great Southern Hotel, but would permit a 19-story condominium building to be built on site, set back about 40 feet from the facade. In agreeing to the compromise, the Hollywood Historical Society issued a cautionary explanation:This compromise was reached because the Great...
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The Tequesta
At the time of first contact between Europeans and the indigenous peoples of Florida, southeastern Florida was the home of the Tequestas. Although recent archaeological discoveries have expanded our knowledge of the Tequesta, they still remain shrouded in mystery. It seems that they were in some ways subservient to the Calusa culture of southwest Florida.The archaeological information from the...
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On the Road Again
Rob Brantley at the wheel of the recently re-restored 1926 LaFrance Pumper, Pompano’s original fire engine.
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The First Chamber of Commerce
Continuing yesterday’s history of Pompano’s early business organizations:Along about 1925 Pompano’s first Chamber of Commerce was organized. For about a year it was actively engaged in promoting the interests of the Town, but, strange to say, it met with considerable opposition on the part of the farming community. There was a widespread belief among the farmers that the...
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The Pompano Board of Trade
Founded in 1948, the Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce is one of the important organizations in the community. It was originally located in a frame building on Atlantic Boulevard at NE 20th Avenue. Soon it moved two blocks east to its current headquarters. This was not the first effort to form a advocacy group for local businesses:On December 1, 1914, when Pompano was part of Palm Beach...
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Florida's First Railroad
The first Florida railroad was formed in 1831 as the Leon Railway Company. By 1836 it was in operation from Tallahassee to the St. Marks area, on the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of twenty-three miles. The trains on this line were operated solely by mule power.In 1839, the first steam railroad in Florida, and one of the first in the South, was built from Iola, on the Apalachicola River, to St....
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New Officers and Trustees
Last week the Pompano Beach Historical Society installed its officers and trustees for the 2005-2006 year. Incoming Historical Society president, Jerry Bowman (left) is congratulated by outgoing president, Tom DiGiorgio, Jr. Officers elected are: President - Jerry Bowman First Vice President - Shirley Farris Second Vice President - Larry Sands Third Vice President - Miriam Hood Secretary -...
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Centennial Committee
The Pompano Beach Centennial Celebration Committee will meet on Wednesday, May 25th, 6:30 PM, at the Dick & Miriam Hood Center, 217 NE 4th Avenue, Pompano Beach. Those interested in participating the in the planning for Pompano Beach’s 100th Anniversary in 2008 are invited to attend.
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Award Winner
The Pompano Beach Historical Society’s annual award for preservation of our history was presented last night to Eldes Whitsett. Over the years Eldes has been a strong supporter of the Historical Society and has served to further its mission in a wide range of capacities, from selecting Pioneer Day nominees, to developing historical exhibits, to writing thank-you notes to those who make...
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Almost Gone
The Seminole’s are such a fixture of modern South Florida that it is easy to forget that several times their existence was quite precarious. Of course the first instance was during the decades-long Seminole Wars. At the end of those conflicts, in the 1850s, the number of Seminoles remaining in Florida numbered in the low hundreds. But almost one hundred years later, in 1953, the U.S. House...
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Mystery
Who (or what) is Copans Road named for?
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We're Proud They're From Pompano
Congratulations to Pompano Beach Vice Mayor Susan Foster and Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs, both of whom were honored by the Broward Trust for Historic Preservation for their outstanding efforts to save the historic Bank of Pompano building. The awards were presented at the Broward Trust’s inaugural annual meeting on May 5th at the Old Davie School.
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Green Market Thanks
On Thursday, May 12th, the Historical Society hosted a reception for Green Market sponsors, volunteers and vendors, thanking them for helping to make this season a big success. Stalwart Green Market volunteers Paul Whitsett and Brandon Whaley at the reception. Commissioner Kay McGinn, Historical Society President Tom DiGiorgio, Jr. and Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs.The growth and popularity...
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On This Date
It happened far away from Pompano Beach, but it foretold what was coming. On this date in 1940, Winston Churchill gave his first speech as Prime Minister to the British House of Commons. That speech contained one of Churchill’s most famous quotes, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
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Green Market Email Newsletter
Have you subscribed to the Pompano Beach Green Market email newsletter? It gives the latest information on who’s selling what each week, as well as other information on what’s going on. To subscribe, just send an email to greenmarket@pompanohistory.com with the word “subscribe” as the subject.
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Covered Dish Supper Next Week
The Historical Society will end its “season” on Wednesday, May 18th, with an old fashion covered dish supper. Members and the public are invited to bring a dish to the Dick & Miriam Hood Center (217 NE 4th Avenue, Pompano Beach) at 6:30 PM that evening for what invariably turns out to be the best meal in town. Also, that evening the Society will present its annual award to an...
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The First Pompano Beach
“After rejecting a continuing series of proposals to become a part of the Town of Pompano and have beach properties listed on municipal tax rolls, residents of [the beach area] turned out at the Pompano Beach Bathing Pavilion and Dance Casino at a meeting sponsored by the Pompano Beach Improvement Association to organize a municipal government for the Town of Pompano Beach on June 15, 1946. ...
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Canal Work
With plans afoot for the construction of the present-day Intracoastal Waterway, a marine boulevard for pleasure boating and commercial water traffic, Pompano experienced its first growth spurt. Actual work in the nautical equivalent of U.S. 1 stretching from Jacksonville to Miami began in 1883. Among Pompano’s first residents, surveyors Franklyn Sheene and George Butler came to this area...
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Worth a Trip
Collier, one of the state’s newer counties, was created in 1923 and named for Baron G. Collier, a Memphis-born millionaire who came to southwest Florida and became a major developer of what had been little more than frontier settlements. The area’s past is commemorated in the Collier County Museums, located in Naples, Immokalee and Everglades City. The Naples museum, located near the...
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Pompano Becomes a Town
Pompano Beach is the second oldest municipality in Broward County, having been incorporated in 1908. “That year, on June 6, thirty-one qualified voters convened at the Florida East Coast Railway depot and initiated a new period of community growth when they resolved that the Town of Pompano be created. “In an election where only men could vote, the town’s founding fathers...
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Summer Green Market
Although the regular Green Market season ended last weekend, on April 30th, you will still be able to get your fresh produce, seafood, baked goods, orchids, teas and coffees at the Summer Green Market. Located in Founders Park (NE 2nd Street, between 3rd and 4th Avenues), the Summer Green Market will be open every Saturday, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. While you are at the Summer Green Market, visit...
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May is Preservation Month
What used to be Preservation Week has been expanded to include the entire month of May, allowing more opportunities to explore the diversity and uniqueness of our nation’s historic structures. Restore America: Communities at a Crossroads is the theme of the month-long celebration, which is sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Each week of the month is dedicated to a...
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May's Public Program
The Pompano Beach Historical Society will hold its final public meeting of the 2004-05 “season” on Wednesday, May 18th, 6:30 PM at the Dick & Miriam Hood Center (217 NE 4th Avenue, Pompano Beach, FL 33060). As is its tradition, the Historical Society will host a covered dish supper that evening, and members and friends are invited to bring a dish to share. The Society’s...
