March 2010
21 posts
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A No Vote
In 1975, a proposal was made to build a mausoleum in the Pompano Beach Cemetery. Public opposition, including a petition drive, resulted in the Cemetery Advisory Board voting to reject the idea.
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Pompano's Monarchs
In the late 1960s, the Sea Monarch and the Ocean Monarch condominium towers were built on Pompano Beach’s oceanfront. These projects were developed by August Urbanek. Originally from Wisconsin, where he had constructed many homes, apartments and commercial structures, Urbanek moved to Fort Lauderdale and built a number of large seaside residential complexes in Broward and Palm Beach...
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Walton's Rooms for Rent
Before he opened the Hotel Walton in 1925, John Walton had owned a building at the corner of NE 1st Street and Flagler Avenue that had rooms to rent on the second floor. That structure was built around 1905 and burned down in the mid-1920s. On that location today is a laundromat.
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A Little Girl Named Broward
Broward Campbell was so named because she was supposedly the first child born in the newly-created Broward County (October 1, 1915). The daughter of Cap and Susie Campbell, she died in 1920 and is buried in the Pompano Beach Cemetery
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Don Downie Day
At this evening’s Pompano Beach city commission meeting, Don Downie will be honored for his many efforts to preserve local history. Mayor Lamar Fisher will read and present to Don a proclamation naming March 23, 2010, “Don Downie Day” in Pompano Beach. Among the many projects Don has initiated are the Pioneer Monument, the various Beanpicker reunions and the Pioneer Map.
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Bean and Pepper at the Green Market
This Saturday (March 27th) the Pompano Beach Green Market is hosting the New Bean and Pepper Jamboree, a recreation of an old Pompano tradition. In addition to our regular Green Market vendors and entertainment, the Bean & Pepper Jamboree will have games, food, entertainment and additional vendors. There will also be a special walking tour of Pompano Beach’s historic downtown. It will be...
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The Money Crops
“The total value of Florida truck crops for 1934-1935 season has been computed by the State Marketing Bureau at $33,936,126. Celery accounted for the greatest number of carlot shipments, but tomatoes brought in the most money. With a greatly increased acreage in beans, it is believed that the bean crop will exceed the celery crop in value for the 1935-1936 season.” “The Vegetable...
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Buy Now
Near the beginning of he 20th century, the idea of draining the Everglades caught the public imagination. Vast acreage of new farmland was about to be created, or so most people thought. About that time, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson stated “[D]oubting Thomases who were waiting for the Everglades to develop before buying would regret it all their lives.”
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Onion Farming
Although Franklin Sheen, the person who gave Pompano its name, lived in West Palm Beach, in the late 1890s he owned property here. He had what was described as an “onion patch.”
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Help Wanted
A 1915 article in the West Palm Beach Tropical Sun, reported that Pompano needed the following businesses and occupations: a lumber yard, an “up-to-date” hotel, “live wire” real estate agents and a physician.
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Black Pioneers
Of the 123 families listed on the Pompano Pioneer Monument (arrived in Pompano between 1896 and 1921), 17 are African-American: Alexander, Armbrister, Baker, Ely, Folsom, Gates, Harry, Higgs, Holland, Payton, Rhone, Richardson, Rolle (two branches), Russell, Swain and Thurston.
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Play Ball!
On March 17th, the Pompano Beach Historical Society’s monthly public program will feature a look at the city’s baseball history. Local resident, Tom Curran, is an avid collector of local baseball lore and memorabilia. He will be bringing some of his collection to the Historical Society and discussing the many persons and teams that have played in Pompano Beach, including well-known...
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Two Bridges for less than Ten Grand
In 1947, Broward County awarded a contract to Powell Brothers Construction for rebuilding and widening the Dixie Highway bridges over the Pompano and Cypress Creek canals. The total cost of the contract was $9,800.
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Little Haiti in Pompano
According to a 1984 study by the United States Department of Justice, Pompano Beach had the second largest Haitian community in Florida. It was estimated that as many as 14,000 Haitians were living in the city.
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The Sea Garden
One of the earlier modern hotels on the beach, the Sea Garden opened on January 13, 1951. Opening ceremonies attracted three hundred guests and included Pompano Beach Mayor G. Ted Hull and Broward County Commission S. C. Fox, as well as the 1951 Orange Bowl queen, Mary Davison. The hotel, located at 615 North Ocean Boulevard, was designed by Miami architect Carlos B. Schoeppl.
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Camping at the Air Park
In November, 1979, when the Goodyear blimp Enterprise first came to its new home base in Pompano Beach, it was housed in a huge tent at Pompano Air Park until its permanent hanger was completed.
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Not the Best
When baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams became manager of the Washington Senators, the team’s 1969 spring training generated considerable crowds and excitement. The glamor of the manager’s presence was not matched by Senator’s Pompano Beach facilities:Washington’s Pompano Beach encampment is not the most modern of the Florida spring training camps. There is a portable...
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A Pompano Murder in 1915
Alcohol and an argument over a house cat resulted in the 1915 murder of W. Mack Smith, described as a pioneer of the area. Smith accused his neighbor, Jimmie Read, of killing his pet cat and tempers flared. Read, who had been drinking heavily, left, returned with a shotgun and shot Smith in the head. After several days, concerned friends reported Smith’s disappearance to the Pompano...
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Wartime Budgets
During World War II, local govenments were faced with budget shortfalls as virtually all private constuction was halted to concentrate resources on the war effort. Some South Florida municipalities saw their building permit revenues cut in half.
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Moving Miami's Problems to Pompano
In the 1950s, Pompano Beach officials and residents were upset that about five dozen small wooden houses, almost all in very poor shape, were moved into the city’s northwest section from Miami. Apparently, the houses were moved before Dade County building officials could condemn them. Many were under sales contract when the “new” residences were discovered in an unzoned area west...
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The Beans of Wrath
The economic dislocations of Great Depression led waves of people to pick up and move to areas of the country that they hoped would provide an opportunity for a job. Perhaps the most famous were the “Oakies,” those who left the Dust Bowl devastation in Oklahoma and journeyed to California, often working in that state’s agricultural fields. In the southeastern United States a...
