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Home My WebLink About1985-05-19 The Miracle City That The Wind Blew Away Part 3 (Palm Beach Post)NORTH PALM BEACH PUBIC UMMRY Supplement to The Post, Sunday, May 19, 1985 SUNDAY BROWN WRAPPER THE BIG FIRST — FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS OF THE PALM BEACHES — is celebrating 50 YEARS OF SERVICE. The Miracle City That The Wind Blew Away PROPERTY DAMAGE in Palm Beach County was estimated at $75 million. More than 16,000 people were left homeless in the wake of the hurricane's destructive sweep across the county. Part III Turbulent, Times By: G. Keith Bailey In the mid 192O's, Harry Kelsey's dream city prospered, showing great promise for future expansion. The end came suddenly. In 1923 the now famous Kelsey City Gates were constructed. With a metal banner suspended between two imposing pillars, eighteen feet above what is now Dixie Highway, the sign optimistically declared, "Welcome to Kelsey City, Gateway to the World's Winter Playground." It seemed that the dream of Harry Kelsey was about to come true as in November of that same year the town obtained its charter. (This was but one year after Riviera Beach and two years before Boca Raton and Jupiter gained their charters.) The gates were constructed solidly of mortar and coquina and seemed to bespeak stability and permanence. By the end of that turbulent decade, they were still standing, but standing ironically, as though vaguely emblematic of something passed rather than permanent. In the mid -twenties, however, Kelsey City seemed prosperous. Businesses flourished and there was promise of further growth. Meanwhile, Harry Kelsey again ex- hibited an idiosyncrasy that proved costly over the years — his penchant for directing attention away from established, successful projects in order to devote energy to new ventures. In November of 1925, Kelsey bought the Florida East Coast Canal. During the late 19th cen- tury, this inland waterway had been dug from Jacksonville to Miami. It was actually the percur- sor of today's intracoastal water- way, but in Kelsey's day dredging and silting problems procured its proposed uses. Kelsey planned to eliminate these problems with im- provements that would make it possible for at least fifty large freight barges to use the canal. Kelsey's dream for the waterway was never realized. It was but one )1. king VOur Corp. rnment ES of the many fatalities of the Great Bust of the late twenties. In the meantime, the Kelsey City development was managed by Kelsey's associates, with some dubious financial results. Skimm- ing of funds was apparently com- monplace. Even worse was Kelsey's custom of `signing his tax returns without reading them carefully. The Internal- Revenue Service found that Kelsey was significantly understating his in- come. This finally led to his indict- ment on criminal charges. This had dire effects on land sales, but Kelsey did manage to stay in business and ride out the financial storm. He even won dismissal of the charges when the court gave credence to his explanation . that his most serious accounting error resulted from an inadvertent misplacement of a decimal point. The storms that Kelsey could not weather were of the more natural variety. The hurricane of 1926, which passed northwestward through Miami September 17-18, caused Lake Okeechobee to overflow its dike at Moore Haven and claimed over 300 lives. Although most of the damage oc- curred south of Pompano, the ominious newspaper accounts, especially in Northern papers, made it all the more difficult to attract prospective land investors. Two years later came the real death knell for Kelsey City. The in- famous hurricane of 1928 was a direct hit on West Palm Beach. The cataclysm claimed thousands of lives. There were no deaths in Kelsey City, but the hurricane nearly leveled the town. With almost no warning of the storm, residents rushed to the most stable structure in town — the City Hall. Even that stone face edifice was said to have swayed in the awesome winds. When the tumult finally passed, the residents walk- ed out to find that all the stores along Park Avenue were flattened — several buildings had virtually disappeared. W inds as high as 150 miles an hour had razed the town's three major manufacturing plants, as well as school and church buildings. Even the Earman River Bridge, a solid loking concrete span, had been wrenched from its moorings. In a legal sense, Kelsey City died in 1930 when the state officially nullified its municipal charter. After that time, Kelsey City itself became a ghost town of sorts, although most of the residents did remain in the general area that was to become Lake Park in 1939. One historyof Lake Park ark described the early thirties as a time of "unique sharing and togetherness among the people re- maining .. The Garden Club did much for the town, and the P.T.A. provided entertainment for the young. The Community Church served as a recreational center for the area." It was during this period that the flamboyant Sir Harry Oakes "GIL OPE] 441 CO] "GRAI DR, May ill N; THEB FIRST FED] 825 U.S. f- Page 4—Supplement to The Post, Sunday, May 19, 1985 WE DON'T CARE IF OUR LOANS FLYAWAY! The BIG FIRST has general aviation loans with rates and terms designed especially for you! • Call our Aviation Department today. . Fly away with a BIG FIRST General Aviation Loan! 0-kr THE BIG FIRST FSLIC Insured by the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corp. An agency of the U.S. Government FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS OF THE PALM BEACHES 655-8511 Jupiter -Boynton 428-0900 Delray -Boca Cr arrived on the scene, buying land at every turn. Like his predecessor Harry Kelsey, he, too, had big plans for a prosperous, well planned community. (to be continued) The above article is based on documents kept on file at the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. COMMUNITY BILLBOARD AMERICA YSOCIEE1YRN ALICE WORTHINGTON NOAH MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT PRESIDENT COUNTRY CLUB JUNE 22, 1985 SCRAMBLE FORMAT 9 a.m. SHOTGUN START A WARDS AND PRIZES FOLLOWING PLAY $30 PER PLAYER BY FOURSOMES (TAX DEDUCTIBLE) ENTRY DEADLINE: MAY 17 ENTRY FORMS, CONTACT: WEST PALM BEACH 2724 AUSTRALIAN AVE. 655-4611 BOCA RATON 133A E. PALMETTO PARK RD. 272-7068