History: The Suburbs – Part Seven

Completing The Haulover Story

There is no question that Miami-Dade County’s Haulover Park is a gem of a public facility, one which, along with Greynolds, Matheson Hammock and Crandon Parks was initiated under a parks program by long-time county commissioner Charles Crandon.  It took the purchase, however, of a good bit of private property, for the full magnificence of Haulover Park to be brought into the public domain.

As can be noted in “From Sandbar to Sophistication:  The Story of Sunny Isles Beach,” published by The History Press, of Charleston, in 2007, the southern end of today’s park was, beginning sometime in the late-1930s, a privately-owned trailer park.  Stretching from what was then Collins Avenue—today’s beachfront service road—to the bay, the trailer park included a snack bar, laundry facilities for residents, rest room and shower amenities and a recreation area.  The trailer park included a boat dockage facility, approximately where the charter boat fleet operates from today.

The first bridge over the cut, built in 1925 right at ocean’s edge, was wooden and was severely damaged in the September 17th and 18th 1926 hurricane, so much so that it had to be dismantled.  A concrete bridge, which lasted until 1950 was built in its place but the problem of proximity to the ocean remained and the strong tides at the confluence of Haulover Cut and the Atlantic—exactly where the bridge was built—were deleterious to the bridge’s long-term health.  By the mid-1940s the bridge was weakening and by the late 40’s the reality of the need for a new bridge was evident.
It was at that point in time that the decision was made to move Collins Avenue west from the edge of the south side of Haulover Cut to the north side of the cut somewhere north of the famed Lighthouse Restaurant, more about which momentarily.  The new bridge, unlike the old, was aligned with Collins Avenue in Bal Harbour so that motorists using the bridge did not have to, as those using the old bridge did if they were driving north, turn east just before the cut in order to cross the bridge,  According to reports of the time the old bridge would actually shake as cars went over it, so the opening of the new bridge was a joyful event.

Two of long-time Miamians warmest memories  in regard to Haulover Beach are the fabled restaurant’s, Broussard’s and the Lighthouse.  Broussard’s, owned by the famed New Orleans family, was at the northernmost point of land on the Bal Harbour side and had to be passed in order to cross the old bridge.  The top picture on page 35 of “From Sandbar to Sophistication” clearly shows the location.  Once the new bridge opened there was no longer convenient access to the restaurant and the family soon sold it.

The Lighthouse was owned by long-time Miami restaurauteur S. D. Macris and from the time it was built in the 1940s until its destruction in the early 1960s due to a fire of suspicious origin, the Lighthouse was famous for its live turtle and lobster tanks and its fiery demise left an empty spot in the hearts of many Miamians who enjoyed the unique atmosphere, the wonderful food and the excellent service.

Next week:  A look at Bal Harbour Village, how it came to be, what it was, what it became and the people who were and are so important to its history.

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Category: HISTORY