Paradise for Sale : Florida's Booms and Busts

by Wynne, Nick

• ISBN13: 9781596298446
• ISBN10: 1596298448
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-02-12
• Publisher: History Pr

Summary

Internationally publicized as the happiest place on earth decades before Disney arrived, the Sunshine State experienced a brief and wondrous economic boom in the mid-1920s. Entrepreneurs and real estate developers became overnight millionaires as they created luxury seaside resorts, golfing communities and country clubs. Greats, near greats, famous, infamous, movie stars, politicians, athletes, ne'er-do-wells, preachers, foreign royalty, con artists, educators, labor leaders, union members- every element of American and world society flocked to the 'Pleasure Paradise of the World.' Florida was a perpetual motion machine- destined to go on forever. But in 1926, small bank failures led to panic, the new federal income tax law led to bankruptcy and a series of hurricanes decimated the tourist trade. Florida's great boom had gone bust, not to recover until World War II. However, Floridians remained optimistic that the sun of prosperity would always rise again.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. 9
Introduction	p. 11
An American Eden	p. 13
Priming the Pump	p. 23
World War Primes the Pump Even More	p. 39
The Truth about Florida Is a Lie!	p. 49
Going Full Bore: Selling the Boom	p. 56
A City from Whole Cloth: Carl Graham Fisher	p. 70
George Edgar Merrick	p. 83
David P. Davis: The Island Maker	p. 93
Addison Mizner	p. 104
Lesser Lights and Smaller Fry	p. 112
Every Little Nook and Cranny	p. 127
Shut Your Damn Mouth!	p. 141
It Is Over!	p. 151
Of Bottom Feeders and Small Bumps	p. 159
A New War-A New Boom?	p. 167
Epilogue	p. 173
A Brief Note on Sources	p. 187
About the Authors	p. 191
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