Big Changes in Pompano

Imagine a group of time travelers going back 90 years to 1921 Pompano. Looking around, they would be hard pressed to find a recognizable landmark; in fact, if the travelers did not know the year they had arrived at, only the presence of automobiles might give him a clue as to the year. Everything else about the town would more closely resemble a settlement from the Civil War era than it would to the 21st century. But were our visitors to jump forward just seven or eight years, they would instantly recognize where they were and be astonished by the changes that had taken place in Pompano.

The decade of the 1920s is often referred to as the Great Florida Land Boom; it was a time of expanding population and new wealth, throughout the state. During these years, Pompano saw a commercial building boom and expanding government services greatly altering the life of the community

On Monday morning, September 25, 1922, the Bank of Pompano opened for business in a brand-new masonry building at the corner of NE 1st Street and 1st Avenue. Recognizing the significance of the event, local residents gathered to witness the opening ceremonies which included speeches by local leaders, refreshments served by the wives of the bank's directors and an ongoing concert from an orchestra made up of local musicians. Pompano's first bank took in several thousand dollars in deposit that day.

Soon other businesses opened. The Bailey Hotel, next door to the bank and opening at about the same time, might be considered the first real hotel in town. Prior to the Bailey, most overnight accommodations had been rooming houses. Even so, the Bailey was primarily a place for working men -- it would be a couple years before Pompano got a full-service hotel.

When it opened in 1925, the Walton Hotel was deemed the "biggest and finest structure in the city". It was designed by noted Fort Lauderdale architect John Peterman, who would design the Broward County Courthouse a few years later. Located at the southeast corner of NE 1st Street and 1st Avenue, the three-story Walton Hotel contained 34 guest rooms and a dining room that was the place to eat Sunday dinner.

Another important 1920s structure was the two-story Pompano Mercantile Company on Flagler Avenue. Following its opening, it quickly became the main purveyor of just about anything that a farmer or contractor might need; from a hoe to dynamite.

Across the Dixie Highway, additional commercial structures were built, including, in 1925, the large, two-story Kester Building housing offices and retail stores. East of downtown, at the corner of NE 1st Street and 4th Avenue, the 650-seat Pompano Theater opened in 1927, billing itself as the only movie house between Fort Lauderdale and Delray Beach.

Less than 700 people lived within Pompano's municipal boundaries in 1920, but within half-a-dozen years, the population had easily quadrupled. This led to an intense housing shortage and plans for new residential subdivisions. Many never got built, but a few, such as Monticello Park (located west of Dixie Highway, between NW 10th and 13th streets) were quite successful.

This growth forced local government to expand its services significantly. By the decade's midpoint, Pompano's streets remained unpaved. Some were surfaced with crushed rock, but the farther one traveled away from the Dixie Highway, the more primitive the roadways. Around 1926, Northeast 1st Street became the first road to be paved by the City of Pompano. The paving went from Flagler Avenue east about half-a-mile.

It took almost 20 years after incorporation for Pompano to establish a municipal water system. Built in 1926-1927, the system consisted of a 193 feet deep well and a 300,000-gallon water tank, standing over 125 feet high. Both the well and storage tank were located at what would become Founders Park (north of NE 2nd Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues). Initially, water lines were limited to the immediate area.

At about the same time ,Pompano's first sewer system was installed on NE 5th Avenue. It ran toward the Pompano Canal, where a large septic tank was located. Sewage was then filtered through a drain field before being discharged into the Pompano Canal.

In 1925, Pompano's town council agreed that with all the new construction the municipality needed a more modern fire-fighting system. The Pompano City Council voted to build a fire station on NE 4th Avenue and ordered a brand-new LaFrance pumper and received its fire truck on July 13, 1926.

Although not a project of the city government, electricity came to Pompano on April 1, 1924. On that date the Pompano Electric Light and Ice Company powered the grid and lights were turned on. Residents celebrated the event with a street dance. The company's electric power plant was located on the southeast corner of what is today NE 4th Street and Flagler Avenue.

Beyond new buildings and city services, Pompano was attracting professionals and business people. Dr. George McClellan, originally from the little north Florida town of Wellborn, settled here in 1921 and stayed. He worked out of a small office at the corner of NE 1st Avenue and NE 2nd Street, with his residence next door. For over three decades Dr. McClellan would be considered the town's primary medical provider.

One of the founders of Pompano Jewish community, Abe Hirshman, arrived here in 1928 and opened the Bon Ton dry goods store on NE First Street. New businesses opened in Pompano's black community, too, including Tony and Luetta Alexander's dry-cleaning store on Hammondville Road, said to be the first such establishment in the city.

Other new ventures in Pompano included the city's first newspaper, founded in 1924 as the Pompano News, a Chamber of Commerce and a horse racing track southwest of town.

Perhaps nothing did more to boost Pompano's civic pride than the opening of the town's first high school in 1928. Prior to this, Pompano's white high school students took classes at and graduated from Fort Lauderdale Central High School, which had been Broward County's only high school from the time it was built in 1915.

Pompano's black community would not get a high school until 1952, but in 1928, the Broward County School Board allocated a little less than $30,000 for a two-story six-classroom masonry building on NW 6th Avenue. Originally known as the Pompano Colored School, it would later be renamed Coleman Elementary.

All this growth and prosperity ended abruptly in the latter years of the 1920s. Economic collapse and devastating hurricanes plunged Pompano and the rest of South Florida into depression. The good times were gone, but while it lasted the Land Boom had changed Pompano forever.