Pompano’s Beach - Ted Hull

In 1947, the City of Pompano and the beach area merged to become the City of Pompano Beach. With this action came a realization by many that big changes were in store for the lands east of the Intracoastal Waterway. By the early 1950s, people were streaming into South Florida from throughout the United States, leading to two decades of growth that would see Pompano Beach’s population swell from about 5,000 residents to over 38,000. Likewise, tourism became a major factor, challenging agriculture for economic primacy in the community.

Obviously, the big tourist attractions were boating and the beach, and in the immediate post-war period, Pompano Beach had little to offer out-of-town visitors. For all practical purposes, the city had no public beach, primitive boating facilities and no modern tourist hotels.

Recognizing these deficiencies, Pompano Beach approached the man who owned the most beachfront property – William L. Kester. Mayor G. Ted Hull took the lead in negotiating with Kester for the 1951 purchase of the oceanfront property that would become the city's public beach. Kester sold the land to the city for $80 a foot even though at that time willing buyers were paying between $200 and $300 a foot for property on the ocean.

In the late 1940s, Mr. H. J. McDonald of New York was delivering a large boat to Mr. E. W. Beye of Pompano Beach. The two men had a hard time finding dock space for the boat, and finally had to settle for a spot in Fort Lauderdale. They discussed their problem and agreed to work together to develop a boating facility in Pompano Beach.

They located a strip of land on the east side of the Intracoastal, just north of the Atlantic Boulevard bridge (which at that time was still the old hand-cranked turn bridge). Construction followed, and in 1950 the Pompano Beach Yacht Basin and the Sands Yachtel opened with 40 docking spaces, a 12 unit motel and a shopping center that catered to both visiting sailors and local residents.

One of the earlier modern hotels on the beach, the Sea Garden, opened on January 13, 1951. Designed by Miami architect Carlos B. Schoeppl, the new hotel opened with ceremonies that 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. Developers could not build hotels and motels fast enough; by the middle of the 1950s, tourist facilities with exotic names such as The Beachcomber, Jasmine Villas, Journey’s End, Lighthouse Cove, Ocean Ranch, Pirate’s Cove and the Shore Leave Resort, to name just a few, were scattered up and down the beach.

With more people on the beach came a demand for more retail stores and services. In 1956, the Oceanside Shopping Center opened on the northwest corner of Atlantic Boulevard and Highway A1A. The complex was developed by James B. Kirby, inventor of the Kirby vacuum cleaner and a winter resident of Pompano Beach, and included a grocery store, restaurants, and a variety of retail shops.

A major problem inhibiting the beach area’s continued growth was the antiquated Atlantic Boulevard bridge that connected it to the mainland. The swing-span bridge dated back to the early part of the twentieth century and had to be manually opened to allow all but the smallest boats though. As the 1950s progressed the bridge often failed, causing those who wished to cross the Intracoastal to take a circuitous route to the closest bridges on Hillsboro Boulevard or Oakland Park Boulevard. Local leaders were successful in getting the State of Florida to construct a modern drawbridge, and December 1956 the new bridge was dedicated with a parade and ceremonies attended by many dignitaries, including Florida Governor Leroy Collins. The bridge was dedicated in memory of Pompano Beach resident and long-time Broward County Commissioner S.C. Fox, who had passed away in 1953.

Long before Pompano was settled, the nearby ocean waters had been a popular fishing area. At the Hillsboro Inlet the charter fishing fleet catered to well-heeled tourists while drift fishing boats provided a more affordable deep-sea experience. In order to capitalize on its fishing reputation, in 1962 the city constructed and dedicated a fishing pier on the public beach. Three years later, the Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce established the Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo as an event to both keep tourists in South Florida longer than the winter months and bring attention to the charter fishing boat business.

East of the Intracoastal, developers were beginning a building boom that would greatly alter the nature of the oceanfront. 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, a Wisconsin native who moved to Fort Lauderdale and constructed large condominium and rental complexes in Broward and Palm Beach counties. These and other large residential towers greatly increased the population living on the beach, but also put severe strains on the roads and bridges.

Almost unnoticed, a slow deterioration began to take place. The condominium building boom that began in the late 1960s had increased the area's population, but commercial development lagged. A significant portion of the condo dwellers were either part-time residents or retirees on fixed incomes; shopping areas such as Oceanside Center began to lose tenants in the 1980s and 1990s. However, people living in the high-rises on the beach became a potent lobbying group, often seeking to counter proposed large development with charges that new construction was too "intense" or would increase traffic tie-ups.

In an attempt to revitalize the beach area, the City of Pompano Beach created the East Community Redevelopment Agency in 2001, encompassing a compact area of 158 acres running on either side of Atlantic Boulevard from just west of Federal Highway to the beach. The new redevelopment proposals won the support in both City Hall and on the beach. Although this redevelopment process remains on-going, much progress has been made and it promises to revitalize Pompano’s beach.