A Brief Look into South Beach’s History
Today, South Beach is home to some of the most valuable real estate in the southeastern United States, including the Continuum condos. Considering its status today, it’s worth going back and exploring a bit of its humble beginnings.
South Beach originally started off as farmland. In the late 1870s, several acres of it were purchased by Charles and Henry Lum for the purpose of coconut farming. Charles Lum would go on to build the area’s first ever beach house in 1886. By the late 1890s, the Lum siblings had moved on and left American Quaker farmer John Collins in charge of the plantation.
It wasn’t until 1913 that entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher arrived in South Beach and began devising plans to turn the area into a thriving metropolis. By 1915, Fisher, Collins, and Miami businessmen the Lummus Brothers joined forces to incorporate the Town of Miami Beach.
In 1920, South Beach grew by leaps and bounds, attracting the attention of notable millionaires like Harvey Firestone and James Cash “J. C.” Penney. The following decade saw the rise of the area’s distinctive Art Deco architecture and by 1940, there were nearly 30,000 people living there. South Beach would experience even greater popularity in the 1960s when comedian, actor, and writer Jackie Gleason brought his namesake variety series to the area.
This update is presented by the Miami Beach real estate team representing Blackstone International Realty, specializing in the Continuum in South Beach. If you are interested in Miami Beach condos such as the Continuum condos for sale, call the Continuum experts at 305-588-2451 for information on sales and rentals.