Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Losing Fort Lauderdale

Alhambra
Poolside view, Alhambra Beach Resort

In a recent post I wrote a bit about our first trip to Ft. Lauderdale 10 years ago.  For that first trip, as I usually do, I made arrangements at the last possible minute.  We were lucky enough to book a single night at a motel just a block from the beach that had been recommended by an online friend.  We liked it immensely, and we've been staying at the Alhambra Beach Resort ever since.  In fact, the last few years we've been making our reservations there a year in advance!

The motel is on Alhambra Street, a short, quiet street running east-west between N. Birch Road along the Intracoastal Waterway and Route A1A along the beach.  It's a small, unassuming (and given its location, surprisingly inexpensive) motel, two stories high and with only a dozen units, with a peaceful courtyard gorgeously landscaped with palms around a small swimming pool.  The current owners and their staff have maintained the property--and more importantly, treated their guests--so well that it gets stellar ratings on all the online sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor and last year won TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Exceptional Service award.

Ft. Lauderdale
Alhambra Street (yellow building is the Alhambra Beach Resort)

On that first visit 10 years ago, we were there just for the day but arrived early enough to spend some time on the beach.  A new high-rise was nearing completion nearby, and in the late afternoon January sun its shadow was already shading out a good portion of the beach.  This building is now the luxurious Ritz-Carlton hotel, one of the largest and tallest buildings along Ft. Lauderdale Beach and visible from blocks away (including from the Alhambra's courtyard).

Ft. Lauderdale
Ritz-Carlton hotel

Since that first trip, we've gotten to know Ft. Lauderdale and the surrounding area a bit better.  Ft. Lauderdale is a small city of approximately 170,000 on the Atlantic coast of southern Florida, just north of Miami.  The climate is warm year-round, with winter temperatures rarely falling into the 40's (F).  This is a city that has enthusiastically embraced its nearly tropical climate: palms, including numerous coconut palms, dominate the landscape, punctuated here and there by tall specimens of Araucaria columnaris.

Sunset palms
Coconut palms at sunset, Ft. Lauderdale Beach

Downtown Ft. Lauderdale
Palms (Sabal palmetto) and Bouganvillea, Las Olas Boulevard

Tourism is a major part of the economy, and Ft. Lauderdale has gained popularity as a beach town that's smaller, quieter, and most of all cheaper than Miami Beach to the south.  It gained a reputation as a college break party town in the 1980's, but the city has strongly discouraged both this reputation and the behavior that led to it.  Dissected by the Intracoastal Waterway, several rivers, and dozens if not hundreds of canals, Ft. Lauderdale styles itself as the "Venice of America".  It's a major cruise ship port, with the ships docking in the Intracoastal Waterway as passengers board and disembark.

Ft. Lauderdale
Canal along Las Olas Boulevard

Ft. Lauderdale 2015
Cruise ship docked in Intracoastal Waterway

Why do we like Ft. Lauderdale so much?  First and foremost, its sunny, warm winters are a welcome escape from our chilly, dreary Washington, DC winters!  It's a short flight from DC and the nearby Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport makes it easy to get to.  It's still fairly affordable, but with plenty of shops and good restaurants.  It's an easy drive to Miami and Miami Beach, and a slightly longer drive across the state to Naples, where my parents spent their winters before my father's stroke.  Ft. Lauderdale, and especially neighboring Wilton Manors, have large gay communities and are very gay-friendly.  For plant geeks like me, there are botanical gardens, nurseries, parks, and historic homes like the Bonnet House with their gardens.  Boats are everywhere, and drawbridges interrupt several of the major roads.  There are some beautiful and very, very expensive homes along the many waterways, most with their own private docks, and the Jungle Queen provides a voyeuristic glimpse at some of these otherwise inaccessible homes.

Jungle Queen
Drawbridge opens for the Jungle Queen (yeah, I messed up the angle of the shot!)

DSCN9529
Bonnet House courtyard (2009)

Intracoastal Waterway
Intracoastal Waterway

Intracoastal Waterway
Boats everywhere!

We try to visit someplace new every time we vacation there, and this time we toured the new Stranahan Botanical Garden, tucked downtown in Stranahan Park surrounding the Ft. Lauderdale Woman's Club building (see A Tidewater Gardener's excellent and thought-provoking blog post, Stranahan Botanical Garden - A Troubled Paradise).

Osmoxylon lineare (Araliaceae)Oxmoxylon lineare (Araliaceae), Stranahan Botanical Garden

Woman's Club building
Woman's Club building, Stranahan Park

Like any city, Ft. Lauderdale has changed over time and we've seen many changes just in the 10 years we've been going there.  And like any city, Ft. Lauderdale has had its economic ups and downs, with the recession years of 2008 and 2009 looking particularly grim with many shops on the main business strips of Las Olas Boulevard and Wilton Drive going out of business or already empty.  But construction in Ft. Lauderdale seems to be making up for lost time since then, with empty lots being filled in and older properties being replaced by modern buildings.  On our latest trip in particular, it seemed that new buildings were under construction all over Ft. Lauderdale.  One long-undeveloped lot along Las Olas Boulevard has finally been cleared and a very long drill was... well, I'm not sure what it was doing, except drilling something very, very deeply.  The city's skyline is looking increasingly like that of Miami, with more and more modern high rises popping up in the city and along the beach.  This is especially evident as one approaches by air, with highrises looking out over the ocean all along the beach.

Downtown Ft. Lauderdale    Construction, downtown Ft. Lauderdale
Construction cranes in downtown Ft. Lauderdale

Downtown Ft. Lauderdale
New building under construction, visible from Las Olas Boulevard

Ft. Lauderdale 2015
Ft. Lauderdale, approach by air (click here to see full size)

In the midst of all these new buildings there are still bits of old Ft. Lauderdale to be found, and the Alhambra Beach Resort is one of them.  Originally built in 1938 as an apartment building and only becoming a motel in the late 1970's, the Alhambra was purchased by the current owners in 2004.  (For more about its history, see Julia Galan's The Alhambra Beach Resort: A Home Away From Home.) Located on a quiet street with several smaller, older buildings, this exemplifies "old" Ft. Lauderdale for us.  With small private homes on either side, and--incredibly--a long-empty lot across the street, the Alhambra seems to occupy its own little time warp just a 5 minute walk from the beachside shops and restaurants, but with newer buildings, including several high-rises, pressing ever closer.

Ft. Lauderdale
Alhambra Street as seen from the other side

At the end of the block towards the ocean is Casablanca Café, a restaurant that has become one of our favorite go-to eateries for its food and service as much as for its convenient location and outdoor seating with a fabulous beach view.  It's becoming rarer and rarer to find places like this anywhere near the beach, and even here a tall building looms behind it.  Buildings like the Alhambra, the Woman's Club building (built 1917), Casablanca (built 1920's), and Bonnet House (built 1920), give a glimpse into the past, of a Ft. Lauderdale that has been lost--and is still being lost--bit by bit.

Casablanca
Casablanca Café
 Ft. Lauderdale
Casablanca Café, viewed from another angle

Alhambra
Ritz-Carlton hotel, seen from Alhambra courtyard

The Ritz-Carlton is visible from the Alhambra's courtyard, but I just checked its prices and the rooms start at about $600 per night.  Yikes!  Is this the future of Ft. Lauderdale?  As we walked by the Ritz-Carlton on our latest trip, I wondered out loud what it had replaced, and if anybody missed it.  There are still a few smaller resorts near the beach, but they're being gobbled up by developers one by one.  As the demand for the land, and its value, continue to increase, how long can a small resort like the Alhambra survive?  However good they are, however popular they are, however successful they are as businesses, these smaller places are under incredible pressure from developers who are anxious to bulldoze them and put up something "bigger and better"... meaning more lucrative.  The alternative to selling is being sandwiched between high-rises.  The way things are going, the days may be numbered for these lovely little oases of old Ft. Lauderdale, and if our favorite motel likewise falls to "development", that will be a crying shame and I'm not sure I could bear to come back.

Alhambra
Saying good-bye to owner Matt on our last day

I can't help but compare Ft. Lauderdale to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  Rehoboth Beach is one of our other vacation spots that we've also seen change considerably in the years we've been going there.  Small, older homes with large, generous yards are being torn down to build vacation homes or rental properties to the maximum size that zoning will allow, with what little yard remains being paved for parking.  Most of the remaining houses anywhere near the beach now command prices that only a developer intent on tearing it down and building something bigger could afford.  Resort towns like Ft. Lauderdale and Rehoboth Beach are victims of their own success, with the influx of tourists driving a demand for commercial property.  It's all about the money and the bottom line is all about how much money can possibly be made.  As a tourist, one of the very people helping to create this situation, am I allowed to lament it?

Ft. Lauderdale 2015
Sunset over the Intracoastal Waterway

28 comments :

  1. Tricky situation all over, beautiful popular places that change or get changed by the demands of the people who adore them. Hope it doesn't change to the extent you won't go back again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're talking about going to Key West next year. We've never been, and would like to check it out.

      Delete
  2. We are probably the last generation to enjoy it, in any case. Even though the governor of FL has forbidden state agencies from using the terms "global warming" or "climate change", most of the state will be claimed by the rising ocean in the next hundred years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe not.There's evidence we'll get cooler over the next few decades.I live very near and inlet on the Alabama coast.Here for most of my life(I'm68) the water level has been rising.Now it seems to have stopped.There is evidence that sea level here has been both significantly lower and higher than at present by a good bit.

      Delete
    2. Beach towns like Ft. Lauderdale and Miami Beach are going to be the "canaries" of global warming. Miami is already having problems with flooding during high tides.

      Delete
    3. To Unknown: What evidence can you link to that Alabama will get cooler over the next few decades? Of course there is geological evidence from the Paleocene ice ages which you can see today in beachside cliffs, that show the rising and lowering of the water level. In that case we are talking about a time period of over a few million years.

      In YOUR life time, with the arctic, antarctic and Greenland melting like popsicles on a New York sidewalk, you better buy buy flood insurance, or get life vests.

      Delete
  3. I believe my brother and I rode past the Alhambra at least 20 times one day shortly after after Christmas. We were circling endlessly for a parking spot to open on the street. His usual place is near the state park, but road work was going on. One of the things I like the most about Ft. Lauderdale is the landscaping, and not just because of all the tropicals. It seems like they must have some ordinance requiring a certain amount of improvements to go along with any building permit. Or it could be that people realize that good landscaping is good for business. Other areas could take a lesson, but with a different plant palatte.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, there's a lot of nice landscaping, but there are also parts of Ft. Lauderdale that are pretty run-down and trashy-looking. We've explored some of the city and surrounding areas and it's not all shiny and new and touristy!

      Delete
  4. Your post reminds me of how things are going here in Portland these days. Small or older (historic) homes go on the market and are snatched up by developers who tear them down and max out the lot with an ugly, out of character with the rest of the neighborhood, McMansion with no garden space. It's a crying shame.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gentrification has been a hot topic in DC for years; one of the current controversies is over "pop-ups", where a developer will buy a small older rowhouse, gut it, and add one or frequently two or more stories to it, converting what was a small single-family home into 3 or 4 condos. Some of them tower ridiculously above their neighbors.

      Delete
  5. St. Augustine Florida is a beautiful place to go too. They haven't quite ruined it yet and it still has some charm and beauty left.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I visited St. Augustine MANY (ca. 40) years ago but don't really remember it. I didn't go into it in this blog post, but a couple of family trips to Florida when I was a kid made a big impression on me, and really helped get me interested in palms and tropical plants.

      Delete
  6. I've never been to Florida but your post makes me want to visit! What a great get away from your brutal winter! Thanks for all of the info and gorgeous images.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It would be quite a long way for you! At least for us it's a short (2 1/2 hour) flight, and we can nearly always get a direct flight. And having spent 12 days with my Mom in Buffalo in late January, I can understand why my parents spent their winters in Naples for all those years!

      Delete
  7. Having been here 25 yrs. I remember the small Fishing Village this town once was and loved and still Love. I've seen the growth and all so been part of it now Living in a Luxury Hirise at Broward and Federal. We are a City now and growth was bound to happen, but I do mourn the passing of the old days!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the input. I would love to see what Ft. Lauderdale was like 25 years ago--or better yet 40 or 50!

      Delete
  8. The author should have done more research A 12 story Marriott Hotel will be built on Alhambra St. after tearing down the three buildings behind the Casablanca next year. And many more are now in the works for the rest of the beach area.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was the rumor I heard while I was down there (and in part inspired this blog post) but I was unable to confirm it as a done deal. Can you direct me to any online news about this?

      Delete
  9. I was born in Miami and raised in Fort Lauderdale, no offense but I feel like over the years the tourists and snowbirds have turned the city into what they want it to be and Im not very fond of that, thats the reason I moved away, I dont like what they have done with the city. Too many snowbirds come down and disrespect a city that was once a nice city

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I won't disagree with you. This is a problem with many resort towns--the year-round residents are very few, but in season the population balloons and everybody wants everything.

      Delete
  10. what are you going to do? Lock it in place? If you think it's becoming like Miami, drive down Brickell. The Swede who now owns countless small hotels and has renamed that area , North Beach, will ensure a good welcome vibe amidst the Ritz es

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm under no illusions that there's anything I can do. Life goes on, and if our favorite place closes we'll find someplace new, or vacation somewhere else entirely. But I can certainly miss and mourn what is lost!

      Delete
  11. According to the Koppen Classification a tropical climate is one in which the average daily temperature for any month does not fall below 65F. Accordingly all of South Florida therefore qualifies as tropical. Not all locations that lie within the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn have a tropical climate. Hong Kong, for example, has a subtropical climate much like that of Orlando.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I described Ft. Lauderdale as "nearly tropical" for two reasons: first, it doesn't technically fall within the "tropics" as it's north of the Tropic of Cancer); and second, while freezing are extremely rare, they do happen occasionally.

      Delete
    2. I know. That's why I thought you'd be interested to know how climatologists view the situation. By the way, Washington has a subtropical climate, according to Koppen. Anyway, I really enjoy your blog. I did the tropical gardening thing in Washington for nearly forty years before retiring to Miami. Your blog helps me 'keep my finger in' so to speak. Happy gardening.

      Delete
  12. Yes, North Beach Village is an exciting place. With the Swedish developer purchasing over 24 properties, he has rehabbed at least 10 or more into some wonderful Mid Century Modern structure's like The Royal Palms Resort, Aqua, Tranquilo and numerous others. The developer has adopted a signature color white and repaints all of his redone properties the same. The city is working with developers in the area to make it more walkable by allowing sidewalk cafes and pop-up restaurants to happen and new street landscaping.
    Also, the Central Beach Alliance, a very strong homeowners association are actively working with the city and developers to bring the right mix to the area. They CBA, were very active in saving the old Escape Motel from demolition, turning the property into a mixed use of condos, motel and restaurants, renaming the property The Gale similar to the one in Miami. There are plans on the drawing board to connect the north part of the area south of Sunrise Blvd via the Bonnet House property with a pedestrian friendly promenade. So life is a beach in North Beach Village, keep coming down and enjoy all the new changes going on. DC, you may want to join the Central Beach Alliance, they always have the most up to date information and they email residents and those concerned several times per month with meeting recaps and development news.

    ReplyDelete
  13. You are allowed to lament the change, but unless you got the bucks ($600 a night), don't bother coming back. DC will be getting warmer in winter, no? The anonymous posting above this reads like a press release from the chamber of commerce. "So life is a beach in North Beach Village, keep coming down and enjoy all the new changes going on." And sleep in your car?

    ReplyDelete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete