By
WILLIAM R. HAWKINS
Waterfront News Writer
This
story appeared in the April 2002 issue of the Waterfront News and is
being used by permission.
Residents of Lauderdale Isles
say it's not just the tropical names of the tiny isles that make the
neighborhood almost paradise-like. Called Key Largo, Bimini, Nassau, Andros and
Tortugas, the isles, shaded by big oak trees dangling with Spanish moss, also
are home to boat after boat. Wooden street signs surrounded by landscaping greet
motorists traveling Riverland Road in what is now considered Fort Lauderdale.
"This sense of community
and pride in our neighborhood is what I believe sets us a part from other
areas," said Jennifer O'Brien, who lives on Gulfstream Lane and is vice
president of the Lauderdale Isles Civic Improvement Association. In a recent
civic newsletter, O'Brien told of her greeting into the neighborhood after she
and her husband first bought their home in October 1999. "It was only a few
days before closing and we were invited to a party where we had a chance to meet
all the new neighbors before even a single piece of furniture had been
moved," she said.
Developed in the 1950s by Gill
Construction Co., the isles off the south side of Riverland Road originally were
settled by snowbirds wanting vacation hideaways. A two-bedroom home 52 years ago
had a price tag of $10,500. Now homes go for $200,000 and up. In 1959, the civic
association was formed with some 700 households.
Virginia Springmeyer, who at
the age of 92 is the oldest member of the association, is one of the few
original landowners. "My father loved this area and was the one who decided
to move us all here from St. Louis," said Springmeyer, who was in her 30s
when she relocated into the family home on Key Largo Lane. When her family moved
there, they had to stay in a motel until construction was finished
"I've always loved the
peace and quiet of the area and it's still that way today even though a lot has
changed," she said. "They would start building on one lane and then go
up the street to the water and then come back down the other side, building one
house at a time," she explained. "I don't suppose I have that many
years to go on living here, but I plan to stay as long as I can."
Joan Sheridan moved to her home
on Key Largo Lane in 1963 after buying from an original owner. Now it's an early
American-style cottage with lots of brick, a Dutch front door, colored glass,
wooden logs and ceiling beams and ruffled curtains. "It doesn't look very
Floridian but we love it," she said, explaining how much work she and her
husband, Pete, did on their own.
It was Sheridan who helped deal
with one of the most serious threats to the isles in 1970 when heavy vegetation
in the waterways threatened to stop all boat traffic and was killing fish due to
lack of oxygen in the water. The civic leader helped establish a taxing
district that helped fund the cleanup. Sheridan helped lead successful efforts
to avoid industrial development of a waterfront land to create Riverland Woods
Park, which will be developed over the next two years.
While a newsletter keeps
residents informed of activities, Lauderdale Isles – like so many area
communities—has gone state-of-the-art with its own website
www.licia.org.