 Ed Garren on The Far Coast. By Ed Garren |
Sixty years ago, Florida, particularly south Florida, was a very different world. On Miami Beach, what we now call "South Beach" was the only game in town, most hotels barred Jews, and anyone else who was not of a certain social strata. There was no such thing as air-conditioning. The place had a true "season". From mid October until mid April, it was paradise. In other times, it was hell, hot, humid and as Alan King said in "Sunshine State", the end of the earth, a place populated by white people who ate catfish.
Lots of people came just for the season. Some to work it, some to relax in the warm sun and soft tropical breezes.
Romance sold south Florida. Arthur Godfrey singing "Moon Over Miami,” Bogart in "Key Largo,” Henry Flagler's railroad brought trainloads of frozen northerners to Julia Tuttle’s tropical paradise on Biscayne Bay. In the 1940s, Chevrolet named it's high end coupe the Biscayne. Long before air travel opened up other places for tourism, south Florida was the only place to play in the winter on the east coast. Even Lucy and Ricky made a mythical journey to Miami.
 By Ed Garren. |
It was the place for anyone who was anybody to be seen during the season, even if they got there in drag like the boys in "Some Like it Hot."
But where to house all of them? Not everyone had or wanted to spend the money to build permanent housing for a group of "snowbirds." The population would deflate to about 30% of it's seasonal height for most of the year. Building permanent housing didn't make much sense.
Transient housing made sense. "Trailer Courts" became popular in the Sunshine State. They were the first gated communities in Florida, small villages, shrouded in secrecy, safely hidden behind lush hedges of tropical foliage. To this day, many are clothing optional.
Within their private gates, a calmer more relaxed tone prevailed. Neighbors became friends for life, returning to the same parks year after year. Often, people kept the trailer set up all year, coming during the season, and paying a lower monthly rate off season while they were back at home. The keys to these little palaces were lovingly passed to friends and family so they could take a warm holiday in the dead of winter to the magic of Miami.
 By Ed Garren. |
Soon these little homes expanded with "Cabana Rooms" and "tilt out rooms", were skirted and landscaped to provide a finished look. They became icons of an affordable Florida for the working class. Factory workers and teachers bought them. And of course, in honor of the tropics, plastic pink flamingos sprung up among the cacti and orchids.
With retirement, the owners stayed longer, and with air-conditioning, many stayed for good. Lots of people, particularly former apartment dwellers, moved into these trailers for the last years of life. Many of them got passed on to wave upon wave of retirees, or family members who were "down on their luck".
For about 25% of what they had paid for an apartment in the city, they had more square feet, actual yard space, no one tromping on the ceiling, fresh air, orchids, palm trees and often a pool and recreation facilities. The screened and shaded "Cabana Rooms" are a great place to socialize while enjoying the gentle breezes and songbirds that dance on the trees. The moon and the stars are brilliant, and the utilities were (and still are) included in the rent.
 By Ed Garren. |
What is even more amazing is that in a place where termites eat site built houses apart in 30 years, where windstorms remove roofs like coffee cup lids, and todays luxury apartment buildings are tomorrows low rent dumps, these little trailer courts continue to thrive, and the little aluminum skinned boxes, many now over fifty years old continue to captivate the heart with their intimate charm, a "little baby house" painted in tropical colors, a place to call home. When a trailer has finally served it's use, it is replaced byone of the new "Park Model" R.V.s.
We consider all sorts of housing options for seniors to spend their "golden years". Here is a photo gallery of a place in north Broward county, mid way between Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach, where most people live for less than $400 a month, neighbors know and look out for each other and management is actually attentive to the needs of residents.
In this particular park, French speaking Canadians make up over 40% of the residents, many of whom are young people. In addition to French, I heard Spanish, German and Italian being spoken among the residents in the park. It is a genuinely cosmopolitan place, far more international than many port cities. About half the units in the park are fairly new, but I focused on taking pictures of the older units, many of which are pushing fifty years old.
 By Ed Garren. |
These all survived many hurricanes, including Wilma (last fall) that took part of Hazels roof off less than four miles away.
From way down on Dixie Highway near Homestead Florida, Ed Garren.
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Edward "Ed" Garren, MFT is a Family Therapist, justice activist, former West Hollywood City Council candidate, writer and sojourner. He is originally from the Tampa Bay area of central Florida. Ed has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Frontiers news magazine, and other books, including "Out of My Mind,” a pictorial memoir by Kris Nelson. He is currently working on a book about Addiction in America.
Ed Garren can be reached, even in the Red America’s wilds, at