{"id":17186,"date":"2018-10-03T16:02:49","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T23:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/?p=17186"},"modified":"2018-10-03T16:22:15","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T23:22:15","slug":"stiltsville-life-on-the-flats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/stiltsville-life-on-the-flats\/","title":{"rendered":"STILTSVILLE LIFE ON THE FLATS"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/a>
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Photo by JudySummerPhotos.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Stiltsville is a story of revelers, rule-benders and escape. This collection of wooden fishing shacks built on pilings in the shallow waters off Cape Florida is found within the watery boundaries of Biscayne National Park. Most likely sprouting up with the advent of Prohibition in 1920, the number of structures through time has increased from a handful to 27, then dropped to today\u2019s seven stilt \u201chomes.\u201d In its nearly 100-year history, threats to the existence of the get-away-from-it-all shacks would come in the form of hurricanes, fires, the law and finally, the federal government.<\/b><\/p>\n

Biscayne National Monument was formed in the southern part of Biscayne Bay in 1968. In 1980, Biscayne National Park was established, expanding its boundaries to the north, which included Stiltsville. Ownership of the land passed from the state to the federal government. Located south-southeast of Miami, it is the largest marine park in the National Park Service\u2019s system of 410 areas. The park spans 173,000 acres and protects the world\u2019s most extensive coral reef tracts; the east coast\u2019s longest stretch of mangrove forest; the shallow waters of the Bay; the northernmost Florida Keys and the artifacts associated with the region\u2019s 10,000 years of human habitation. Stiltsville is one such record of human activity\u00a0for which the park is responsible.<\/p>\n

Initially, the NPS agreed to abide by the owners\u2019 leases until they expired in July 1999 and then they would permanently remove the buildings. After the destruction caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 only seven of the stilt homes remained standing. Others had been completely blown apart or so extensively damaged that they had to be razed. Extensions, legal and political wrangling delayed the park\u2019s acquisition of the buildings for public use. Via a complex course of negotiations, public discourse and the \u201cSave Old Stiltsville\u201d movement, a cooperative agreement was signed between the owners and the NPS, preventing the removal of the buildings. Owners of the buildings became \u201ccaretakers\u201d charged with the responsibility of maintaining the structures and, through the issuances of permits, making the structures available for use by the public. In 2003, the non-profit organization, Stiltsville Trust, was established. The Trust\u2019s purpose is for the preservation, oversight and the facilitation of public access to the seven remaining structures. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How It All Began<\/b><\/h1>\n
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No longer exisiting, the Calvert Club was one of several clubs that flourished on the flats. Another the Quarterdeck Club was the subject of a story in Life and had a big following. The Bikini Club came later<\/p><\/div>\n

Local historians generally agree that houses began springing up on the Bay\u2019s flats during Prohibition to provide havens for selling or transporting the \u201cdemon rum\u201d outlawed by the ratification of the 18th amendment in 1919 (effective January 1920). Seemingly from the beginning, the historic course of the intended use for these \u201cshanties\u201d took two tracks. One was keen to flout the law and the other was to provide, a family-oriented, get-away location in which to enjoy a peaceful day of fishing and swimming.<\/p>\n

The first personality of note to stake a claim on the flats was \u201cCrawfish\u201d Eddie (or Charlie) Walker in the 1930s. He opened a bait and beer shop to earn some money from the countless sports fishers flocking to the bay. Eddie made a crawfish chowder he called chilau from locally caught crawfish. Often friends would go out to visit Eddie and enjoy a bowl of stew. In 1937, two city officials and an automobile dealer joined Eddie, constructing shacks of their own built on barges anchored to the shoals. By 1945, 12 stilt houses and two clubs (the Calvert Club and the Quarterdeck Club) dotted the bay\u2019s horizon.<\/p>\n

Places to Party Down<\/b><\/h1>\n
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State Beverage Agents present objections to Bikini Club proprietor. The raid in progress as \u201cPierre\u201d is read the complaint. And Pierre\u2019s immediate reaction: \u201cMind if I have a beer?\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

The Quarterdeck Club was built for sportsmen by Commodore Edward Turner in about 1939. Clearly no shanty, the building measured 140 by 80 feet, and had its own electricity, heating, and refrigeration. Members were treated to a bar, dining room, bridge deck, gaming room and an ample wharf for their boats and yachts. The Quarterdeck became quite fashionable, and it was rumored that gambling was helping to support the operation. After World War II, gambling was no longer a rumor but a fact that was tolerated by local law enforcement. Hurricanes, charges of lewdness and more gambling, and finally a fire in 1961 brought the Quarterdeck to an end.<\/p>\n

By 1960 the Stiltsville community had grown to 27 homes, but in September of that year Hurricane Donna would blast through and destroy all but seven structures.<\/p>\n

Never quite free of the party-going allure, Stiltsville got a new neighbor in 1962. Harry \u201cPierre\u201d Churchville opened the Biscayne Bay Bikini Club on a yacht grounded on the flats. For only one dollar, one could purchase membership and enjoy nude sun bathing, alcohol and staterooms for private assignations. \u201cPierre\u201d subsequently purchased a surplus Navy PT boat and ran it aground next to the yacht thereby increasing the size of his establishment. By 1964 the club had 1,300 members, but in1965 the club was raided and closed.<\/p>\n

One infamous event was captured by the Miami Herald in 1965. The State Beverage agents raided Pierre\u2019s club. After Pierre finished reading the complaint, he said to the agents,
\n\u201cMind if I have a beer?\u201d<\/p>\n

Change of Focus<\/b><\/h1>\n
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The Miami Springs Boat Club was built by firefighters and police officers<\/p><\/div>\n

Likely, the community of family-oriented Stiltsville home owners was pleased to see the closing of the Bikini Club.
\nDade County Circuit Court Judge Frank Knuck and his wife Esther\u2019s shack was the subject of a Miami Herald feature in August 1965 written by Beverley Wilson:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe house has its own generator for electric equipment, bottled gas stove and refrigeration, and emergency bottled gas light. Mrs. Knuck catches rain water in a barrel for washing. Out-house style plumbing is ingenious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoping to promote a better image for Stiltsville, Judge Knuck said, \u201cWe\u2019re a family-type colony, not a scruffy bunch of squatters. There\u2019s too much sensational talk about antics at the nearby Bikini Club.\u201d<\/p>\n

In early September 1965 Hurricane Betsy changed the look of Stiltsville again, packing 120 mph winds and an eleven-foot storm surge. In the aftermath, the government response this time was different. The county\u2019s Building and Zoning Department required mandatory compliance with its building codes by the owners of the homes in the watery community. The shacks had to stand up to 120 mph winds and be at least 10 feet above the water at high tide. Also at this time the
\nstate declared that leases on the flats could not include buildings intended for commercial use, thus ending the threat of more Bikini Club style debauchery in the increasingly family-centric community.<\/p>\n

Stiltsville Today<\/b><\/h1>\n
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\u00a9 Photo by Paul Marcellini<\/p><\/div>\n

The fortunes of the stilt homes on the flats rose and fell with the elements and powerful hurricanes. After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the final count of structurally sound buildings would be seven. Today, the A-frame house, Hicks House, Baldwin-Sessions House, Bay Chateau, Jimmy Ellenburg House, LeShaw House, and Miami Springs Power Boat Club House still hover over the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.<\/p>\n

Stiltsville houses have been the setting for novels, magazines, movies and television. Some have distinctive architecture: the Baldwin-Sessions house with its pattern of receding and protruding elements (designed by architect and caretaker, Gail Baldwin); the A-frame house strengthened with telephone poles; and the LeShaw house\u2019s mansard roof. Fundraising events for charitable, education, communal and service organizations have taken place at many of the homes over the years. Judges, elected officials, social clubs, Broadway and sports stars have enjoyed the view of Miami from the flats. The Miami Springs Power Boat Club (established in the 1950s) hosts many charities and raises funds for the Boy Scouts and the Optimist Clubs.<\/p>\n

When working to save Stiltsville Antoinette Baldwin received many letters of support for the project; some wrote, \u201cI just want to know they are still there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planning a Visit<\/b><\/h1>\n
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\u00a9 Photo by Paul Marcellini<\/p><\/div>\n

First, if you are friends with one of the caretakers and you\u00a0are spending a day out there with them that, works very well.
\nIf not, know that the houses are available to the public however there is a procedure in place that must be scrupulously followed. Warning: do not tie your boat up to a Stiltsville home, piling or dock if you haven\u2019t first gotten legal permission. Your action is considered by the caretakers and the Park Service to be \u201ctrespassing\u201d crime.<\/p>\n

Special visitation permission can be gotten by contacting the Stiltsville Trust. Depending on the nature of your request, you may require a special use permit from the NPS in addition to permission from the Trust. And if you aren\u2019t an experienced boater, pay strict attention to the fact that you must rely on the navigational aids if you don\u2019t want to run aground.<\/p>\n

Historian Arva Moore Parks shared ownership of a Stiltsville home, later destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. In recounting her experiences on the flats she said,\u201d A wonderful place to raise\u00a0a family; my kids still have very fond memories. It was a\u00a0great way to grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n

NPS: <\/p>\n

Stiltsville Trust: <\/p>\n\n\t\t