LIVING HISTORY
32
City. The editor proclaimed that Picture City was “backed by
the greatest developing organization that was ever brought
into play.” Soon the best planners in the country would arrive
“to lay out a model city based on Washington, D.C.” It
sounded too good to be true, but the times were manic, and
Picture City’s prospects stoked elation.
Gov. Martin was happy, too. According to the South Florida
Developer he had personally assured the syndicate that the
State of Florida was “100 percent behind the project.”
The young governor, who had only a fourth-grade education,
wanted the county he had named for himself to be important.
On Sept. 22, an editorial claimed it would be. Why, within
10 years the population would rise to 200,000, and Martin
County was certain to become the richest, most significant,
most densely populated county in the state. The Developer
editor thoroughly belittled “doubting Thomases” who didn’t
believe in the county’s coming glory, and he even compared
negative Nellies to Judas Iscariot. Public pressure to support
boom mania was forceful and extreme.
ACTION ON THE SET
Things began to move quickly on the set of Picture City.
The first week after the new enterprise was announced, the
syndicate made $1.8 million dollars worth of property sales.
A municipal charter was in the talking stages. The new city
was going to be 12 miles long and 5 miles wide. The metropolitan
area would be so enormous the developers said they
would have to build four train stations to service it. And
three weeks into the project, application had already been
made to create the Picture City State Bank, whose officers and
directors were men involved in the development itself.
By the beginning of October, contractors from New York
and Philadelphia were reported to have signed contracts to
build a million-dollar moving picture studio and a casino
on the beach at the end of South Bridge Road. The plan was
to rush the casino to completion within the next 60 days.
A work force of 100 men started putting up concrete light
poles along Dixie Highway. Although no one seems to have
spotted Selznick anywhere, an architect from Los Angeles
was reported to have spent 10 days onsite working on plans.
Unbeknownst to locals, the Selznick family was enjoying
first-class amenities down in glamorous Palm Beach. Syndicate
leader Charles Apfel paid their weekly expenses.
Full-page ads for Picture City told potential investors:
“You can buy with your eyes closed and your investment
will prove profitable…” The ads announced that work on the
movie studio had begun, and the casino was coming soon.
Fifty houses were said to be under construction. Obviously, it
was intended for speculators to make the assumption that the
movie metropolis could be sold out before they knew it, so
they had better buy lots quickly.
BAD TIMING
Just as the set for Picture City was getting off the ground,
the world turned upside down. In late October 1925, the
roads and railroads from Jacksonville downward became
totally clogged. After years of unrestrained migration and
development, too many people were making too many
demands of the transportation system. Building materials
could not get through; neither could adequate food. Emergency
remedies were required to avoid complete catastrophe,
but the medicine poisoned the boom. Only perishables
and necessities to preserve human life could be transported.
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