Florida Beaches and Resorts
The state of Florida offered various forms of leisure during the Jim Crow Era for African Americans. Whether it was a beach or a hotel, plenty of excitement drew visitors from all over the state to a few select locations.
Located in Jacksonville, American Beach was one of the state’s most popular attractions for Black families. American Beach was founded in 1935 by the Afro-American Life Insurance Company (AALIC) – a life insurance company tailored to Black residents. The first home was built in the same year for the founder, Abraham Lincoln Lewis (A. L. Lewis), who originally held 33 acres of land and accumulated a total of 216 acres for American Beach to thrive. In 1948, Willie Evans opened a gathering place called Evan’s Rendezvous that offered food, drinks, and entertainment. In 1950, the A. L. Lewis motel opened with 22 ocean-view units and still operates today as an apartment complex. Favorite pastimes included surf fishing, automobile racing, shell gathering, and beauty contests. A devastating storm, Hurricane Dora, destroyed most of the establishments in 1964, leaving the beach inhabitable. Current residents recently began protecting this historical site, posting a landmark and opening the A. L. Lewis Museum to tell the histories of the beach.
Virginia Key Beach, “a Dade County Park for the exclusive use of Negroes,” opened in 1945 due to the efforts of former Judge Lawson Thomas of Miami.1 Judge was an avid civil rights activist who led a protest of Black individuals through the waters of Baker’s Haulover Beach to demand a space of their own. Dade County officials listened to the protestors’ demands and designated Virginia Key Beach for African Americans. Even though the beach was only reachable by boat, visitors traveled for a peaceful getaway. Travelers loved the picnic area, barbecue pits, cottages, boat ramp, mini-train, and carousel. After 37 years of “paradise,” the City of Miami closed Virginia Key Beach due to the cost of maintenance. Due to the efforts of the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust, the space was registered as a historic park in 2002 and reopened to the public in 2008.
Manhattan Beach of Jacksonville was founded in 1900 by Henry Flagler, a white industrialist credited with the development of Florida’s east coast. He owned the Florida East Coast Railway and Florida East Coast Hotel, where many Black workers were employed. He wanted to create a space of refuge for his employees by reserving the land of Manhattan Beach. At the beach, Black families could be entertained by shows at Mack’s Pavilion and dine or lodge at nearby locations. Manhattan Beach declined in the 1930s when the Florida East Coast Railway ceased operations to Jacksonville, relocating those who once visited American Beach.
Differing from the traditional beach scene, Paradise Park was located in central Ocala. Paradise Park was founded by white developers Carl Ray and W.M. “Shorty” Davidson and opened on Emancipation Day in 1949. Although Paradise Park had a swimming area, “for the first time the colored people of America and the world can have the use of those famous glass-bottomed boats that more than ten million amazed Americans have used during the past 30 years.”3 The boats took a 50-minute tour from Paradise Park, one mile up the Silver River, and through the Silver Springs. Once patrons returned to the park, they found the pavilion, dance floor, and jukebox ready to continue the day of entertainment. A swimming area, sports fields, and Ross Allen’s reptile exhibit ensured there was an activity for everyone. By 1953, Paradise Park attracted around 150,000 visitors a year, until its closure in 1969.
Videos of Paradise Park from Florida Memory: State Library and Archives of Florida
The major tourist destinations were only located in a few areas of Florida; however, The Green Book listed many safe spaces where black tourists could safely travel all across the state. A few popular locations are the Dew Drop Inn, Sun-Glo Motel, Hotel Grisham with its Club Rocket Lounge, and Harry’s Dry Cleaning and Laundry. The Historic Hampton House, located in Miami, is the only site protected today. The Hampton House was built by Harry Markowitz in 1953 and became “the Social Center of the South.”4 This Green Book location featured a two-story, fifty-room lodging space, with a nightclub, The Napoleon Lounge; restaurant, Palms Dining Room; and a “fresh water olympic size” swimming pool.5 The Hampton House gained popularity with celebrities Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Sammy Davis Jr., Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Stevie Wonder, who stayed there. Similar to other locations in The Green Book, The Hampton House did not survive integration and closed in 1976. Fortunately, Dr. Enid Pinkney led community members in restoring the historic location as a museum to showcase the histories of the Hampton House.
1“Our History.” Historic Virginia Key Beach Park. Accessed April 2, 2024. https://virginiakeybeachpark.net/our-history/.
2 Ibid.
3 “Paradise Park.” Florida Memory: State Library and Archives of Florida. Accessed April 2, 2024. https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/273952.
4 Victor H. Green, The Negro Travelers’ Green Book: The Guide for Travel & Vacations, Fall 1956. (New York, NY: Victor H. Green & Co., 1956), 26.
5 Ibid.
“American Beach — A Minority at Its Leisure.” National Parks Service. Accessed April 2, 2024. https://home.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/ambch_minorityatleisure.htm.
“Explore the History of American Beach.” A.L. Lewis Museum. Accessed April 2, 2024. https://allewismuseum.org/explore/.
“Exploring Florida.” Famous Floridians: Henry Morrison Flagler. Accessed April 2, 2024. https://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/flagler/flagler.htm#:~:text=Henry%20Morrison%20Flagler%20is%20best,success%20in%20the%20grain%20business.
“Historic Manhattan Beach, Florida Historical Marker.” The Historical Marker Database, February 3, 2023. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=173936.
“The History of Water in Florida.” Florida Memory: State Library and Archives of Florida. Accessed April 2, 2024. https://www.floridamemory.com/learn/classroom/primary-source-sets/water/documents/paradisepark/.
“Judge Lawson E. Thomas.” The King of Clubs of Greater Miami, Inc., November 10, 2022. https://kingofclubsofgreatermiamiinc.org/distinguished-past-members/judge-lawson-e-thomas/#:~:text=In%201945%2C%20Thomas%20led%20a,Negro%20Police%20Court%20in%201950.
“Paradise Park.” Florida Department of State. Accessed April 2, 2024. https://dos.fl.gov/historical/preservation/florida-main-street/ask-the-locals/paradise-park-ocala/.
Stephens, Ronald J. “American Beach, Jacksonville, Florida (1936- ).” BlackPast, December 23, 2020. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/american-beach-jacksonville-florida-1936/.
List of Images
- Home page and cover photo of Manhattan Beach from University of North Florida Special Collections, Eartha M.M. White Collection.
- Feature video “Film from a Home Movie Shot at Virginia Key Beach” from the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust collection at Florida International University.
- Feature video “Introduction to The Historic Hampton House” from ArtSpeak and The Historic Hampton House
All map photos from The Negro Travelers’ 1962 Green Book
American Beach was the first colored only beach in Florida and was nicknamed the “Negro Ocean Playground.”
MaVynee Betsch, also known as “The Beach Lady,” was the great-granddaughter of A.L. Lewis. She dedicated her life to educating people about the beaches history and donating resources to protect the spaces that her ancestors inhabited.
