WPBFD History

notorious for the drinking estab- lishments that sprang-up along the shell rock path. This became a place where Flagler's many labor- ers invested their paychecks to- ward a little fun and entertainment after a hard day's work in the tor- rid Florida sun. Saloons offered other diversions, such as floor shows and ladies of dubious dis- tinction. There was money to be made and laws were lax. Banyan Street's reputation grew with every brawl and it was soon dubbed "Whiskey Street" by the locals. Many early settlers lived within hearing distance of the fights and gun fire that erupted almost nightly. The scene resem- bled that of a small frontier town

could get out of his appointment. Prolific wood construction, lack of adequate firefighting equipment, and limited water sup- ply presented a staggering obsta- cle for the firemen who tried to control these blazes in the early years of West Palm Beach. Un- der the best of circumstances, fires of this magnitude presented major problems. To the Flagler Alerts of 1896 it was frustrating to more or less stand and watch as the heart of downtown burned to ashes. But, as was the case in many settlements of the day, the citizens were not to be denied their new town and hopes for a more successful future. The townspeople persevered, and with the help of their neighbors, built again.

in western movies.

Steps were taken by the respectable citizens to quell the disturbances. A reading room was opened on the lakefront at the foot of Clematis Street. The building had once been the clubhouse of the Palm Beach Yacht Club before it was towed on a barge to West Palm Beach. Peo- ple wanting to steer the rowdies away from the saloons of Banyan Street donated books and furniture. Many of the early Flagler Alert meetings were held on the second floor of this building. Flagler himself even made attempts to calm the rev- elry. He sent an associate to have a talk with saloon owner George Zapf to persuade him to stop the prostitu- tion that operated out of his establishment. In 1904 Carry Nation, America's foremost temper- ance crusader, visited West Palm Beach. She normally carried bricks, stones, an axe, and a bible as tools of her trade. Storming into a bar, the "Kansas Cyclone" would let loose with her weapons breaking as many bottles as she

Henry Morrison Flagler built a second hotel in 1895. The Palm Beach Inn (renamed The Breakers in 1900) was located on the ocean due east of the Royal Poinciana Ho- tel. Laborers living on the West Palm Beach side of the lake rowed small boats across Lake Worth to construct the hotel. Guests, who were some of the most prominent people in American high society, rode a ferry across Lake Worth to the hotels until 1896 when a new railroad bridge allowed them to ride in comfort right up to the front doors. Flagler's hotel workers had to pay a toll to use the bridge. A streetcar drawn by a mule later replaced the train for the short ride across Lake Worth. When the line was abandoned, the mule was pensioned with plenty of feed and a comfortable bed for the rest of his days. The early years of West Palm Beach were not en- tirely bleak, and diversions sometimes arrived in unusual ways. Shipwrecks had long provided the early settlers

with much needed supplies, especially wood. In the fall of 1896 an unexpected treasure washed ashore. The "great wine wreck" littered beaches with hundred gallon casks of Spanish claret, smaller kegs of Malaga, and a wine known as Double Superior. There was no record to substantiate it, but the Alerts surely had a hand in disposing of a portion of the salvage. Banyan Street, located between Clematis and Althea (2nd Street), was becoming

could. She bravely marched down Banyan Street preaching the evils of strong drink. In 1907 the Women's Christian Temperance Union dedicated a drinking fountain in Flagler Park hoping the wholesome water would attract the thirsty men away from the distilled spirits that were available only a block away. None of these measures worked. Finally the town fa- thers changed the name of Ban-

Carrie Nation on Banyan Street in 1904. 3