The garden suburb of Coral Gables just outside Miami—then pronounced "My-am-AH"—was a beautiful place where a wholesome family could come and feel comfortable in the sun in the 1950s, or at least that's what promoters of that era wanted you to believe. Of course there was no mention of boozy beach hotels, gangsters running the Fontainebleau, or any of those other aspects of South Florida life in the 50s. This was just a lazy land where everyone would walk around with parrots on their heads and fathers could feel safe letting their daughters go to the University of Miami without doing any of the things that gave it the nickname 'Suntan U'.
A few more observations:
1) Check out the Crandon Park railroad!
2) The causeway to Key Biscayne was a lot smaller back then.
3) You could still drive through the Douglas Entrance.
4) Everybody is white, like pasty, no suntan white. Meanwhile sunscreen didn't exist back then. This would not have lasted long. Oh, and there isn't a black or latino person in sight.
5) The University of Miami had some fabulous midcentury architecture.
6) That's all there was to do in Coral Gables? The film heads over to Key Biscayne about thirty seconds in.
7) Have fun in college, honey! Mom and dad are totally clueless about just how much fun you'll probably really have.
· 50s Promotional Film for Coral Gables, FL [YouTube]
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