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Physical Description of Si (attach 1 or 2 photos): FILE 'there are three bridges an Atlantic Island, all of them part of the original public improvements of the development. The bridges are all similar in appearance and construction. They are of single lowarched span, humpback type, with a low rise. They are built of reinforced concrete, faced in oolitic limestone on the outside, with stuccoed low walls on the inside. The two entrance bridges leading into Atlantic Island have four square corner piers, topped by stucco caps which carry short towers. These towers are pierced by small arches, one on each side, and topped by hip roofs. The third bridge, built on a lagoon in the middle of the island bad the four coiner towers removed. A gazebo originally located on the park surrounding the lagoon, similar in design to the pergola at the end of the island, has since been demolished. Significance - Brief summary including documentary evidence that indicates the historical, architectural or archeological significance of the site. The bridges of Atlantic Island were constructed in the mid -1920s for this subdivision M developed by the Sunny Isles Ocean Beach Company. The bridges, which are three in number, are made of concrete faced with oolitic limestone. They are one of several of the beautifying features of this development. Harvey B. Graves was president -of the Sunny Isles Ocean Beach Company. Graves, who was from Rochester, New York, began spending his winters in Florida around 1916. While vacationing here, he started investigating investment opportunities in the real estate market. By 1922, Graves bad purchased, from the Tatum Brother's Model land Company, one half mile of ocean and bayfront property east of Fulford. He also purchased from them 2,000 acres of land on the west side of the bay that would be later known as the Interama Tract. Graves' waterfront property east of Fulford was named Sunny Isles. Graves envisioned the development of this area as a tropical Venice and proceeded to make the necessary improvements, widening and deepening the waterways and beautifully landscaping the property. Graves platted his acreage into the following subdivisions: Ocean View, Bella Vista, Fairyland Island, Atlantic Island, Venetian View Island, Royal Palm and Bay View. In these subdivisions, Graves imagined the construction of luxury homes, on Atlantic Island he erected a gazebo and a pergola as additional amenities of the development. Atlantic Island's single street which circled the subdivision was lined with palms. The entrance to Atlantic Island was graced by two consecutive arched bridges. Another bridge, constructed in the same style, crossed over a waterway, the Lake of the Isles, located towards the middle of the island. The financial bust of the late 1920s prevented Graves' plan from coming into full fruition. In 1936, the Sunny Isles Ocean Beach Company sold its oceanfront property to James Leonard Lee, a real estate broker. The total purchase price of this large real estate transaction was one million dollars. Within a few months, James Leonard Lee turned over the Sunny Isles sale contract to the North Mi.and Beach Corporation, Nurtis R. Froedtert, President of the corporation, immediately published a brochure promoting the area, now advertised as "the aristocrat of developments in the American Riviera." In this pamphlet, Froedtert vows to complete Graves' vision. Froedtert states: "Sunny Isles will move forward to the complete realization of its destiny as the true city beautiful and a true city for comfortable living."1 The brochure contains photographs of Sunny Isles as it appeared at the time of purchase by the North Miami Beach Corporation. Froedtert's brochure takes full advantage of the embellishments created by Graves in order to carry out the promotion of the development by the North Mismi Beach Corporation. In beautiful vistas the brochure shows some of the luxury homes on Atlantic Island as well as the gazebo and the oolitic limestone bridges. Atlantic Island's bridges are historically sipnificant as the remaining examples of the beautifying features of Graves' and Froedtert s developmental scheme. The bridges are architecturally significant for their design and use of native oolitic limestone. � 1 lKurtis R. Froedtert. "Captivating Sunny Isles, The Venice of America," promotional brochure, ca. 1936. Page 77 of 98 88