The Castaways - Miami Beach, Florida

I am experimenting with a different style of posting. I am going to be using a more link and history-oriented style. This is a dry run and any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.

The Castaways resort complex was in the Sunny Isles part of North Miami Beach, just a short distance from another hotel/restaurant/bar complex, Hawaiian Isle. It touted itself as "America's most FUNderful resort" and was advertised as being at "the ocean at 163rd," in reality it was on the inland side of a thin land strip, and was just south of 163rd, occupying a small jetty of land. It opened in 1958, and closed in 1981.

The Castaways had just over 300 guest rooms in a series of buildings with Asian-Polynesian peaked roof details. The main attraction was a dramatic structure designed by Charles Foster McKirahan—a square glass building with a pointed, A-frame roof at each corner. The building was up on stilts, and each of the four corners held a different establishment: the Wreck Bar (another postcard of the Wreck Bar), the Tahitian Cocktail Lounge (featuring mixologist "Stanley the Entertainer"), the Shinto Temple Room, the Crinza Bar, The Turtle Club, and a magnificent lobby  There was at least one, maybe two outdoor pool(s) that was right near the beach.  The Beatles reportedly stayed at The Castaways, and an ad in the 1969 AAA travel guide promoted nude sunbathing on site.

The jetty of land that used to hold The Castaways is now the site of Oceania Island, a series of condominiums.



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YouTube video(s) of the day: Sad to hear of the passing of Andy Griffith. You should check out this pretty incredible video hyping CBS' 1961 fall line-up featuring the late, great Sheriff of Mayberry, Rod Serling, Raymond Burr, the debut of Mr. Ed and countless others.




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QSL card of the day:  Bathtub Admiral (I'm not quite sure exactly what is going on with that duck)

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Restaurant postcard of the day: Dark Horse - Toledo, Ohio. I can't much information on this place. The pedestal the horse is resting on says "Hope you get to see me." It's gone, including the building. Here's what the site looks like now.

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The Baker's Dozen (13 notes and links to other things that caught my eye):

• Hairstyles of the damned, 1968
• A walk through Whopper packaging history  
• I never knew such a thing existed
• Be a better cook, electronically 
• The Beckett residence, 1952 
• The cleanest clean possible is Tide-clean 
• Yikes!!
• Make like the wind...
• You should check out Jessica's awesome site 
• Hello? Yes, This is Natalie 
• I'm in love (see what I did there?) with Rita Hayworth
• Under a dazzle of dots...

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Well, that should just about do it. Please drop me a line and let me how/if you like the new format.Also, if you have any links, news, or notes you'd like to have posted. You can comment here or e-mail me.

It's still a little rough and there are a few kinks to work out, so be patient with me. I hope to post everyday. In the mean time, you can find me on:

Flickr, Facebook, In The Heart of Downtown, Twitter, Tumblr, Tumblr, Tumblr, Tumblr, Tumblr and last but not least, Tumblr

There will be other changes coming including stuff to buy and, if there's enough interest, a membership club.