HISTORICAL ARTICLES

Palm Coast Historical Society

The Historic Core Area of Palm Coast: Then and Now The Facts and the Opinion by  Art Dycke The Facts   Since the City Council appointed me city co-historian along with Margaret Davie in 2000, I have interviewed or spoken with hundreds of Palm Coast residents, some of whom were among the first homeowners to move here in 1972. They have uniformly  told me glowing stories about the " the good old days" when the ITT Community Development Corporation(ICDC) built its first amenities and dutifully tended to the growing  communities needs with an eye toward customer satisfaction as being the key to future sales. There had been some early developer/county government friction and complaints of shoddy workmanship, questionable marketing practices and waterless canal lots but these had been largely cleared up by July 4, 1976. On that bicentennial day ICDC provided a massive free picnic and entertainment capped by evening fireworks that were open to all. Pioneer Palm Coast residents remembered it as a joyous community celebration of their newly adopted lifestyle. Thereafter, the county government began to provide some fire and lighting services, civilization came to the area with a Publixs anchored comprehensive shopping center in 1979 and direct contact with the rest of the world arrived with the completion of the I-95 interchange in 1981. Most residents seemed to agree with the ITT slogan about Palm Coast being "the perfect place to live."   The historic beginning and earliest construction in Palm Coast is found in the "core area"  that runs from the ocean to I-95, centered at the intersection of the Intracoastal Waterway(ICW) and the main canal and connecting to Old Kings Road via Club House Drive, Palm Harbor Parkway and Palm Coast Parkway.  The earliest visitors came to Palm Coast on ocean hugging SR A1A and turned onto a small road that took them to a small boat dock on the ICW (site of the present Yacht Harbor Village). There prospective buyers and curious visitors boarded boats that ferried them across the ICW and up the main canal to the ITT Welcome Center. Later they could also enter the community from SR 100 by turning into unpaved Old Kings Road. The first homes in Palm Coast were built south of Club House Drive on Casper and Cooper Drives which also were the access to the ICDC created Palm Coast Golf Course. There were no private amenities in the area until October, 1973  when a Handy Way convenience center also serving as a post office was constructed near the Club House/Palm Coast Parkway intersection. (See draft MAP, "The Historic "Core Area" of Palm Coast").   The following is a description of Palm Coast historic sites and photographs   PALM COAST WELCOME CENTER. FIRST BUILDING CONSTRUCTED IN PALM COAST, OCTOBER, 1970. The 64 foot tower provided a panoramic view of the surrounding woods, lakes, streams and Intracoastal Waterway that was to become the "core area" of Palm Coast. The building was at the center of the first model area and was to serve as the hub of all sales activities for the new development. It was a dramatic structure with a variety of graphics and audiovisual sales materials inside. The main feature was an elevator accessed 64 foot high observation tower affording visitors unobstructed views of their surroundings including the golf course, the model houses and the inland waterways and canals. Earliest visitors often came from Route AlA to a small dock on the east side of the lCW proceeding by boat to the Welcome Center on the main canal. When the prospective buyers arrived they were taken to the top of the tower to view the area. The cleared land within immediate view of the tower must have looked desolate at first and beyond that stretched a seemingly endless pine forest. At first much of the land was sold sight unseen from a platted map for as low as $3,500.00 for a home site. The sales person was likely to locate ones property by pointing in a direction away from the tower and telling the buyer, "It's out there somewhere".

THE MODEL CENTER. UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN 1970. The picture was taken from the top of the observation tower. Preconstruction homes were marketed starting at $15,000 before Palm Coast opened officially on October 29, 1970. The original Welcome/Model Center was continually modernized through the 1980's. This author estimates that about half the people living in Palm Coast today passed through the Welcome Center at some time. It and the Model Center were torn down starting in 1994 and a residential complex called Old Hammock Cove may begin construction there.

PALM COAST GOLF CLUB. FIRST NINE HOLES OPENED SEPTEMBER 4, 1971.   A postcard picture shows the sixth hole fairway of ITT Palm Coast's first golf course. It was adjacent to the first residential homes built in Palm Coast at Casper and Cooper Drives off Clubhouse Road. The Bill Amick designed course was completed a year later featuring a 19th hole restaurant that looked like a paddle wheel riverboat. Later renamed the Palm Harbor Golf Club, the course was purchased by private developers and closed in June, 2006 supposedly awaiting a complete renovation and the addition of condominium homes to the site. The future of the golf course was in doubt as of March, 2007.

PALM COAST YACHT CLUB.  BUILT BY ITT TO BECOME THE SOCIAL HUB OF THE NEW COMMUNITY, OPENED ON DECEMBER 15, 1972. The original Yacht Club is depicted in this replica of a membership card given to Palm Coast residents. The club became the political, religious and social center of the community with civic associations and religious denominations holding their meetings and services there. Social gatherings included club activities, parties, dances, festivals, art shows and other entertainment for the community. The first tennis courts, outdoor pool, boat launching ramp and marina for the community were located here. The original ITT Palm Coast Yacht Club buildings were completely redone and expanded in 1987 to reopen as the Sheraton (our city's first hotel) with bar, dining room and meeting/ballroom facilities. This beautiful site at the junction of the Intracoastal Waterway and the main canal was subsequently renamed Harborside Inn, Palm Coast Golf Resort and Ocean Hammock Resort:Harborside Inn. All but the marina were demolished to be rebuilt as a condominium/convention center to be named the Palm Coast Resort. Exterior work on one of the projects two 8 story condominiums and a 50 foot high parking garage had been completed when the developer informed the city in February, 2007, that the application for completing the project was being withdrawn.

PALM COAST SHERATON INN· OPENED FEBRUARY, 1973. With the opening of a 132 room luxury motel on eight beautifully landscaped acres in a tropical paradise right on the Atlantic Ocean, another jewel was added to the original crown of promises made by ITT regarding development of the Palm Coast community. The motel was located at the end of a scenic drive to the ocean from a gated entrance on route A1A Built in Spanish Mission architectural style, the Inn had a fine dining room that seated approximately 120 people and overlooked the reflecting pools, waterfalls, dunes, beach, and ocean. The design for easy living was meant to show off the Florida lifestyle and to impress prospective buyers with the desirability of their buying a home site and settling in Palm Coast. Prospects attended presentations in their home communities and then signed up for a package consisting of a fully guided tour of the area, round trip air transportation and two nights with breakfasts and dinners at the Sheraton for as little as $129. Many fell in love with Palm Coast and purchased property immediately. The original motel was completely demolished by 1987 and the site is presently occupied by the Hammock Dunes Club House.

PUBLIX IN PALM HARBOR SHOPPING CENTER. CIVILIZATION COMES TO PALM COAST IN THE SPRING OF 1979. With Publixs food store, Eckerd's (now CVC) drug store, dry cleaners, hairstylists, travel agents, realtors, banks, gift shops, apparel, sporting goods, plants, a real post office, and a restaurant open, the time for having to drive 11 miles to shop was finally over. Full service shopping had come to Palm Coast in the form of a beautiful new 2.5 million dollar shopping center. ICDC construction project manager Bob DeVore had combined coquina stone, colored walkways, textured sidewalks, fountains and imaginative landscaping to provide a beautiful setting for parking and shopping. It remains so today despite many additions and changes.

INTERSTATE I-95 INTERCHANGE. WAS OFFIClALLY DEDICATED ON MAY, 21, 1981. ICDC contributed more than 3.3 million dollars into a partnership with the state government in what has been called "an uncommon example of public convenience being constructed with private funds." Direct access to the world had finally come to Palm Coast. Originally designated exit 91C, it is now exit 289 of 1-95 which is currently being reconstructed to accommodate a third lane of traffic in each direction.

HAMMOCK DUNES BRIDGE. LlNKlNG OCEAN AND MAINLAND PALM COAST, THE BRIDGE ACROSS THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY WAS OFFICIALLY DEDICATED ON JULY 3, 1988. Over 20,000 people attended an elaborate party celebrating the opening of the 10.1 million dollar bridge with a long parade and night time fireworks in a huge outpouring of community spirit. The bridge includes two traffic lanes, two ten foot auxiliary lanes and a separate pedestrian/bicycle lane. The Dunes Community Development District was created by the state to build and operate the bridge. Revenue bonds were issued to be paid over the years with bridge toll income. Presently, transients pay $2.00 driving eastbound with no toll charged when traveling west.