People used to phone him up and say: ‘leave this thing alone or you’ll be sorry’… And those were the ones I can politely talk about.” “That’s when he started getting death threats. He made enemies of various governors, introduced the first anti-Ku Klux-Klan legislation in the Southern States. And, in doing so, he started amass enemies. Stockdale to play the political game a bit more in your face. Then, when he helped elect his friend George Smathers to Congress in 1946, that’s when people started to see the political cache Stockdale had between his teeth. In what could only be described as a shooting star kind of lateral move, Stockdale began a varsity football star, graduated with a Business Administration degree, became the manager of a Venetian blind’s company, worked in Real_estate, was elected President of the Miami Junior Chamber of Commerce, and served as a Marine during World War II. His life really kicked into high gear when he started to attend the University of Miami. Grant Stockdale was born on July 31st, 1915, in Greenville, Mississippi. Financiers making a profit, backroom deals, and the general cut-throat dealings expected in a bank.īut, one particular tale, really raises the bar and slips into Law And Order territory. Most in general having with the ins and outs of the corporate roulette wheel. The Hauntings at Alfred DuPont Building.īecause of its rich history, and quite frankly old, The Alfred DuPont Building has a couple of stories to tell. That’s the general lowdown, now, let’s talk ghost and goblins. It still has all the accouterments a bank is known for even a huge iron vault. It was considered a symbol of national pride as it sort of heralded an age of prosperity after the debacle of the Depression.It was the first skyscraper built in Miami after the completion of the Dade County Courthouse.During World War II, as it served as Feet Headquarters for the 7th Naval Command, the building earned the nickname, the “USS Neversink.”.It was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1992.The DuPont Building first opened its doors to the public on Christmas Day, 1939.The former bank has over 22,000 square-foot space with two unique ballrooms, wall-to-wall marble flooring, brass scrollwork, and hand-painted cypress wood ceilings.It is considered a perfect representation in Depression Moderne Architecture.It is the only skyscraper in the Art Deco district of Miami.The principle tenant for a while of the building was the Florida National Bank.First as a land monger, then as a banker.īy the early 1930s’ DuPont had set up Florida National Bank and by 1937, he was already building the iconic Alfred I. One of the places he started investing heavily was in Florida. These two events helped Alfred rebuilt his fortune. And two big things in his favor… The Great Depression and the 1926 Florida Hurricane. He no longer had the backing of his family, he had a rather acrimonious fall-out with some of the members, but he still had a savvy nature. Then, cause bankruptcy for the rich is simply a small set-back, DuPont so how pulled himself up by his bootstraps and snapped back into shape. Not only that, but due to a small accident, the fellow was missing an eye and was deaf. The kid took over the small Delaware based factory and made it after a few interesting deals into a gold mine.Ī few bad business transactions, a lawsuit or two and a couple of wives, and by 1920, DuPont was basically bankrupt. Industrialist, financier, philanthropist and basically one of the most influential members of the legendary DuPont Family a cabal of prominent Americans that had their fingers in every pie.Īlfred DuPont rose to his high seat in that council of world movers thanks to his work in his family’s gunpowder manufacturing plant. One of the 1% that looked at Miami like a jewel he needed for his crown was Alfred Irénée du Pont. Not only that but on account of its lowlife residence and mafia connections, Miami was sort of like the no-man’s land for all the nasty shenanigans the rich are prone to. If you had the dough, then you needed a place in Miami. So, after Deering, Flagler and a dozen of other diamond incrusted millionaires started gobbling up real estate like the Monopoly man, Miami sort of began the bargaining chip and talisman of the rich and famous. It had a reputation not only for its strategic importance, from Miami, South America was but hop or two but also because of its frenetic energy. When the State was being developed and the gators were being beaten back with a stick, every tycoon and a big shot in the Country wanted a piece of Miami. Miami, like all great cities, has a love affair with skyscrapers.
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