History

1963 Aerial View of Coral Ridge Towers Apartments Complexes
1963 Aerial View of Coral Ridge Towers Complex
Brief History of Coral Ridge Towers North
  • 1913 - Arthur Galt, a Chicago lawyer, bought 8,000 acres of land in the newly incorporated town of Fort Lauderdale.
  • 1953 - Coral Ridge Properties Inc. purchased the tract of land north of Sunrise Boulevard from Galt to develop the area along A1A on the Barrier Island for approximately $19.4 million.  This was the largest real estate development deal ever recorded in Florida at that time.  Four buildings were planned to be built West of A1A between 34th and 36th Streets.
  • 1955 - The Oakland Park Boulevard Bridge was completed allowing convenient access to the Barrier Island for the new development.  
  • 1960 - The movie, “Where the Boys Are” helped to promote the lovely beaches and activities available.  Fort Lauderdale had established golf courses, tennis court clubs, yacht clubs, wonderful fishing and ocean activities.
  • 1963-64 - Coral Ridge Towers North (CRTN), the second of four planned buildings was opened for occupancy. The original cost of the units was very reasonable: beginning at $1,080 for 1 bedroom, $1,605 for a 2 bedroom, and $2,212 for a three bedroom. Click here for a 1963 brochure advertising the units.  
  • The eastern (ocean) view was considered more desirable, as there was very little development to the west at that time.
  • 1965 to present - Couples from the Midwest and East Coast, as well as from Canada later on, have purchased units in CRTN to enjoy their favorite activities year round.
  • Click here for a 1966 article in the Sun Sentinel advertising the opening of the Coral Ridge Towers South building - the last of the 4 planned Coral Ridge Towers buildings.  
For additional photos of the construction and early days of Coral Ridge Towers Buildings, please see the Historical Photos in the Photo Album under Social in the Navigation Bar.  
 
How Coral Ridge Towers Came About (published on Coral Ridge Towers East website) provides a history of the Coral Ridge Towers development as a cooperative.  "Coral Ridge Towers is said to be the first high-rise cooperative financed by FHA to have a swimming pool."
 
A Brief History of Fort Lauderdale 
  • Fort Lauderdale was first populated by prehistoric peoples known as the "Glades Culture". 
  • The Seminole Indians appeared in what is Broward County in the 1820s and were joined by white planters along the New River. 
  • The name Fort Lauderdale was first used for a fort built on the banks of the New River in 1838.
  • The fort was named for a Major William Lauderdale who led a detachment of Tennessee Volunteers along the east coast of Florida to capture agricultural lands from the Seminole Indians.  
  • Click here to read more of the history compiled by Fort Lauderdale Historical Society.  
 
"Youth is not entirely a time of life.  It is a state of mind. It is not wholly a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips and supple knees.  It is a temper of will, a quality of imagination, a vigor of emotions."
 
"Nobody grows old merely living a number of years.  People grow old only by deserting their ideals.  You are as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fears, as young as your hope, as old as your despair."
 
Words of wisdom by Bertha Berendt and published in a 2003 article in Tower Talk.  Mrs. Berendt, cajoled by her husband in 1964 to “just try wintering at CRTN for 1 year,” lived in #1105 for 45 years.