The Magic City

By -
The Magic City




This was the name of Freeport, the economic capital of Grand Bahama (the capital is really West End.)

This is a photo (complements of OldBahamas.com) showing the historical moments when 250 acres of pine barren was leased for 99 to begin a planned city headed by Wallace Groves and Sir Charles Hayward. From here on for about 20 years there was an unprecedented growth - a huge boom on this island.

One of the missions was the construction of a deep water harbour which since then has expanded on several occasions.

Of couse that also meant that they had to build homes and hotels in this area. The water supply to this island was/is more than capable of supplying over 50000 people and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (the company named to carry out this agreement) tried all they could to bring in just that amount.

This agreement was signed in 1955 with amendments made throughout the years.

The magic was seen and felt in the construction of many hotels and most famous of all was the Kings Inn which later became the Bahama Princess - Towers and Country Club and also boasted of a casino.




Things were new and exciting. Schools were built and roads carried throughout Freeport, some still not in full use today. Infrastructure was taken through a lot of areas and the people of Grand Bahama were pleased and displeased at the same time.

Now Freeport was the place to find a job and there were some nice and not so nice rules and regulations imposed.

All in all, the magic of the city was seen and felt throughout and even brought Hollywood stars to the island for performances. Oh and not only Hollywood stars, but stars from all over.

This is a lot of good that went on, and in our next segment, we will look at the Bend Or Break Speech.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Freeport in the 70's and 80's.

By -
Image
In a recent discussion with an acquaintance who is a long time resident of Grand Bahama, he said he hopes Freeport turns around to which I quickly reminded him of the days when we thought Freeport was going down. After the rush of the 50's and the 60s that ushered in a lot of constructions and the building of Freeport which pushed the natives to the outer areas, there came the 70s and the smaller investors leaving quickly. However, in the late 70s and early 80s there was still a lot of activity here. There were over ten big hotels on the island and two casinos. Also there was Sir Laker who came in to add Laker Airways to the airlift to this island. The industrial side was holding its own but things were beginning to taper off. Around this time there were calls of a diversification of industries in the country and to stop relying only on Tourism. Some complaints were flying that there were too many foreign croupiers and well qualified Bahamians who could do that same job Th...
Read more

Mountain top experiences

By -
Image
The Grand Bahama Port Authority is really going all out this year as they are not only hoping to bring in investors but also to create more investors/entrepreneurs at home.  This is a very favourable turn of events with the new Business Development Department. This conference would be the third event launched by the Port this year, the first being the My Grand Bahama Campaign, then the Customer Service Workshop and now the Economic Empowerment Development Conference.  As the world turns and the seasons for each place, especially Grand Bahama, is just about complete with its valley times for now, we are moving closer to the mountain and looking forward to some mountain top experiences. Here it's about setting a stage for all players to be ready. Grand Bahama will flourish with more residents. But for more residents, we need more money making reasons for people to travel and to live here.  If, for those who believe in Bahamians only, we cannot organi...
Read more

A pictorial look at Freeport 1950-1960s

By -
Image
Before hitting the great days of the 70s and 80s I found these photos of Freeport on Oldbahamas.com and thought to share them. Remember that unlike Nassau, New Providence, Freeport, Grand Bahama did not have the history. What history we have now is the growing up of Freeport and the entire island due to the formation of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement,  the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Grand Bahama Development Company. A boom of energy and a vision that was all set, but later side tracked by the thought of sharing the profits was what we were left with and little though of how to recover and move on with proper legislation to assist all. Next week we look at the promises fulfilled by the G.B. Port Authority. Thanks again to Oldbahama.com. If you want copies of these photos just contact them for reprints.
Read more