Florida’s Legendary 1920s Land Boom Peaked Nearly 100 Years Ago This Week

The legendary Florida land boom of the 1920s that reinforced Miami’s “Magic City” moniker peaked nearly 100 years ago with the sinking of a tall ship in Biscayne Bay.

This is a screenshot from a new report by local historian Casey Piket of Miami-History.com profiling the Prins Valdemar vessel that is blamed for symbolically ending Florida’s land boom of the 1920s. (Image courtesy of Miami-History.com)

Nearly a century ago this week on Jan. 10, 1926, a tall ship called the Prins Valdemar sunk in the turning basin of Miami’s Biscayne Bay port, impeding ocean cargo traffic carrying much needed construction supplies.

By the time the vessel was removed and the ocean passage cleared nearly 50 days later, Miami’s speculative real estate market had reportedly slowed dramatically and would never fully recover for that cycle.

“The position of the ship caused its mast to block the turning basin to the extent that other ships could not leave the port,” according to a new report from local historian and fourth-generation South Florida resident Casey Piket of Miami-History.com. “Salvage crews began immediately to remove the ship out of its capsized position, but it proved very difficult. It took six weeks to finally prop the ship upright and get it into a position to be moved.”

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