Seddon Island, originally known as Little Grassy Island, was renamed in 1909, the same day the Seaboard Air Line railway terminals opened there. Like its soon-to-be neighbor, Davis Islands, where these photos were taken, Seddon Island started as a strip of sand bars, and dredging by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the adjacent ship channels filled them in. W.L. Seddon was the chief engineer for Seaboard and drew the plans for the dredging. The Seaboard facility operated for decades, with the elevators shown here, loading cargo ships with tons of Florida phosphate destined worldwide.  

In 1979, the 177-acre island was purchased from Seaboard Coastline by the Beneficial Corporation, which planned a mixed-use development named Harbour Island. The initial phase of the development called for a hotel and The Shops on Harbour Island, a mall-like setting where residents and visitors could shop, eat, and be entertained day and night. Large national brands opened with fanfare, but the buzz wore off quickly. Developers failed to consider the few residents the island initially had and the lack of interest for non-residents in driving over bridges to shop or eat. While the shops failed, the island continued to grow, and now houses, high-end restaurants, and other amenities, as well as these exclusive residences along the water where the phosphate elevators once towered.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved