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两位老亨利

热度 18已有 355 次阅读2021-6-18 23:10 |个人分类:拉拉杂杂

2021-6-17

准备暑假期间，带小不点儿到坦帕湾，和东部的大西洋海滩，住住旅馆，看看博物馆。先做点儿功课：

美国最南部，佛罗里达州的开发史，离不开两位老亨利。

佛罗里达州的东海岸，是大西洋，有一位大名鼎鼎如雷贯耳的亨利福莱格勒，是美国曾经的石油大王。从杰克森维尔到西棕榈滩，再从西棕榈滩到迈阿密，又从迈阿密到西阁群岛的跨海铁路，都是这家伙折腾的，当时的迈阿密，本来都要以福莱格勒命名了，不知道后来哪个环节出了错，就成了现在的迈阿密。

Portrait of Henry Flagler （1830–1913）- Henry Flagler first visited Florida in 1878, and he liked what he saw. He came back and built railroads and grand hotels along the east coast so that Northerners could enjoy the beauties of the state. By the end of his long and productive life, he had built a railroad all the way to the very end of the Keys. It arrived in Key West in 1912.

不过沿大西洋海滩往北走三百迈，就有一个福莱格勒县，从福莱格勒县再往北走，还有一所福莱格勒大学。而现在的西棕榈滩，有一条滨海大道，叫福莱格勒路，就在海湖庄园的对面。棕榈滩有一所漂亮的白房子，现在是福莱格勒的私人博物馆，有五十五个房间，曾经是福莱格勒家的冬季住宅。

Henry Morrison Flagler Museum

棕榈滩历史上最早最大也最出名的布里克旅馆，也是福莱格勒兴建的，现在还在营业。

The Breakers Palm Beach is a historic, Renaissance Revival style luxury hotel with 538 rooms.

佛罗里达西海岸的坦帕湾，有一位小有名气的亨利普兰特(1819-1999)，也是一个有钱的企业家，他喜欢修铁路，建航线，更喜欢在他修建的铁路两岸修建饭店。他是第一个在佛罗里达中部修建铁路的拓荒者，也第一个修建了跨州铁路，把佛罗里达和北方各州联系了起来。尽管普兰特的生意，没有后来居上的福莱格勒的生意大，但是他修的铁路，从芝加哥一直到坦帕湾，他建的航线，从坦帕湾经西阁群岛一直到古巴的哈瓦那和中南美。

Henry Bradley Plant, developer and railroad builder on Florida's west coast - Henry Plant, who had steamships in addition to railroads, was determined to have his trains running to a port for ships on the west coast of Florida. In 1884 Plant realized his dream when his rails reached Tampa. With the grand opening of his fantastic Tampa Bay Hotel in 1891, Plant reached another goal.

普兰特留给世人的物质和精神财富，是以他命名的一所高中和一个小镇。让人印象深刻过目不忘的，是坦帕湾的普兰特博物馆。

Henry Plant's largest hotel, the Tampa Bay Hotel, on the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. It was the most modern hotel in Florida at the time with 500 rooms and electric lights. Plant also owned and operated many steamboats and he continued building in Florida throughout the late 1800s.

佛罗里达在开发之前，是蛮夷之地，根本不是人住的地方。开发之初的东西两岸，也是新旧社会两重天。西岸乃至中部的居民，从攀扫考拉到杰克森维尔，再从杰克森维尔到撒若速达和梅耶湾，都深受普兰特铁路和豪华旅馆的影响，多来自芝加哥和中西部各州。普兰特修建的豪华饭店，只有一所 Belleview Inn 还在营业，已不复往日的规模。整个旅馆，在坦帕湾清水海滩的就里，被原址平移三百五十米，一般的旅客，不会太注意。可是晚上住得进去，白天去普兰特博物馆参观，仍然能够体验并享受一下，昔日的余光。东岸的居民，从杰克森维尔到西阁群岛，深受福莱格勒铁路和大西洋海滩的影响，多来自纽约州和新英格兰地区。福莱格勒兴建的旅馆，也只有布利克旅馆才硕果仅存。棕榈滩县各个学校的高考状元，每年在这个旅馆里被请喝茶，饱餐一顿，拍照留念，几成传统，是一种无上的荣誉。

看起来是平分秋色，其实是三足鼎立。因为还有一位商业大亨，控制着佛罗里达的最西边境，他的名字叫威廉奇普里（William D. Chipley，1840-1897）。

William Dudley Chipley was an American railroad executive and politician who was instrumental in the building of the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad and was a tireless promoter of Pensacola, his adopted city, where he was elected to one term as mayor, and later to a term as Florida state senator.