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Don Boyd | all galleries >> Memories of Old Hialeah, Old Miami and Old South Florida Photo Galleries - largest non-Facebook collection on the internet >> Miami Area RESTAURANTS, Drive-Ins, Bars, Lounges, Liquor Stores, Clubs, Strip Joints, etc. Gallery - All Years - click to view > Mid 1930's - Capt. Tom's Seafood Restaurant at NW 1st Street and the Miami River, Miami
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Mid 1930's From a postcard

Mid 1930's - Capt. Tom's Seafood Restaurant at NW 1st Street and the Miami River, Miami

NW 1st Street and the Miami River, Miami, Florida


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Mark 31-Jul-2015 00:05
******* Happy "100th" Birthday in 2018 !!! *******

I recently discovered a Restaurant Guide (book) from the 1940's.

The historic "Capt. Tom's Seafood Restaurant" building, located on the Miami River front in downtown Miami will be celebrating it's "100th birthday" in 2018.

The building has been there for nearly "one hundred years", now. Now that's something truly rare in Miami !

Several interesting facts;
Once in the early 1940's a "small island hopper" Pan American Airways Seaplane landed on the Miami River , docked at the outside veranda patio ! Were those "the good-old-days" or what !

The building has been seemingly in a "time warp" since closing in the late 1950's...the building has never been utilized for anything substantial in 60 years--since 1957 !!

It has virtually looked and stayed the same, including "lobster traps" on side of building.

What is interesting, the historic building has been used many times as a "backdrop" for TV shows (CSI Miami) and movies.I do not know if the building is on the" Miami Historic Preservation" agenda...but should be.

e-mail : capt_toms_seafood_restuarant@yahoo.com or pan_american_clipper@yahoo.com
Don Boyd07-Dec-2013 16:09
Thank you Ed and Dr. Schrier for posting your memories of dining at Capt. Tom's, I appreciate it!

Mark, thank you very much for posting the details of your family's ownership of Capt. Tom's and its illustrious history over the years. You provided some valuable insight about the restaurant and who patronized it back in the glory days.

Don
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harry b schrier, MD 06-Dec-2013 20:09
my family ate there many times. Great fresh Fl seafood. To fight boredom while waiting for our food, my brother & I would bring our fishing rods and threw our lines over the outdoor balcony into the Miami River. The restaurant provided shrimp for bait and did not mind our feeble attempts at fishing. We never caught anything.
Mark 08-Jul-2013 20:36
During the late 1930's (the World War II-era) and mid-50's..., "Capt. Tom's Restaurant was in its hey-day. The Seaboard Rail Road trains brought winter visitors to downtown Miami, the "Sun & Fun Capitol of the World"...the trains also would bring iced Maine lobster for the restaurant's truly wealthy patrons ( highly expensive for the time !) Luckily, for the C.G. & Clara Morgan's restaurant, the railroad tracks ended just northwest of the Dade County Courthouse on Flagler Street, walking distance to the river side formal restaurant..thus "Capt Tom's" was one of the first destinations for those weary "Winter Snowbird travelers" seeking a taste of wonderful Florida seafood.
Fresh fish were daily brought to the downstairs-riverside docks, Florida lobster, snapper, dolphin (maui-maui), and more.
"Capt Tom's Restaurant" also catered the "PAN AMERICAN AIRWAYS SYSTEM'...flying-boat Clippers, "China Clippers" that were based at Dinner Key Pan American terminus. They would delivery "designer-Florida-seafood-meals" by boat , the 20 minute boat trip from the riverside locale to the "Clipper Base" at Dinner Key.
The restaurant was home to many "Stars-of-the-Time", Humphery Bogart (Movie: Key Largo), a young Marilyn Monroe, President Truman, etc...those days of "old Miami" are long, long gone...but the history is exciting.
For more info. read the previous post.
E-mail: capt_toms_seafood_resturant@yahoo.com
Mark 19-Dec-2012 23:22
My grandparents C.G. & Clara (Marcos) Morgan, owned/managed "Capt.Tom's" for many years . They arrived in Miami at the turn of the 20th century (early 1900's) from Mass. Both involved in local politics, belonged to the "Pioneers Club of Miami" etc. It was the "Joe Stone Crabs" of its day, home to" Celebrities-of-the Time"..Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Gleason, and more! In the late 1950's due to severe hurricane and fire damage they retired. Though the original concrete structure is still standing, half the building is no longer there ,was destroyed. The Morgan heirs still mostly reside in Dade Co. Joan ( Village of Pinecrest & Winter Park, FL)...Johnny & Rita (Coral Gables, FL)...Wish you all the Best!
Guest 31-Dec-2008 20:42
As a kid in the 50's my parents took us here often. I always wanted to sit on the pation......lower left on the post card ....so we could watch boats go by and if we were lucky, the wooden bridge raised over the river.
Ed Pomerantz, Miami High '67