Paradise Island
Coordinates: 25°05′N 77°20′W / 25.083°N 77.333°W
- For the DC Comics island formerly known as Paradise Island, see Themyscira.
- For the islet in the US Minor Islands, see Palmyra Atoll.
Paradise Island is an island in the Bahamas formerly known as Hog Island. The island is located just off the shore of the city of Nassau, which is itself located on the northern edge of the island of New Providence. It is best known for the sprawling 'Vegas-by-the-sea resort' Atlantis.
Paradise Island is connected to the island of New Providence by two bridges that cross Nassau Harbour. The first was built in 1966 by Resorts International, and the second in the late 1990s.
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[edit] Recent history
[edit] Pre-World War II
Before World War II the island, then known as Hog Island, was the private estate of the Swedish entrepreneur Axel Wenner-Gren.
[edit] Purchase by Huntington Hartford and development as a resort
Huntington Hartford, the A&P supermarket heir, arrived on Hog Island in 1959. Hartford bought Hog Island from Axel Wenner-Gren and changed the name to Paradise Island. He hired the Palm Beach architect John Volk and built the Ocean Club, Cafe Martinique, Hurricane Hole, the Golf Course, among other island landmarks. He also acquired and installed the Cloisters, a 14th-century French Augustinian monastery originally purchased in Montréjeau [1] and dismantled by William Randolph Hearst in the 1920s. He hired Gary Player to be the Golf Pro and Pancho Gonzales to be the Tennis Pro. His opening of Paradise Island in 1962 was covered in Newsweek and Time magazines. He hired the staff from Eden Roc at Hotel Du Cap to work off season at the Ocean Club. He had the fireworks for the opening party flown in from the South of France. He had a flag and Paradise Beach was featured on a Bahamian three-dollar notes in 1966 (introduced as a close equivalent to the Bahamian Pound, which was replaced at the rate of $1=7£, so $3=21£).
[edit] Development as a gambling resort
Huntington Hartford met James M. Crosby (1927–1986) through Huntington's Bodyguard Sy Alter. Sy Alter met Jim Crosby at the Colony Club in Palm Beach. Huntington Hartford got the gambling License for Paradise Island and included Jim Crosby as an Extra Investor. Jim Crosby and Jack Davis then formed a company, Resorts International, to continue developing Paradise Island.[2][3] Recognizing the business potential of the Bahamas, they were the first to establish major resort development, and often offered above-average salaries to Bahamanian employees.[citation needed] The two continued to develop Paradise Island. They built the bridge to Nassau and the first large-scale resorts. He subsequently created and funded a successful statewide campaign to pass a referendum legalizing gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Resorts built the first casino, and with no competition for the first year, made over $300 million profit.[citation needed]. Resorts stock went from between $1–3 to over $200, and was the only stock to ever make the front page of the LA Times[citation needed]
[edit] Subsequent changes of ownership
Paradise Island was purchased in the 1980s by Donald Trump for $79 million, then sold to Merv Griffin for $400 million. It was last sold for $125 million to the current owner, Sol Kerzner. The current estimated value of the island is about $2 billion USD.
[edit] In film
- The Beatles' film Help! was partially filmed on Paradise Island.
- The James Bond film Thunderball was partially filmed on Paradise Island.
- On the TV series Friends Monica and Chandler's honeymoon is spent at the Atlantis.
- Survivor: All-Stars contestants Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich were married on Paradise Island in a 2 hour TV special.
- A larger part of the island is shown in the movie After the Sunset.
[edit] Bibliography
- Alan A. Block, Masters of Paradise, New Brunswick and London, Transaction Publishers, 1998, ISBN 1-56000-971-3
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://www.montrejeau-pyrenees.com/TempSite/3698.asp?rang= See point 16
- ^ Adam Bernstein, "Huntington Hartford Lost Millions on Investments", Washington Post, May 20, 2008.
- ^ Block, Alan A. (1998). Masters of Paradise. Transaction Publishers. pp. 68. ISBN 1560009713. http://books.google.com/books?id=trFcGY20LX8C&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=paradise+island+gambling+license&ct=result.
