Talk:Gold Coast (Florida)

Explanation of Major Changes
I significantly cut the length of this article. The large paragraph on the etymology of the term was added in one fell swoop by an unregistered user and only slightly modified over the history of this article. It contained numerous copy-editing errors, was entirely unsourced, and read like an ad, especially the last bit about Miami. In all, it focused more on Art Deco, Miami, and Miami tourism than on the Gold Coast per se.

I began by copy-editing the article, and debated splitting it into sections and marking the part that seemed an ad to me with. However, when I realized that I'd created a section "Miami Today," I also realized that that entire section did not belong in this article, as well as much of the other material of this article. If anyone wants to try to add the material I removed into the Miami or Art Deco or even what's-his-name Flagler articles, feel free, but I do not feel it belongs here.

It should be easier for anyone so motivated to fact-check the condensed version. If it's factually inaccurate, I apologize; I merely used the information given in the former, sprawling, likewise uncited paragraph on the etymology. Growth for this page would seem appropriate along the lines of some of the other XYZ Coast pages for Florida.

&mdash;Jay Uv. 03:43, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Etymology of the name
That is certainly one of the most bizarre stories for the name that I have ever encountered. The name comes, of course, from the many Spanish galleons that wrecked off the coast, and the gold coins and treasure they have yielded.

I haven't changed that last sentence yet, but I will change it in a couple of weeks if nobody says anything. Horologium t-c 02:24, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

WikiProject Miami
This stub has received little substantial editing and has no references. Lowering importance from Top to Mid.GroveGuy (talk) 03:33, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

Etymology
I'm still looking for a source, but I remember reading many years ago that the name "Gold Coast" was invented as a tourist promotion because the surf on the beaches from Palm Beach to Miami Beach was much milder than further north. This is due to the presence of the Bahamas banks screening the coast from swells from the open Atlantic. At the end of the 19th century and through the first half of the 20th century tourists were looking for a pleasant bathing experience at the seaside, and the combination of mild surf and warm water at Palm Beach, Miami Beach, and points between, was "golden". I am not aware of any treasure ships that wrecked in the region of the "Gold Coast". When I was growing up in Miami, the only legends of treasure or of gold coins being found that I heard revolved around Elliott Key and Black Caesar (pirate). -- Donald Albury 01:51, 14 March 2012 (UTC)