Grenald, Ben Interview
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Material Information

Title:
Grenald, Ben Interview
Added title page title:
Ben Grenald interview Miami Beach Visual Memoir
Creator:
Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL)
Close-Up Productions
Publisher:
Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (MBVCA)
Publication Date:
Language:
English
Physical Description:
00:56:24

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Oral histories—Miami Beach (Fla.)
Phamarcy -- United States -- Florida
NIghtclubs -- United States -- Florida -- Miami Beach
Genre:
Video Recordings
Spatial Coverage:
North and Central America -- United States -- Florida -- Miami Dade -- Miami Beach
Coordinates:
25.68887 x -80.2899

Notes

Scope and Content:
Ben Grenald, decorated Naval officer, pharmacist entrepreneur, member of the Visitors and Convention Authority, and 3 times Vice Mayor of Miami Beach, was born in Poland and grew up in Louisville, KY, the place his parents chose to settle down after the upheavals of post World War I in Europe. Mr. Grenald, a chemist by schooling and a pharmacist, bought and ran a series of pharmacies both on Miami Beach and in Miami until he eventually owned 30. His first store was at 9th and Washinton. He holds many patents on cosmetic and medicinal items, including Shuttle, a first aid antispetic spray and skin cream still sold in Beach pharmacies. After establishing several pharmacies and stores, he says he wanted to give back to the City of Miami Beach so he ran for the commission in 1982 and was Vice Mayor for three terms. During that time he managed to convince bankers that tourism was indeed an industry, worthy of investment like any other. He also takes credit as being the father of sidewalk cafes. He asked for a 6 month trial period and it was, as he predicted, a huge success. He counts many people as friends, including celebrities like Jackie Gleason and Sammy Davis Jr. He said he was present when Sinatra told Ben Novak, owner of the Fountainbleu Hotel that if he didn't allow his fellow entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. (who was black and part of the famous Rat Pack – Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford) to stay at the hotel, he would not stay there either. This pressure on Novak resulted in breaking down the racial barrier at Miami Beach hotels for overnight guests. Blacks were welcome to perform but not spend the night.

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Holding Location:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Resource Identifier:
MBVM000001

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Aggregations:
Miami Metropolitan Archive
Miami Beach Visual Memoirs