Fisher Island

This article describes the island in the US state of Florida. See also Fisher Island and Fisher Island (Princess Elizabeth Land) in Antarctica or Fisher Island (Tasmania) in Bass Strait.

Fisher Island
County and state location
Basic data
State :	United States
State :	Florida
County :	Miami-Dade County
Coordinates :	25 ° 46 ′  N , 80 ° 9 ′  W Coordinates: 25 ° 46 ′  N , 80 ° 9 ′  W
Time zone :	Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents :	132 (as of 2010)
Population density :	146.7 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	0.9 km 2  (approx. 0 mi 2 )
Height :	3 m
Postcodes :	33109, 33139
Area code :	+1 305
FIPS :	12-22375
GNIS ID :	1853250

Fisher Island is an island in the Atlantic Ocean at the transition to Biscayne Bay and a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County in the US state of Florida with 132 inhabitants (status: 2010). The island became known primarily as the luxurious and strictly shielded residence of many rich and celebrities. The per capita income of the residents is the highest in the entire United States .

Size and location

The island is located near Miami and Miami Beach , is approximately 0.94 km² and has around 4.2 km of coastline. The northeast coast of the island is only separated from the southern tip of the Miami Beach peninsula by an approximately 300 m wide artificial waterway (Government Cut). The southwest coast of the island is separated from Virginia Key by the 400-meter-wide Norris Cut waterway. The northwest tip of the island is about 3.7 km from the mainland (Miami).

Development

There is a large golf course in the middle of the island. At the south end of the club there are 18 tennis courts and the clubhouse. There is another (slightly smaller) golf course in the north-west of the island.

To the west of the large golf course is a marina, which protrudes almost 300 meters into the interior of the island. It has space for around 70 boats. Another marina with around 20 berths is located on the southern tip of the island.

Almost the entire southwest coast and the southeast coast are built with luxury apartment houses. The cheapest apartments cost just under a million dollars. Such houses can also be found on the west and north sides of the large marina. There are only beaches on the southeast coast - the sand for them comes from the Bahamas and is regularly replaced.

history

Today's Fisher Island was originally the southern tip of the Miami Beach peninsula. In 1905, however, an approximately 300 meter wide shipping canal was built (Government Cut) to enable the ocean liners to enter Miami's new port. The southern tip of Miami Beach was separated and became an independent island.

The real estate king and automobile pioneer Carl Graham Fisher bought the newly created island in 1919 from Dana Albert Dorsey (the Afro-American millionaire in South Florida) to have his mausoleum built here. But already in 1925 the island passed into other hands: William Kissam Vanderbilt II (great-grandson of the railway mogul Cornelius Vanderbilt ) fell in love with the island and offered Fisher a spectacular exchange: Fisher got Vanderbilt's 80-meter-long yacht, Vanderbilt got the island. This turned Fisher Island into his winter residence; Moorish style with villa, guest houses, a studio, golf course, tennis courts and swimming pools. Today this part of the island is the resort hotel "Fisher Island Club".

After Vanderbilt's death, the island became the property of the American steel magnate Edward Moore. After his death in the early 1950s, businessman and speedboat world record holder "Gar" Wood bought the island. He should be the last very rich sole owner. In 1963 Wood sold the island to a development company (to which later US President Richard Nixon also belonged). Years of legal disputes and frequent changes of ownership followed.

It was not until the 1980s that today's development began with luxury apartment houses, which are based on the style of Vanderbilt's villa of the 1920s.

Today's hotel complex, the "Fisher Island Club" is managed by the German Heiko Dobrikow.

Demographic data

According to the 2010 census, the 132 inhabitants at the time were distributed over 226 households. The population density was 146.7 inh / km². 92.4% of the population identified themselves as white, 2.3% as African American and 4.5% as Asian Americans . 0.8% said they belonged to several ethnic groups. 15.2% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos .

In 2010 children under 18 years of age and 57.1% of all households lived in 14.3% of all households with persons at least 65 years of age. 73.0% of households were family households (consisting of married couples with or without offspring or a parent with offspring). The average household size was 2.10 people and the average family size was 2.33 people.

10.6% of the population were younger than 20 years old, 10.6% were 20 to 39 years old, 25.0% were 40 to 59 years old, and 53.7% were at least 60 years old. The mean age was 61 years. 51.5% of the population were male and 48.5% were female.

In 2000, English was the first language of 84.62% of the population and Spanish was spoken by 15.38%.

Access restrictions

One thing has not changed since the beginning: Fisher Island is still not open to the public. Only the 465 residents, paying guests of the expensive "Fisher Island Club" hotel and the students of the private "Fisher Island Day School" - who, if they do not live on Fisher Island themselves, are from the neighboring luxury islands, are allowed to enter the island or come from the posh districts of Miami.

The island can only be reached by a private ferry that runs around the clock every 15 minutes. Residents of the island are allowed to enter the ferry first (or use their cars), only then are the staff allowed on board - only on foot! Residents of the island are also allowed to travel by yacht or helicopter.

Unregistered guests are not welcome - you have to show an invitation from a resident. When entering the private ferry, the name and passport number are registered and the inviting resident is informed by telephone. The Fisher Island Club also checks its guests before accepting the hotel booking. The security service makes sure that boats that do not belong to a resident do not moor on Fisher Island. In addition, the island is monitored around the clock by an infrared-based satellite system. Fisher Island is currently considered the safest island in the United States.

Famous residents

Residents of the island are or were:

Barbara Becker (* 1966), television actress Boris Becker (* 1967), tennis player Andre Agassi (* 1970), tennis player Ricky Martin (* 1971), pop singer and actor Julia Roberts (* 1967), actress Madonna (* 1958), singer Robert Redford (* 1936), actor, film director and film producer Oprah Winfrey (born 1954), talk show host, actress and entrepreneur Mel Brooks (born 1926), comedian, actor

Sharon Gless (born 1943), actress Lenny Kravitz (* 1964), rock singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor Gloria Estefan (* 1957), singer and actress P.Diddy (* 1969), rapper, music producer, actor and fashion designer Arnold Schwarzenegger (* 1947), actor, publicist, entrepreneur, former bodybuilder and active US politician Paul Newman (1925–2008), actor, film director, racing driver and entrepreneur Demi Moore (born 1962), actress Jack Nicholson (born 1937), actor, screenwriter, director and producer

Not all house or apartment owners live permanently on the island; rather, they use their property there as a second or third residence. Only about 20 families live there permanently.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 . United States Census Bureau . Retrieved March 24, 2013.
2. ↑ Language distribution 2000 . Modern Language Association . Retrieved March 24, 2013.