By Land, Sea and… Air
By Mike Smith
Officially opened for business in 1951, Ocean Reef Club was off and running. The Club was accessible by land and many drove down from southern Florida. Access was also gained by water as many yachts found their way south from the Florida coast. But Morris Baker, always thinking ahead, wanted access by air. He envisioned members from the north, such as himself being able to jump in a plane and land at Ocean Reef, spend a few days and go home. He thought an airport would be crown jewel of the Club’s attributes.
The original plan was to build a 2,000 foot runway adjacent to Barracuda Lane. (Remember, the Barracuda Golf Course, now known as Card Sound was not yet constructed.) The exact orientation of the runway has its own unique story. At that time, different proposals were being offered on how best the Keys could be accessed by land. One of the proposals was a highway from Key Biscayne to Key Largo that would pass over Elliot Key and directly through Ocean Reef. Baker saw such a highway as potentially very disruptive to his plans for further development as it would split his property in two. At that time, the specific route of the highway through Ocean Reef was not known, so Mr. Baker aligned the runway with an orientation he hoped the highway would take to minimize the effect it would have. Fortunately, the choice was made to construct the highway the way it is now, a wise choice that benefits us today.
The 3,000 foot landing strip was completed and dedicated May 18, 1956 fulfilling Baker’s dream of the Club being accessible by land, sea and air. A grass hut served as the terminal building and featured a sign that said: ‘Elevation: 1 foot 5 3/4 inches’. (Note: Monroe County records indicate the length as 2,000 feet, but 3,000 feet is more likely accurate.)
In the ensuing years, the popularity of the airport grew and it was lengthened in 1967 to its present 4,456 feet and a terminal building was constructed which remains today. Small airline companies that normally flew in the northeast in the summer considered using our airfield. One such company was Montauk Caribbean Airways of New York who formed a southern division actually called Ocean Reef Airways. Operating flights between Miami and ORC, all passengers had to be members or guests. They flew Piper Navajos and Beech Barons.
Later, another airline, Provincetown-Boston (PBA) began a scheduled service flying between Key West and Miami stopping at ORC. They also offered service to Nassau for a short time. Into ORC, they used Cessna 402’s. After several accidents, none of which was at Ocean Reef, PBA was sold to Bar Harbor Airlines and service to ORC was halted.
Today, our airport is a testament to Morris Baker’s vision and the phenomenal success of our Club. It remains today as one of the very few exclusive Club’s in the world with modern airport access.
(Interesting detail: One of many special guests that arrived at our airport was Jackie Onassis in 1978. With her son John and daughter Caroline, they had requested strict privacy. Sonny Vasquez greeted her at the airport but the first thing Jackie saw was a photographer from The Enquirer who Sonny quickly dispatched. After a couple days, Jackie called Harper Sibley and said she would like to meet some people so he took her to a cocktail party at Don Hindman’s house that night. She stayed the whole evening, drank club soda, and everyone enjoyed each other’s company.)