Andytown was a town located in Broward County, Florida, United States at the intersection of U.S. 27 and I-75. It was demolished in 1979 in order to allow for the expansion of the Alligator Alley portion of Interstate 75. Andytown can be found on maps from the 1970s , aerial maps of Florida (and even 1980s, as it was years before they were updated). It remains today on some online map services. MSN's Maps service, for instance, returns a map for a search of Andytown. Google Maps similarly includes a place marker for it. Andytown was at the intersection of US 27 and State Road 84.
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Back when SR-84 (also known as "Alligator Alley") and US-27 were each two-lane roads, the intersection was controlled by a simple traffic light. At the southeast corner of that intersection, there was a gas station with a convenience store, restaurant, bar, motel and a trailer where the Andytown pioneers (the Tsanos family of Kosta "Gus"/ Andy's nephew, his wife Litsa and daughter Sophia Tsanos) lived until 1972. Gus and Litsa ( also Greek immigrants) worked at Andytown since 1964. Litsa's brother John Theodore ran the gas station. [1] The restaurant was a very popular stopping point- attracting tourists, locals, hunters, some celebrities, truckers, farmers, state troopers, air boats- especially for people who ventured into or returned from the Everglades.
Andytown was named after Andreas D. Poulos. [1] A Greek immigrant from the small village of Kostana of Epirus, Greece (area of Thesprotia near the Albanian border- at that time part of Ottoman Greece). Poulos immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s through Ellis Island as young Greek boy, later became a proud US citizen and moved to Florida previously having lived in Philadelphia. Poulos, a charismatic optimist and a unique visionary (always in a smart suit, smile and bow tie) who loved Florida and the Everglades, bought the business (later named Andytown) in 1946 after stopping for a drink and making the owner of the truck stop an on the spot offer for the building and land. This is an immigrant's dream of owning his own town. Poulos, understood the potential of the area before the developers, before the Department of Transportation made their infrastructure plans. [1] [2] After Poulos died in 1972, his nephew Kosta "Gus" and wife Litsa Tsanos proudly inherited Andytown and continued to work there. [2]
Andytown did not have electricity service until 1953. [1] As of 1954, it did not have any telephones; the nearest telephone was located 15 miles (24 km) away. There was no nearby hospital, or police station or school. The Tsanos family would travel to 441 to get proper drinking water. Alligators, snakes, and other wildlife were part of the daily atmosphere. There was nothing but Florida pine lining State Road 84 along the canal. An area at the time that was rural Florida only with a few farms, trailer parks, orange groves between it and University Drive (which at that time were mostly cow or horse pastures). [1] Andytown was an important oasis for travelers marked by Cuban palms, a welcoming spirit, interesting characters, lively bartenders, the occasional alligator in the parking lot and a fine juke box.
The 1960s TV adventure series The Everglades was partially filmed in Andytown.
In 1967, the Florida state government took the land for its future use in transportation projects by Eminent Domain. Kosta "Gus" struggled to keep Andytown in a legal battle after Andy's passing because of the personal pride attached to Andy's pioneering spirit and what it meant to his family, but ultimately the Dept of Transportation won out. [2] In 1979, the state announced it would be demolishing the buildings in Andytown in order to build entrance and exit ramps at the intersection of I-75 and US-27. Gus and Litsa threw a big party with the locals to say good bye to Andytown. [2] The building was demolished in November 1979. [2]
Further remains of Andytown are located west of US-27 on Griffin Road; across the street from the cemetery is an FPL substation, named the Andytown Substation. Additionally, in nearby Davie, a bar called Legendary Andy's Lounge and Package displayed an old Andytown sign over their door- had the original Andytown liquor license which was the 83rd license in Florida. The lounge- located on State Road 84 and Flamingo Road (East of Andytown) was an homage to Andy Poulos. "Gus"/Kosta (Andy's nephew) owned and ran until his passing in 2005 - Sophia, his daughter also owned/ ran Legendary Andy's Lounge until 2010. Sophia Tsanos is the last of the original pioneers of Andytown and has given interviews about her personal experiences and is in possession of photos, clippings and memorabilia. [3] Legendary Andy's Lounge was a continuation of Andytown in spirit, proudly remembering the history of the area and those like Andy Poulos pioneering West Broward near the Florida Everglades. The bar Legendary Andy's Lounge also became a local favorite but was later ( around 2015) demolished by the landlord /Cumberland Farms to make way for a Cumberland Farms super station.
