A (Very) Brief Look At the Bramson Archive

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By Seth H. Bramson

Our readers might have noted the reference, on several occasions in previous columns to “The Bramson Archive” and it might be propitious, at this moment in time, to explain about and elaborate on, that entity.

In brief, The Bramson Archive is the largest collection of Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway and Florida transportation memorabilia in the world. It is larger than the state museum’s collection (of like items, of course, not their entire collection!) and larger than the Flagler Museum’s collection. In addition, it is the largest collection of Miami memorabilia and Floridiana in private hands (private as opposed to the museums) in the country.

Our astute readers, at this point, are very possibly asking, “how is that possible, that one person has built up a collection of such enormity?” and the answer is simple: Seniority. Your correspondent is America’s senior collector in his four categories: FEC Railway, Florida transportation memorabilia, Miami memorabilia and Floridiana, this past May having begun my 60th year of collecting all this junque. “So how did it begin?” you ask, and by doing that you allow me to take you back in time to 1946.

It was in that year that we moved from New York to Miami Beach and even then, as a little bitty kid, I loved trains. It was during that summer—August to be exact, one of the hottest on record up until that time—that I said to Dad, “Y’know, Dad, it is so miserably hot here that we really should move to Miami Beach. Even though it’s hot there, also, at least we will be near the ocean and can go for a swim every day.” Dad replied, “you’re right. Get your mother packed up, get the car packed and we’ll take off.” I did all that and then we went downstairs and he put me in the driver’s seat and said “let’s go.” Unhappily I turned to him and said, “there’s only one problem: my arms don’t reach the steering wheel and my legs don’t reach the pedals.” So he replied, “don’t worry—I’ll drive!” And he did. That story, the trip from New York to Miami in that year, with no motels, no interstates and only the local greasy spoons (bet most of our readers have never heard that term!) in which to eat, will be another story for another time.

In 1947, the year after we arrived, Dad began taking me, every Sunday, to the FEC’s Buena Vista Yard, the company’s rail yard here in Miami. Bounded by North Miami Avenue on the west, Northeast Second Avenue on the east, Northeast 29th Street to the south and Northeast 36th Street on the north, the whole property is now known as “Midtown.”

But the day didn’t begin there. We would leave our apartment house at 8035 Harding Avenue on Miami Beach and head first for the Mayflower Coffee Shop, which some of you may remember at Southeast First Street and Biscayne Boulevard, where, for some years, “Bonnie,” a lovely, sweet lady, was our waitress. (Many years later, Mom got a job as daytime cashier at the Doral Hotel Coffee Shop and one day she came home and told me that I wouldn’t believe it but Bonnie was working there as a waitress. I’m not sure if I was out of Beach High yet but, and suffice to say, I immediately went down to the Doral and it was a loving reunion with the usual—for that kind of happy get together after so long a time—glorious warmth and reminiscences.)

I loved going there (to the Mayflower Coffee Shop), as much for the anticipation of what lay ahead as for the intrigue of watching the store’s “donut train” make their famous donuts. The chain was owned by Maxwell House Coffee and I remember that, as late as 1976, there was a Mayflower Donut shop in Pennsylvania Station in New York City and the donuts were terrific, not the bread donuts that Dunkin’ sells! We would eat our breakfast and then head north to the pony track on the northeast corner of Northeast 15th Street and the Boulevard (the location at which Jordan Marsh would later be built), where I would ride the wonderful and gentle ponies. After several trips around the track on horseback, it would be time to head for the big event: we were on our way to see “Toodles,” the great and immense steam engines there at Buena Vista Yard and of this and the events leading to the start of my collecting in May, 1958, more next time.

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