Michael Emilio

From the Sun-Sentinel: 

The picturesque covered bridge south of Wiles Road is a reminder of the city’s early beginnings: Rustic, countrified and quaint.

But hurricanes, truck crashes and termites transformed the landmark built in 1964 into little more than a decrepit curiosity.

This week a charming bit of the past will return. The city has renovated the 40-foot wooden bridge on Northwest 95th Avenue, and an artist has spent almost two months recreating the brightly hued, vintage tobacco ads that originally graced its arches.

“It’s a beautiful site,” said Coral Springs Vice Mayor Roy Gold, chairman of the city’s historical advisory committee, which pushed for the renovation. “It really is fantastic, and I’m looking forward to the dedication.”

The bridge is one of two Florida Heritage Sites in the city designated by the Florida Department of State. The other is Coral Ridge Properties’ original real estate office, now at Mullins Park near the Mullins Park pool, Gold said.

Emily Heafy, whose late husband Ed was mayor of Coral Springs for years, moved to the city in 1968 and remembers the bridge’s heyday. Its purpose, she said, was to attract home buyers to the sparsely populated city.

“It was built as a hook,” Heafy recalled. “James Hunt, a Coral Ridge developer, was like P.T. Barnum. He liked the big show. The way he advertised it was, `Come see the only covered bridge in the state of Florida.’ It was to get people to come out here and look at houses.”

That the old bridge is being so carefully restored is thrilling, she said. The city spent $61,000 on the renovation.

“It’s going to look great,” Heafy said. “It was really hit hard by the hurricane [Wilma]. You have to fix it.”

City workers are planning to install the newly painted tobacco ads on the east and west sides of the bridge today, said Gina Orlando, who is managing the project.

The tobacco murals, each 40-feet long by 5-feet high, are adorned with 21/2-foot tall letters. Coral Ridge Properties obtained the designs from the American Snuff Company in Winston-Salem, N.C., which had supplied an artist to paint them years ago, according city historians.

“It’s going to look phenomenal,” Orlando said. “The paint is so bright and crisp. The old paint was so old and faded. And because there are no trees around the bridge, it’s going to stand out. It’s going to pop when you are driving down Wiles Road.”

Coral Springs artist Valmiro Tascon has spent thousands of hours on the murals, sometimes working 12-hour stints. His studio was a warehouse bay donated by the owner of ABC Roofing for use until the paintings were complete. ABC Roofing also donated $14,400 to reroof the aging bridge, Orlando said.

City historians are hoping the extensive face-lift will once again make the bridge a destination. A formal dedication is planned for 3 p.m. April 14.

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