Morang & Sons, Inc., helped develop and dredge some of the finger islands around the city including the 80 acres (320,000 m2) currently called the Seven Isles.
The hotel had foundation work and walls, but construction was halted due to a material shortage which affected all of Southeast Florida after a steel yacht called the Prinz Valdemar, reputedly owned by German Kaiser Wilhelm I, mysteriously sank across the mouth of the harbor of Miami (present-day Port of Miami.)
As part of the promotion for the sale of the then named "Lauderdale Isles-Lauderdale Shores," Morang erected massive twin columns based on two pedestals as a gateway to his development.
They were aligned on either side of a long canal giving maximum visual effect to someone standing on East Las Olas Boulevard and looking due north.
The Florida land boom era came to an end after the September 1926 hurricane, which did extensive damage to Fort Lauderdale and toppled the twin columns on East Las Olas Boulevard.
A resident of Seven Isles, Diane Hess, petitioned the City to save the structure, initiated a campaign to obtain its historic designation status and raised funds (including a matching grant from the State of Florida) to preserve and conserve the pedestal.
However, due to recent growth in the Seven Isles and thus the broadening scope or supervisory responsibilities – security, capital improvements and aesthetics – the name was amended in 2000 to reflect the larger breadth of duties.