by Jack Alexander It always amazes me that one of Rotonda West’s greatest assets is overlooked and underused… Don Pedro Island. Many Rotonda West residents seem unaware that a mid-1970’s investigation of Rotonda’s development by the Federal Trade Commission... Read More
by Jack Alexander The land on which Rotonda sits was owned originally by brothers William and Alfred Vanderbilt. William was a former Governor of Rhode Island, and both brothers were direct descendants of the renowned Cornelius Vanderbilt. Known as “The Commodore,” he... Read More
by Jack Alexander In 1970, right at Rotonda West’s start-up, the U.S. economy tanked and slowed development. Interest rates soared above 20 percent. Money for infrastructure became hard to find and borrow. (The government wasn’t handing it out back then!). Then, the... Read More
By Jack Alexander The original Rotonda developer made two smart moves in 1970. First, he negotiated with ABC-TV to telecast The Superstars, a unique new sports event, then he retained Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s famous second banana to pitch Rotonda as Paradise. The... Read More
by Jack Alexander Three times that call has resonated for me, at boarding school at age 12, as a Marine in some God-forsaken Belgian ditch during WW2, and from 1948 on, after I entered the U.S. an immigrant from Scotland far from family. In the early ‘70’s the first... Read More
By Jack Alexander When dining with multiple friends, I prefer a round table. It’s more congenial because everyone can see and talk easily with everyone else. For similar reasons, Joe Klein’s vision for Rotonda was that, unlike traditional square or block communities,... Read More
