Michael L. Sanders tells the story in his book, Clearwater: A Pictorial History.

“Before the hectic and dramatic boom of the 1920s Clearwater was to undergo, a dramatic episode of another sort came—the thundering ‘boom’ dealt by the hurricane of ’21. At the height of this storm, which originated in the western Caribbean, 100-mile-an-hour winds and 10-foot tides ripped Clearwater. ...”

Clearwater photographer J. Arlos Ogg remembers the storm:

“The hurricane of ’21 was not considered a major storm in Florida’s history, but with nine-foot seas up the side of the bluff and 100 to 110-mile-per-hour winds it did considerable damage to trees and citrus groves here.

The 1918 Clearwater Bank...

“I was working on the construction for the Sunset Hotel with my dad when it struck around noon. Dad started for home and had to crawl across the Sunset Point Bridge. Dodging pine trees and telephone poles he finally made it home. The storm created the channel known as Hurricane Pass, and it almost cut Clearwater Island in half just north of Mandalay Shores at a very narrow spot in the island.”

Out of the disaster came prosperity. What the hurricane of 1921 destroyed, the real estate boom that hit Clearwater that same year rebuilt—and then some.

Hurricane news was soon overshadowed by sunshine news, as word of Florida’s preponderance of sunny days each year spread far and wide. The “Peninsula State” became known as the “Sunshine State” and people flocked to the winter paradise. Clearwater received its share of the migrating throng—photographs of downtown Clearwater in the 1920s show a bustling metropolis, filled with cars and shoppers—and local builders could hardly keep up with the demand for housing and stores.