I have been corresponding with Colorado realtor Warren Smadbeck for some time now. I'm sure he was as initially surprised that someone was asking about his father and uncle's realty developments of the 1920's , as I was to learn that Dr. Warren Smadbeck 1885-1965 had a son my age! But like everything else that has been connected to this story.... it's simply amazing what happened in that little town of Mastic Beach and most everything and everyone connected to it .

Recently I sent Warren a photo of the Hotel Presidente that his father built in Havana,Cuba in 1928. I have that photo in developer Walter T. Shirley pages. Warren reminisced some about vacationing there in the 1950's pre Castro Cuba. That coupled with him sending me the photo taken at their home in The Dakota , New York City has led to this page where you will learn a little bit about the two brothers who developed Mastic and Mastic Beach along with a "few" other towns across Long Island, the United States and Canada.

They were known in the media as "The Henry Fords of Real Estate" because of their style of making vacation land and home ownership possible for the average Joe. Their father Louis was active in New York City Real estate from the late 19th century until his death in February of 1911. The first Smadbeck Real Estate Transfer that I found in the N Y Times took place in May 22 of 1885 the year Louis and Jennie's first son Warren was born.

Using newspaper subscriptions to sell land was a new concept and may have been the Smadbeck's original idea. The Brooklyn Citizen's publisher, John Frost's name appears on many of the Mastic deeds. Mastic Park was on it's way when they purchased the Lawrence Estate and started the town of Mastic Beach in 1926. Most every Smadbeck development during the 1920's - 50's was marketed as a vacation destination and situated either near a lake or waterfront. In the 1926 they also developed Rocky Point on the North Shore of Long Island and it shares most of the same street names as Mastic Beach.