El Cid Historic District

Noted for its Mediterranean revival and mission-style homes, El Cid developed in the height of Florida's real estate boom. In the late 1800's, most of the land north of Sunset Road was pineapple fields, but the crop dwindled in the early 1900's. Pittsburgh socialite Jay Phipps subdivided the old pineapple fields in the 1920's. He named it El Cid, after the celebrated Spanish hero, Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, who conquered Valencia in 1094. He was called "Cid", meaning "lord". The home of Ralph and Ann Norton (he founded the Norton Gallery of Art) at 253 Barcelona Road is on the National Register of Historic Places.  El Cid became a city historic district in June 1993. In 1995 the neighborhood was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.