Doral, Florida
In the 1950’s, Doris and Alfred Kaskel purchase 2,400 acres of swampland in Northwest Miami-Dade County for about $49,000 to build the world renowned Doral Hotel and Country Club.
The name Doral, which is a combination of their names, Doris and Alfred, became the identity of the flourishing city that grew around the resort.
How Doral Began
In the late 1950s, Doris and Alfred Kaskel purchased 2,400 acres of swampland in northwest Miami-Dade County for about $49,000 with the vision of building a golf course and a hotel in an otherwise undeveloped area.
In 1962, they realized that dream by opening the Doral Hotel and Country Club, which featured multiple golf courses (Blue, Red, and Par-3) and a hotel.
📛 Origin of the Name
The name “Doral” itself is a combination of “Dor” from Doris and “Al” from Alfred, honoring both founders.
🏌️ Impact and Legacy
The Doral Hotel and Country Club quickly became a regional attraction, hosting golf events such as the early Doral Open Invitational, which helped put the area on the map.
Alfred Kaskel was a Polish-born American real estate developer and hotelier who had an extensive career building hotels and apartments in New York and beyond before launching the Doral projects with Doris.
Over the following decades, the area around the resort developed, with subsequent residential communities emerging in the 1980s (e.g., Doral Estates and Doral Park, developed by their grandson, Bill Kaskel).
This early development laid the groundwork for the community that eventually incorporated as the City of Doral in 2003.
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