Miami Beach is a coastal
resort city
A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...
in
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous county in ...
. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
is located on natural and
man-made
Artificiality (the state of being artificial or manmade) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity.
Connotations
Artificiality ...
barrier island
Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...
s between the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is la ...
, the latter of which separates the Beach from the mainland city of
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. The
neighborhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
of
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
, comprising the southernmost of Miami Beach, along with
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...
and the
PortMiami, collectively form the commercial center of
South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
. Miami Beach's population is 82,890 according to the
2020 census. Miami Beach is the 26th largest city in Florida based on official 2019 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. It has been one of America's pre-eminent
beach resort
A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ' ...
s since the early 20th century.
In 1979, Miami Beach's
Art Deco Historic District was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The Art Deco District is the largest collection of
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
architecture in the world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures erected between 1923 and 1943.
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
,
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...
and Art Deco are all represented in the District.
The Historic District is bounded by the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
on the East, Lenox Court on the West, 6th Street on the South and Dade Boulevard along the Collins Canal to the North. The movement to preserve the Art Deco District's architectural heritage was led by former interior designer
Barbara Baer Capitman
Barbara Capitman ( Baer; April 29, 1920 – March 29, 1990) was a community activist and author who led the effort to preserve Miami Beach's historic art deco district and helped create the Miami Design Preservation League. A historical marker as ...
, who now has a street in the District named in her honor.
Miami Beach is the city in the United States most immediately threatened by climate-driven sea-level rise and flooding. Extensive, expensive, and sometimes controversial efforts are underway to address the problem so far as possible.
Government
Miami Beach is governed by a ceremonial mayor and six
commissioners. Although the mayor runs commission meetings, the mayor and all commissioners have equal voting power and are elected by popular election. The mayor serves for terms of two years with a term limit of three terms and commissioners serve for terms of four years and are limited to two terms. Commissioners are voted for citywide and every two years three commission seats are voted upon.
A city manager is responsible for administering governmental operations. An appointed city manager is responsible for administration of the city. The City Clerk and the City Attorney are also appointed officials.
History
In 1870, father and son Henry and Charles Lum purchased land on Miami Beach for 75 cents an acre. The first structure to be built on this uninhabited oceanfront was the Biscayne House of Refuge, constructed in 1876 by the
United States Life-Saving Service
The United States Life-Saving ServiceDespite the lack of hyphen in its insignia, the agency itself is hyphenated in government documents including: and was a Federal government of the United States, United States government agency that grew out ...
through an executive order issued by
President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, at approximately 72nd Street. Its purpose was to provide food, water, and a return to civilization for people who were shipwrecked. The structure, which had fallen into disuse by the time the Life-Saving Service became the
U.S. Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...
in 1915, was destroyed in the
1926 Miami Hurricane
The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...
and never rebuilt.
![Collins Bridge Miami FL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg)
The next step in the development of the future Miami Beach was the planting of a coconut plantation along the shore in the 1880s by New Jersey entrepreneurs Ezra Osborn and Elnathan T. Field, but this was a failed venture. One of the investors in the project was agriculturist
John S. Collins
John Stiles Collins (December 29, 1837 – February 11, 1928) was an American Quaker farmer from Moorestown Township, New Jersey who moved to South Florida at the turn of the 20th century. He attempted to grow vegetables and coconuts on the swam ...
, who achieved success by buying out other partners and planting different crops, notably avocados, on the land that would later become Miami Beach. In fact, the pine trees on today's Pinetree Drive served as an erosion buffer for Collins' plantations. Meanwhile, across Biscayne Bay, the City of Miami was established in 1896 with the arrival of the railroad and developed further as a port when the shipping channel of
Government Cut
Government Cut is a manmade shipping channel between Miami Beach and Fisher Island, which allows better access to the Port of Miami in Miami, Florida. Before the cut was established, a single peninsula of dry land stretched from what is now Miam ...
was created in 1905, cutting off Fisher Island from the south end of the Miami Beach peninsula.
Collins' family members saw the potential in developing the beach as a resort. This effort got underway in the early years of the 20th century by the Collins/Pancoast family, the Lummus brothers (bankers from Miami) and
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
entrepreneur
Carl G. Fisher
Carl Graham Fisher (January 12, 1874 – July 15, 1939) was an American entrepreneur. He was an important figure in the automotive industry, in highway construction, and in real estate development.
In his early life in Indiana, despite fa ...
. Until then, the beach here was only the destination for day-trips by ferry from Miami, across the bay. By 1912, Collins and Pancoast were working together to clear the land, plant crops, supervise the construction of canals to get their avocado crop to market and set up the Miami Beach Improvement Company.
There were bathhouses and food stands, but no hotel until Brown's Hotel was built in 1915 (still standing, at 112 Ocean Drive). Much of the interior landmass at that time was a tangled jungle of mangroves. Clearing it, deepening the channels and water bodies, and eliminating native growth almost everywhere in favor of landfill for development, was expensive. Once a 1600-acre, jungle-matted sand bar three miles out in the Atlantic, it grew to 2,800 acres when dredging and filling operations were completed.
![Carl G Fisher 1909](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Carl_G_Fisher_1909.jpg)
With loans from the Lummus brothers, Collins had begun work on a 2½-mile-long wooden bridge, the world's longest wooden bridge at the time, to connect the island to the mainland. When funds ran dry and construction work stalled, Indianapolis millionaire and recent Miami transplant Fisher intervened, providing the financing needed to complete the
Collins Bridge
The Collins Bridge was a bridge that crossed Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach, Florida. At the time it was completed, it was the longest wooden bridge in the world. It was built by farmer and developer John S. Collins (1837–1928) wi ...
the following year in return for a land swap deal.
That transaction kicked off the island's first real estate boom. The Collins Bridge cost over $150,000
and opened on June 12, 1913. Fisher helped by organizing an annual speed boat regatta, and by promoting Miami Beach as an Atlantic City-style playground and winter retreat for the wealthy. By 1915, Lummus, Collins, Pancoast, and Fisher were all living in mansions on the island, three hotels and two bathhouses had been erected, an aquarium built, and an 18-hole golf course landscaped.
The Town of Miami Beach was chartered on March 26, 1915; it grew to become a City in 1917. Even after the town was incorporated in 1915 under the name of Miami Beach, many visitors thought of the beach strip as Alton Beach, indicating just how well Fisher had advertised his interests there. The Lummus property was called Ocean Beach, with only the Collins interests previously referred to as Miami Beach. In 1925, the Collins Bridge was replaced by the Venetian Causeway, described as "a series of drawbridges and renamed the
Venetian Causeway
The Venetian Causeway crosses Biscayne Bay between Miami on the mainland and Miami Beach on a barrier island in the Miami metropolitan area. The man-made Venetian Islands and non-bridge portions of the causeway were created by materials which ...
".
![Aerial view of the Flamingo Hotel - Miami Beach, Florida](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Aerial_view_of_the_Flamingo_Hotel_-_Miami_Beach%2C_Florida.jpg)
Carl Fisher was the main promoter of Miami Beach's development in the 1920s as the site for wealthy industrialists from the north and Midwest to and build their winter homes here. Many other Northerners were targeted to vacation on the island. To accommodate the wealthy tourists, several grand hotels were built, among them: The
Flamingo Hotel
Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly The Fabulous Flamingo and Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
The property includes a casino along with 3, ...
, The Fleetwood Hotel, The Floridian, The Nautilus, and the Roney Plaza Hotel. In the 1920s, Fisher and others created much of Miami Beach as landfill by dredging Biscayne Bay; this man-made territory includes Star, Palm, and Hibiscus Islands, the Sunset Islands, much of Normandy Isle, and all of the Venetian Islands except Belle Isle. The Miami Beach peninsula became an island in April 1925 when Haulover Cut was opened, connecting the ocean to the bay, north of present-day
Bal Harbour
Bal Harbour is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 3,093 at the 2020 US Census.
History
Since the 1920s, the Detroit-based Miami Beach Heights Corporation—headed by industrialists Robert C. Graham, Walter O. Briggs ...
. The great
1926 Miami hurricane
The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...
put an end to this prosperous era of the
Florida Boom, but in the 1930s Miami Beach still attracted tourists, and investors constructed the mostly small-scale, stucco hotels and rooming houses, for seasonal rental, that comprise much of the present "
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
" historic district.
![Roney Plaza Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Roney_Plaza_Hotel%2C_Miami_Beach%2C_Florida.jpg)
Carl Fisher brought Steve Hannagan to Miami Beach in 1925 as his chief publicist. Hannagan set-up the Miami Beach News Bureau and notified news editors that they could "Print anything you want about Miami Beach; just make sure you get our name right."
The News Bureau sent thousands of pictures of bathing beauties and press releases to columnists like Walter Winchell and Ed Sullivan.
One of Hannagan's favorite venues was a billboard in Times Square, New York City, where he ran two taglines: "'It's always June in Miami Beach' and 'Miami Beach, Where Summer Spends the Winter.'"
Anti-semitism was rampant in the 1920s and into the 30s. Developer Carl Fisher would sell property only to gentiles so Jews were required to live south of Fifth Street. As recently as the 1930s, hotels refused to accept Jews. As the 1930s developed, the "dismantling on Miami Beach of restrictive barriers to Jewish ownership of real estate" was underway; many Jews bought properties from others.
By the 1940s and 50s, an increasing number of Jewish families built hotels. The first "skyscraper" was the 18-story Lord Tarleton Hotel built in 1940 by Samuel Jacobs. The Jewish mobster
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...
, who ran some "carpet joints" (gambling operations) in Florida by 1936, and eventually controlled casinos in Cuba and Las Vegas, retired in Miami and died in Miami Beach.
![Temple Menorah Miami Beach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Temple_Menorah_Miami_Beach.JPG)
During the Second World War, Jewish doctors were not granted staff privileges at any area hospitals so the community built
Mount Sinai Medical Center (Miami)
Mount Sinai Medical Center is a hospital located at 4300 Alton Road in Miami Beach, Florida, and is the largest independent non-profit hospital in South Florida. The institution was incorporated on March 11, 1946, and opened on its current loca ...
on Miami Beach.
The North Shore Jewish Center was built in 1951 and became Temple Menorah after an expansion in 1963.
Post–World War II economic expansion
The post–World War II economic expansion, also known as the postwar economic boom or the Golden Age of Capitalism, was a broad period of worldwide economic expansion beginning after World War II and ending with the 1973–1975 recession. The U ...
brought a wave of immigrants to South Florida from the Northern United States, which significantly increased the population in Miami Beach within a few decades. After
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
's rise to power in 1959, a wave of Cuban refugees entered South Florida and dramatically changed the demographic make-up of the area. In 2017, one study named zip code 33109 (
Fisher Island
Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral.
Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to:
Places
Australia
* Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland
* Ele ...
, a 216-acre island located just south of Miami Beach), as having the 4th most expensive home sales and the highest average annual income ($2.5 million) in 2015.
The sun and warm climate attracted many Jewish families and retirees. One estimate states that "20,000 elderly Jews" were part of the population of the beach in the late 1970s". In a 2017 interview, a demographer from the University of Miami estimated that there "might have been as many as 70,000 Jews in Miami Beach at one point" declining to "around 19,000 in 2014". The decline was motivated partly by "increasing prices during the art deco movement and an
increase in crime and changing cultural demographics".
In 1980 however, 62 percent of the population of Miami Beach was still Jewish. During the 1980s many of the Jewish citizens left and moved to "Delray Beach, Lake Worth and Boca Raton". During the 1990s, South Beach transformed into a home of the fashion industry and celebrities. In 1999, there were only 10,000 Jewish people living in Miami Beach.
Timeline
*1896 – City of
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
founded with the recent arrival extension
Henry Flagler
Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founde ...
's FEC railroad.
*1905 –
Government Cut
Government Cut is a manmade shipping channel between Miami Beach and Fisher Island, which allows better access to the Port of Miami in Miami, Florida. Before the cut was established, a single peninsula of dry land stretched from what is now Miam ...
manmade shipping channel created separating Miami Beach and Fisher Island.
*1912 – Miami Beach Improvement Company founded.
*1913 –
Collins Bridge
The Collins Bridge was a bridge that crossed Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach, Florida. At the time it was completed, it was the longest wooden bridge in the world. It was built by farmer and developer John S. Collins (1837–1928) wi ...
(now
Venetian Causeway
The Venetian Causeway crosses Biscayne Bay between Miami on the mainland and Miami Beach on a barrier island in the Miami metropolitan area. The man-made Venetian Islands and non-bridge portions of the causeway were created by materials which ...
), first bridge between Miami and Miami Beach, built.
*1915
**Miami Beach
incorporated.
**John Newton Lummus becomes first mayor of Miami Beach.
**Brown's Hotel first hotel built in Miami Beach, still standing today at 112 Ocean Drive.
*1920
**Population: 644.
**County Causeway (now
MacArthur Causeway
The General Douglas MacArthur Causeway is a six-lane causeway that connects Downtown Miami to South Beach via Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County.
The highway is the singular roadway connecting the mainland and beaches to Watson Island and the ...
) connecting Miami and Miami Beach opens.
*1925
**
Venetian Causeway
The Venetian Causeway crosses Biscayne Bay between Miami on the mainland and Miami Beach on a barrier island in the Miami metropolitan area. The man-made Venetian Islands and non-bridge portions of the causeway were created by materials which ...
opens.
**Miami Beach becomes an island when the Haulover cut opens in April connecting the ocean to the bay just north of
Bal Harbour, Florida
Bal Harbour is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 3,093 at the 2020 US Census.
History
Since the 1920s, the Detroit-based Miami Beach Heights Corporation—headed by industrialists Robert C. Graham, Walter O. Briggs, ...
*1926
**Miami Beach sustains significant damage from
1926 Miami hurricane
The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...
*1928
**
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
buys property in Miami Beach.
**1928 –
79th Street Causeway built to connect Miami Beach to
Hialeah Park Race Track
The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East ...
.
*1930 – Population: 6,494.
*1935 – Many of the famous Art Deco hotels along current day Ocean Drive are built between 1935 and 1941 before the onset of WWII ends construction. Colony (1935), Savoy Plaza (1935), The Tides (1936), Surf Hotel (1936), Beacon (1936), Cavalier (1936), Leslie (1937), Park Central (1937), Barbizon (1937), Waldorf Towers (1937), Victor (1937), Clevelander (1938), Crescent (1938), Carlyle (1939), Cardozo (1939), Winterhaven (1939), Bentley (1939), Breakwater (1939), Imperial (1939), Majestic (1940), Avalon (1941), Betsy Ross Hotel (1941), St. Charles (1941), Clyde Hotel (1941).
*1937 – WKAT
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
begins broadcasting.
[ ]
*1940 – Population: 28,012.
*1954 –
Fontainebleau Hotel
The Fontainebleau Miami Beach (also known as Fontainebleau Hotel) is a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Designed by Morris Lapidus, the luxury hotel opened in 1954. In 2007, the Fontainebleau Hotel was ranked ninety-third in the American Institute ...
in business.
*1958 –
Miami Beach Convention Center
The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015-2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhance ...
opens.
*1959 –
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
dedicated near Miami Beach.
[ (published circa 2006?)]
*1960 – Population: 63,145.
*1961 – The
Julia Tuttle Causeway between Miami and Miami Beach opens.
*1968 – August:
1968 Republican National Convention held in Miami Beach.
*1971 – Annual
South Florida Auto Show
Since 1971, the Miami International Auto Show has been held every year in Miami Beach, Florida. The date varies, however, usually it's between the last week in October and first week in December. This show is one of the most popular auto shows in ...
begins.
*1972 – July:
1972 Democratic National Convention
The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, also the host city of the Rep ...
held in Miami Beach.
*1972 – August:
1972 Republican National Convention
The 1972 Republican National Convention was held from August 21 to August 23, 1972 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. It nominated President Richard M. Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew for reelection. The convent ...
held in Miami Beach.
*1973 – February: A mentally ill man
firebombs a crowded cafeteria on
Collins Avenue
Collins Avenue, partly co-signed State Road A1A, is a major thoroughfare in South Florida, United States. The road runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean in Miami Beach, Florida, one block west. It also runs through the cities of Surfside and S ...
, killing three people and injuring about 130.
*1977 – September:
35th World Science Fiction Convention held in Miami Beach.
*1979 – Much of
Miami South Beach area becomes a historic preservation zone.
*1984 – Popular NBC TV show
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...
filmed in many locations in Miami and Miami Beach for five seasons between 1984 and 1989.
*1997 – July 15: Fashion designer
Gianni Versace
Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...
killed at
Casa Casuarina
Casa Casuarina, also known as the Versace Mansion, is an American property built in 1930, renowned for being owned by and the place of the murder of the Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace; he lived there from 1992 until his death in 1997. It ...
.
*2000 –
Blue and Green Diamond hi-rises built.
*2001 –
Murano at Portofino
Murano at Portofino is a highly affluent residential enclave tower / skyscraper in Miami Beach, Florida's South Beach. It is located directly on Biscayne Bay on the Miami Beach Marina. The tower, which opened in 2001, is 402 ft (123 m) ...
hi-rise built.
*2002
**Annual international
Art Basel Miami Beach (art fair) begins.
**
Continuum
Continuum may refer to:
* Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes
Mathematics
* Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...
hi-rise built
*2004 –
Setai Hotel and
ICON
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
hi-rise built.
*2007 –
Matti Herrera Bower
Matilde "Matti" Herrera Bower is a Cuban-American politician and retired dental assistant. Bower has been elected to three two-year terms as the Mayor of Miami Beach, Florida, beginning in 2007. Most recently, because of a loophole in the term l ...
becomes mayor.
*2010 – Population: 87,779.
*2011 – November 1:
Miami Beach mayoral election, 2011
The 2011 Miami Beach mayoral election, a Nonpartisanism, nonpartisan race, was held on Tuesday, November 1, 2011. Incumbent Mayor Matti Herrera Bower, who was first elected in 2007, won a third and final two-year term. She was challenged by thre ...
held; Bower stays in office.
*2013 –
Philip Levine becomes mayor.
*2015 – November 3:
Miami Beach mayoral election, 2015
The 2015 Miami Beach mayoral election took place on November 3, 2015, to elect the mayor of Miami Beach, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf o ...
held; Levine stays in office.
*2021 – Miami becomes first city to buy
Bitcoin
Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...
.
Culture
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
(also known as SoBe, or simply the Beach), the area from Biscayne Street (also known as South Pointe Drive) one block south of 1st Street to about 23rd Street, is one of the more popular areas of Miami Beach. Although
topless
Toplessness refers to the state in which a woman's breasts, including her areolas and nipples, are exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is barechestedness, also commonly called shirtlessness.
Expose ...
sunbathing by women has not been officially legalized, female toplessness is tolerated on South Beach and in a few hotel pools on Miami Beach. Before the TV show ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...
'' helped make the area popular, SoBe was under
urban blight
Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
, with vacant buildings and a high
crime rate
Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes:
* scientific research, such as criminological studies, vi ...
. Today, it is considered one of the richest commercial areas on the beach, yet poverty and crime still remain in some places near the area.
Miami Beach, particularly
Ocean Drive of what is now the Art Deco District, was also featured prominently in the 1983 feature film ''
Scarface'' and the 1996 comedy ''
The Birdcage
''The Birdcage'' is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, adapted by Elaine May, and starring Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, and Dianne Wiest. Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski app ...
''.
Lincoln Road, running east–west parallel between 16th and 17th Streets, is a nationally known spot for outdoor dining and shopping and features galleries of well known designers, artists and photographers such as
Romero Britto
Romero Britto (born October 6, 1963) is a Brazilian artist, painter, serigrapher, and sculptor. He combines elements of cubism, pop art, and graffiti painting in his work, using vibrant colors and bold patterns as a visual expression of hope, ...
,
Peter Lik
Peter Lik (born 1959) is an Australian photographer best known for his nature and panoramic landscape images. He hosted ''From the Edge with Peter Lik'', which aired for one season on The Weather Channel.
Early life
Lik was born in Melbourne t ...
, and
Jonathan Adler
Jonathan Adler (born August 11, 1966 in Bridgeton New Jersey) is an American potter, interior decorator, and author. Adler launched his first ceramic collection in 1993 at Barneys New York. Five years later he expanded into home furnishings, ...
.. In 2015, the Miami Beach residents passed a law forbidding bicycling, rollerblading, skateboarding and other motorized vehicles on Lincoln Road during busy pedestrian hours between 9:00 am and 2:00 am.
Historic preservation
By the 1970s, jet travel had enabled vacationers from the northern parts of the US to travel to the Caribbean and other warm-weather climates in the winter. Miami Beach's economy suffered. Elderly retirees, many with little money, dominated the population of South Beach.
To help revive the area, city planners and developers sought to bulldoze many of the aging
art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
buildings that were built in the 1930s. By one count, the city had over 800 art deco buildings within its borders.
In 1976,
Barbara Baer Capitman
Barbara Capitman ( Baer; April 29, 1920 – March 29, 1990) was a community activist and author who led the effort to preserve Miami Beach's historic art deco district and helped create the Miami Design Preservation League. A historical marker as ...
and a group of fellow activists formed the Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL) to try to halt the destruction of the historic buildings in South Beach.
After battling local developers and Washington DC bureaucrats, MDPL prevailed in its quest to have the Miami Beach Art Deco District named to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1979. While the recognition did not offer protection for the buildings from demolition, it succeeded in drawing attention to the plight of the buildings.
Due in part to the newfound awareness of the art deco buildings, vacationers, tourists and TV, and movie crews were drawn to South Beach. Investors began to rehabilitate hotels, restaurants and apartment buildings in the area.
Despite the enthusiasm for the historic buildings by many, there were no real protections for historic buildings. As wrecking crews threatened buildings, MDPL members protested by holding marches and candlelight vigils. In one case, protestors stood in front of a hotel blocking bulldozers as they approached a hotel.
After many years of effort, the Miami Beach city commission created the first two historic preservation districts in 1986. The districts covered Espanola Way and most of
Ocean Drive and
Collins Avenue
Collins Avenue, partly co-signed State Road A1A, is a major thoroughfare in South Florida, United States. The road runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean in Miami Beach, Florida, one block west. It also runs through the cities of Surfside and S ...
in South Beach. The designation of the districts helped protect buildings from demolition and created standards for renovation.
While some developers continued to focus on demolition, several investors like
Tony Goldman
Tony Goldman (December 6, 1943 – September 11, 2012) was an American real estate developer and arts visionary.
Early life and education
Goldman was born to a single mother in Wilmington, Delaware (Goldman's biological father was overseas in t ...
and
Ian Schrager
Ian Schrager (born July 19, 1946) is an American entrepreneur, hotelier and real estate developer, credited for co-creating the "boutique hotel" category of accommodation. Originally, he gained fame as co-owner and co-founder of Studio 54.
Ear ...
bought art deco hotels and transformed them into world famous hot spots in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Among the celebrities that frequented Miami Beach were
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
,
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
,
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
,
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
and
Gianni Versace
Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...
.
Additional historic districts were created in 1992. The new districts covered Lincoln Road, Collins Avenue between 16th and 22nd Streets and the area around the
Bass Museum. In 2005, the city began the process of protecting the mid-century buildings on Collins Avenue between 43rd to 53rd Streets including the
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...
and
Eden Roc Hotels. Several North Beach neighborhoods were designated as historic in 2018. A large collection of
MiMo
In radio, multiple-input and multiple-output, or MIMO (), is a method for multiplying the capacity of a radio link using multiple transmission and receiving antennas to exploit multipath propagation. MIMO has become an essential element of wir ...
(Miami Modern) buildings can be found in the area.
The Arts
Jackie Gleason
John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
hosted his ''Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine'' (September 29, 1962 – June 4, 1966) television show, after moving it from New York to
Miami Beach
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...
in 1964, reportedly because he liked year-round access to the golf course at the nearby
Inverrary Country Club
Inverrary Country Club is a 36-hole private golf club located in Lauderhill, Florida, northwest of Fort Lauderdale. Founded in 1970, both 18-hole courses were designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr.
Tour events
Inverrary East Course hosted a late wi ...
in
Lauderhill
Lauderhill, officially the City of Lauderhill, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census,the city's population was 74,482. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,0 ...
(where he built his final home). His closing line became, almost invariably, "As always, the Miami Beach audience is the greatest audience in the world!" In the Fall 1966 television season, he abandoned the American Scene Magazine format and converted the show into a standard variety hour with guest performers. The show was renamed ''The Jackie Gleason Show'', lasting from September 17, 1966 – September 12, 1970. He started the 1966–1967 season with new, color episodes of ''
The Honeymooners
''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fol ...
'', with
Sheila MacRae and
Jane Kean as Alice Kramden and Trixie Norton, respectively. The regular cast included
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed ...
as Ed Norton;
Milton Berle
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...
was a frequent guest star. The show was shot in color on videotape at the
Miami Beach Auditorium
The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015-2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhance ...
(later renamed the Jackie Gleason Theatre of the Performing Arts), now known as
Fillmore Miami Beach, and Gleason never tired of promoting the "sun and fun capital of the world" on camera.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
canceled the series in 1970.
Each December, the City of Miami Beach hosts
Art Basel Miami Beach, one of the largest art shows in the United States. Art Basel Miami Beach, the sister event to the
Art Basel
Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; Hong Kong and from 2022, Paris. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help ...
event held each June in Basel, Switzerland, combines an international selection of top galleries with a program of special exhibitions, parties and crossover events featuring music, film, architecture, and design. Exhibition sites are located in the city's Art Deco District, and ancillary events are scattered throughout the greater Miami metropolitan area.
The first Art Basel Miami Beach was held in 2002. In 2016, about 77,000 people attended the fair. The 2017 show featured about 250 galleries at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Miami Beach is home to the
New World Symphony
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, established in 1987 under the artistic direction of
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of ...
. In January 2011, the New World Symphony made a highly publicized move into the
New World Center
The New World Center is a concert hall in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, Florida, designed by Frank Gehry. It is the home of the New World Symphony, with a capacity of 756 seats. It opened in January 2011.
Located one block north of ...
building designed by Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions.
His works are considered ...
. Gehry is famous for his design of the
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...
in Los Angeles, California. The new Gehry building offers Live Wallcasts™, which allow visitors to experience select events throughout the season at the half-acre, outdoor Miami Beach SoundScape through the use of visual and audio technology on a projection wall.
Miami beach is also home to
Miami New Drama
Miami New Drama is a nonprofit professional theater company located in Miami Beach, Florida, founded in 2014. Since October 2016 it has been the resident theater company and operator of the historic Colony Theatre on Miami Beach. Since its first pr ...
, the resident theater company at the historic
Colony Theatre
The Colony Theatre is a performing arts venue located on Lincoln Road in Miami, Florida. The theatre first opened as a Paramount Pictures movie house in 1935 with a capacity to sit 1,200 people. From the 1950s - 1990s, it functioned back and forth ...
on Lincoln Road. The regional theater company was founded in 2016 by Venezuelan playwright and director,
Michel Hausmann Michel Hausmann is a Venezuelan-born theater director, writer, and producer. He is the co-founder and artistic director of Miami New Drama, the resident theater company and operator of the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach. Under Hausmann's leadership, ...
, and playwright, director, and Medal of the Arts winner,
Moises Kaufman Moises or Moisés is a male name common among people of Iberian origin. It is the Spanish, Portuguese and Tagalog equivalent of the name Moses.
;Places
* Doctor Moisés Bertoni, a village in the Caazapá department of Paraguay
* Moises Padilla, ...
. In October 2016, Miami New Drama took over operations of the Colony Theatre, and since then, the 417-seat
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
venue hosts Miami New Drama's theatrical season as well as other live events.
The Miami City Ballet, a ballet company founded in 1985, is housed in a building near Miami Beach's
Bass Museum of Art
The Bass Museum of Art is a contemporary art museum located in Miami Beach, Florida. The Bass Museum of Art was founded in 1963 and opened in 1964.
History Early years
John Bass (1891-1978) and Johanna Redlich (m. Feb. 21, 1921) were Jewish-im ...
.
The Miami Beach Festival of the Arts is an annual outdoor art festival that was begun in 1974.
Jewish community
Miami Beach is home to several
Orthodox Jew
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...
ish communities with a network of well-established
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s and
yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...
s, the first of which being the Landow Yeshiva, a Chabad institution in operation for over 30 years. There is also a liberal
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community containing such famous synagogues as Temple Emanu-El,
Temple Beth Shalom and
Cuban Hebrew Congregation. Miami Beach is also a magnet for
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish families, retirees, and particularly
snowbirds
The Snowbirds, officially known as 431 Air Demonstration Squadron (french: 431e Escadron de démonstration aérienne, links=no), are the military aerobatics flight demonstration team of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The team is based at 15 Wing ...
when the cold winter sets into the north. These visitors range from the
Modern Orthodox
Modern may refer to:
History
*Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Philosoph ...
to the
Haredi
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
and
Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
– including many
rebbe
A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...
s who vacation there during the North American winter. Till his death in 1991, the Nobel laureate writer
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer ( yi, יצחק באַשעװיס זינגער; November 11, 1903 – July 24, 1991) was a Polish-born American Jewish writer who wrote and published first in Yiddish and later translated himself into English with the help ...
lived in the northern end of Miami Beach and breakfasted often at Sheldon's drugstore on Harding Avenue.
There are many
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
restaurants and even
kollel
A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...
s for post-graduate
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
ic scholars, such as the Miami Beach Community Kollel. Miami Beach had roughly 60,000 people in Jewish households, 62 percent of the total population in 1982, but only 16,500, or 19 percent of the population in 2004, said Ira Sheskin, a demographer at the University of Miami who conducts surveys once a
decade
A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years.
Usage
Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...
. The Miami Beach Jewish community had decreased in size by 1994 due to migration to wealthier areas and aging of the population.
Miami Beach is home to the
Holocaust Memorial of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
The Holocaust Memorial of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation is a Holocaust memorial at 1933-1945 Meridian Avenue, in Miami Beach, Florida.
It was conceived by a committee of Holocaust survivors in 1984, formally established in 1985 as the Holoc ...
.
LGBT community
Miami Beach has been regarded as a
gay mecca
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-orie ...
for decades as well as being one of the most LGBT friendly cities in the United States. Miami Beach is home to numerous gay bars and gay-specific events, and five service and resource organizations. After decades of economic and social decline, an influx of
gays and lesbians
Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of people who have shared experiences, backgrounds, or interests due to common sexual or gender identities. Among the first to argue that members of sexual m ...
moving to South Beach in the late-1980s to mid-1990s contributed to Miami Beach's revitalization. The newcomers purchased and restored dilapidated Art Deco hotels and clubs, started numerous businesses and built political power in city and county government.
The passage of progressive civil rights laws,
election of outspokenly pro-gay Miami Beach Mayor
Matti Bower, and the introduction of Miami Beach's Gay Pride Celebration, have reinvigorated the local LGBT community in recent years, which some argued had experienced a decline in the late 2000s. In January 2010, Miami Beach passed a revised Human Rights Ordinance that strengthens enforcement of already existing human rights laws and adds protections for transgender people, making Miami Beach's human rights laws some of the most progressive in the state.
Miami Beach Pride has gained prominence since it first started in 2009, there has been an increase in attendance every year. In 2013 there were more than 80,000 people who participated to now more than 130,000 people that participate in the festivities every year.
It has also attracted many celebrities such as
Chaz Bono,
Adam Lambert
Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...
,
Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...
,
Mario Lopez
Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''Sa ...
, and
Elvis Duran
Elvis Duran (born Barry Brian Cope; August 5, 1964) is an American radio personality. He is the host of the daily morning radio program ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show'' in New York on Z100 and in syndication on Premiere Networks.
Before h ...
who were Grand Marshals for Pride Weekend from 2012 through 2016
respectively. There are over 125 businesses who are LGBT supportive that sponsor Miami Beach Pride.
Geography
![South Beach 20080315](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/South_Beach_20080315.jpg)
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (62.37%) is water.
Elevation and tidal flooding
![Miami Beach massive garage flooding 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Miami_Beach_massive_garage_flooding_1.jpg)
Miami Beach encounters tidal flooding of certain roads during the annual
king tide
A king tide is an especially high spring tide, especially the perigean spring tides which occur three or four times a year. King tide is not a scientific term, nor is it used in a scientific context.
The expression originated in Australia, Ne ...
s,
though some tidal flooding has been the case for decades,
as the parts of the western side of
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
are at virtually above normal high tide,
with the entire city averaging only above mean
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
(AMSL).
However, a recent study by the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
showed that
tidal flooding
Tidal flooding, also known as sunny day flooding or nuisance flooding, is the temporary inundation of low-lying areas, especially streets, during exceptionally high tide events, such as at full and new moons. The highest tides of the year may b ...
became much more common from the mid-2000s.
The fall 2015 king tides exceeded expectations in longevity and height.
Traditional sea level rise and storm mitigation measures including sea walls and dykes, such as those in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
, may not work in South Florida due to the
porous
Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...
nature of the ground and
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
beneath the surface.
In addition to present difficulty with below-grade development, some areas of southern Florida, especially Miami Beach, are beginning to engineer specifically for
sea level rise
Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...
and other potential effects of
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. This includes a five-year, US$500 million project for the installation of 60 to 80 pumps, building of taller
sea wall
A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
s, planting of red mangrove trees along the sea walls, and the physical raising of road tarmac levels,
as well as possible zoning and building code changes, which could eventually lead to retrofitting of existing and historic properties. Some streets and sidewalks were raised about over previous levels;
the four initial pumps installed in 2014 are capable of pumping 4,000 US gallons per minute.
However, this plan is not without criticism. Some residents worry that the efforts will not be sufficient to successfully adapt to rising sea levels and wish the city had pursued a more aggressive plan. On the other hand, some worry that the city is moving too quickly with untested solutions. Others yet have voiced concerns that the plan protects big-money interests in Miami Beach. Pump failures such as during construction or power outages, including a
Tropical Storm Emily-related rain flood on August 1, 2017, can cause great unexpected flooding. Combined with the higher roads and sidewalks, this leaves unchanged properties relatively lower and prone to inundation.
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, Miami Beach has a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
(Am). Like much of Florida, there is a marked wet and dry season in Miami Beach. The tropical rainy season runs from May through October, when showers and late day thunderstorms are common. The dry season is from November through April, when few showers, sunshine, and low humidity prevail. The island location of Miami Beach, however, creates fewer convective thunderstorms, so Miami Beach receives less rainfall in a given year than neighboring areas such as Miami and
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. Proximity to the moderating influence of the Atlantic gives Miami Beach lower high temperatures and higher lows than inland areas of Florida. Miami Beach is in
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
11a, with an annual mean minimum temperature of . Miami Beach has never reported temperatures below .
Miami Beach's location on the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, near its confluence with the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, make it extraordinarily vulnerable to
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
s and
tropical storm
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
s. Miami has experienced several direct hits from major hurricanes in recorded weather history – the
1906 Florida Keys hurricane,
1926 Miami hurricane
The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...
,
1935 Yankee hurricane,
1941 Florida hurricane,
1948 Miami Hurricane,
1950 Hurricane King and
1964 Hurricane Cleo, the area has seen indirect contact from hurricanes:
1945 Homestead Hurricane,
Betsy (1965),
Inez (1966),
Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
(1992),
Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
(1999),
Michelle (2001),
Katrina
Katrina or Katrine may refer to:
People
* Katrina (given name)
* Katrine (given name)
Meteorology
* List of storms named Katrina, a list of tropical cyclones designated as Katrina
** Hurricane Katrina, an exceptionally powerful Atlantic hurrican ...
(2005),
Wilma (2005), and
Irma (2017).
Water temperature
Surrounding areas
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 82,890 people, 40,084 households, and 21,028 families residing in the city.
2020 census
, those of Hispanic or Latino ancestry accounted for 53.0% of Miami Beach's population. Out of the 53.0%, 20.0% were
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
, 4.9%
Colombian, 4.6%
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
, 3.7%
Puerto Rican, 2.4%
Peruvian
Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...
, 2.1%
Venezuelan
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, 1.8%
Mexican, 1.7%
Honduran, 1.6%
Guatemalan, 1.4%
Dominican, 1.1%
Uruguayan
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, 1.1%
Spaniard
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...
, 1.0%
Nicaraguan
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
, 0.9%
Ecuadorian
Ecuadorians ( es, ecuatorianos) are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are colle ...
and 0.8% were
Chilean.
, those of African ancestry accounted for 4.4% of Miami Beach's population, which includes
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s. Out of the 4.4%, 1.3% were
Black Hispanic
Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Afro-Hispanics ( es, Afrohispano, links=no), Afro-Latinos or Black Hispanics, or Black Latinos are classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. ...
s, 0.8% were
Subsaharan African, and 0.8% were
West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...
or
Afro-Caribbean American
Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...
(0.3%
Jamaican, 0.3%
Haitian, 0.1%
Other or Unspecified West Indian, 0.1%
Trinidadian and Tobagonian
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
.)
, those of (non-Hispanic white) European ancestry accounted for 40.5% of Miami Beach's population. Out of the 40.5%, 9.0% Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, 6.0% German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, 3.8% were Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, 3.8% Russian people, Russian, 3.7% French people, French, 3.4% Polish people, Polish, 3.0% English people, English, 1.2% Hungarian people, Hungarian, 0.7% Swedish people, Swedish, 0.6% Scottish people, Scottish, 0.5% Portuguese people, Portuguese, 0.5% Dutch people, Dutch, 0.5% Scotch-Irish Americans, Scotch-Irish, and 0.5% were Norwegian people, Norwegian.[
, those of Asian ancestry accounted for 1.9% of Miami Beach's population. Out of the 1.9%, 0.6% were Indian people, Indian, 0.4% Filipino people, Filipino, 0.3% Asian people, Other Asian, 0.3% Chinese people, Chinese, 0.1% Japanese people, Japanese, 0.1% Korean people, Korean, and 0.1% were Vietnamese people, Vietnamese.][
In 2010, 2.8% of the population considered themselves to be of only American people, American ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity), and 1.5% were of Arab people, Arab ancestry (with the majority of them being of Palestinian and Lebanese people, Lebanese descent), .][
, there were 67,499 households, while 30.1% were vacant. 13.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.3% were Marriage, married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 61.1% were non-families. 49.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older (4.0% male and 8.0% female.) The average household size was 1.84 and the average family size was 2.70.]
In 2010, the city population was spread out, with 12.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 38.0% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.0 males.[
, the median income for a household in the city was $43,538, and the median income for a family was $52,104. Males had a median income of $42,605 versus $36,269 for females. The per capita income for the city was $40,515. About 10.9% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 27.5% of those aged 65 or over.
In 2010, 51.7% of the city's population was List of U.S. states and territories by immigrant population, foreign-born. Of foreign-born residents, 76.9% were born in Latin America and 13.6% were born in Europe, with smaller percentages from North America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.][
As of 2000, speakers of Spanish language, Spanish at home accounted for 54.90% of residents, while those who spoke exclusively English language, English made up 32.76%. Speakers of Portuguese language, Portuguese were 3.38%, French language, French 1.66%, German language, German 1.12%, Italian language, Italian 1.00%, and Russian language, Russian 0.85% of the population. Due to the large Jewish diaspora, Jewish community, Yiddish language, Yiddish was spoken at the home of 0.81% of the population, and Hebrew language, Hebrew was the mother tongue of 0.75%.
As of 2000, Miami Beach had the 22nd highest concentration of Cuban residents in the United States, at 20.51% of the population. It had the 28th highest percentage of Colombian residents, at 4.40% of the city's population, and was tied with two other locations for the 14th highest percentage of Brazilian residents, at 2.20% of its population. It also had the 27th largest concentration of Peruvian ancestry, at 1.85%, and the 27th highest percentage of people of Venezuelan heritage, at 1.79%. Miami Beach also has the 33rd highest concentration of Honduran ancestry at 1.21% and the 41st highest percentage of Nicaraguan residents, which made up 1.03% of the population.
]
Transportation
Public Transportation in Miami Beach is operated by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT). Along with neighborhoods such as Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown and Brickell, public transit is heavily used in Miami Beach and is a vital part of city life. Although Miami Beach has no direct Miami Metrorail, Metrorail stations, numerous Metrobus lines connect to Downtown Miami and Metrorail (i.e., the 'S' bus line). The South Beach Local (SBL) is one of the most heavily used lines in Miami and connects all major points of South Beach to other major bus lines in the city. Metrobus ridership in Miami Beach is high, with some of the routes such as the L and S being the busiest Metrobus routes.
The Airport-Beach Express (Route 150), operated by MDT, is a direct-service bus line that connects Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
to major points in South Beach. The ride costs $2.65, and runs every 30 minutes from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. seven days a week.
Bicycling
Since the late 20th century, cycling has grown in popularity in Miami Beach. Due to its dense, urban nature, and pedestrian-friendly streets, many Miami Beach residents get around by bicycle.
In March 2011 a public bicycle sharing system named Decobike was launched, one of only a handful of such programs in the United States. The program is operated by a private corporation, Decobike, LLC, but is partnered with the City of Miami Beach in a revenue-sharing model. Once fully implemented, the program hopes to have around 1000 bikes accessible from 100 stations throughout Miami Beach, from around 85th Street on the north side of Miami Beach all the way south to South Pointe Park.
Education
Miami-Dade County Public Schools serves Miami Beach.
*North Beach Elementary
*Treasure Island Elementary
*South Pointe Elementary
*Mater Beach Academy
*Biscayne Elementary
*Fienberg/Fisher K–8 Center
*Nautilus Middle School
*Miami Beach Senior High School
Private schools include Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy, St. Patrick Catholic School (Miami Beach, Florida), St. Patrick Catholic School, Landow Yeshiva – Lubavitch Educational Center (Klurman Mesivta High School for Boys and Beis Chana Middle and High School for Girls), and Mechina High School. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami operates St. Patrick Catholic School (Miami Beach, Florida), St. Patrick Catholic School in Miami Beach. The archdiocese formerly operated Saint Joseph School in Miami Beach.
In the early history of Miami Beach, there was one elementary school and the Ida M. Fisher junior-senior high school. The building of Miami Beach High was constructed in 1926, and classes began in 1928.
Colleges and universities
The Florida International University School of Architecture has a sister campus at 420 Lincoln Road in South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
, with classroom spaces for FIU architecture, art, music and theater graduate students.
Other Colleges include:
*Johnson & Wales University (satellite campus closing at the end of the 2020–2021 school year.)
Neighborhoods
![Miami skyline from the ocean](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Miami_skyline_from_the_ocean.jpg)
South Beach
*Belle Isle (Miami Beach), Belle Isle
*City Center (Miami Beach), City Center
*Di Lido Island
*Flagler Monument Island
*Flamingo/Lummus
*Hibiscus Island
*Palm Island (Miami Beach), Palm Island
*Rivo Alto Island
*San Marino Island
*Star Island (Miami Beach), Star Island
*South of Fifth
Mid-Beach
*Oceanfront
*Bayshore (Miami Beach), Bayshore
*Nautilus (Miami Beach), Nautilus
North Beach
*Biscayne Point
*Isle of Normandy
*La Gorce
*North Shore
Points of interest
* Bass Museum
*Eden Roc Miami Beach Hotel
*Miami Beach Convention Center#Fillmore Miami Beach, The Fillmore Miami Beach (originally the Miami Beach Municipal Auditorium)
*Flagler Monument Island
*Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Fontainebleau Hotel
*Casa Casuarina, Versace Mansion (Casa Casuarina)
*Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach, Holocaust Memorial
*Jewish Museum of Florida
* Lincoln Road
*Miami Beach Architectural District
*Miami Beach Botanical Garden
*North Beach (Miami Beach), North Beach
* Ocean Drive
*South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
*South Pointe Park
*Wolfsonian-FIU Museum
*World Erotic Art Museum Miami
*The Setai Miami Beach, The Setai Hotel
Notable people
*George Abbott, playwright, screenwriter, producer, and director
*George Ade (1866–1944), writer
*Moses Annenberg, newspaper publisher
*Desi Arnaz (1917–1986), entertainer
*Shmuley Boteach (born 1966), Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, radio and television host, and author
*Walter Briggs, Sr., entrepreneur, owner of the Detroit Tigers
*Douglas Isaac Busch, photographer and teacher
*Barbara Baer Capitman
Barbara Capitman ( Baer; April 29, 1920 – March 29, 1990) was a community activist and author who led the effort to preserve Miami Beach's historic art deco district and helped create the Miami Design Preservation League. A historical marker as ...
, historic preservation activist, writer
*Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
(1899–1947), mobster
*David Caruso, actor and producer, star of NYPD Blue and CSI: Miami
*John S. Collins
John Stiles Collins (December 29, 1837 – February 11, 1928) was an American Quaker farmer from Moorestown Township, New Jersey who moved to South Florida at the turn of the 20th century. He attempted to grow vegetables and coconuts on the swam ...
, horticulturist
*Kent Cooper, Associated Press
*James M. Cox, Governor of Ohio and presidential candidate
*Andrew Cunanan, serial killer
*Ron Dermer (born 1971), Israeli Ambassador to the US
*Harvey Firestone, Firestone Tires
*Carl Graham Fisher, developer of Miami Beach
*Frank Gannett, Gannett Media Corporation
*Jackie Gleason
John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
, comedian, actor. TV host (''Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine'' 1964–1966, ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' 1966–1970)
*Tony Goldman
Tony Goldman (December 6, 1943 – September 11, 2012) was an American real estate developer and arts visionary.
Early life and education
Goldman was born to a single mother in Wilmington, Delaware (Goldman's biological father was overseas in t ...
, real estate developer
*Ronald Green (basketball), Ronald Green (1944–2012), American-Israeli basketball player
*Gabriel Heatter, radio commentator
*Jerry Herman, Broadway composer
*John D. Hertz, Hertz Rental Cars
*Nunnally Johnson, film director
*S.S. Kresge, retailer
*Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...
(1902–1983), mobster
*Albert Lasker, businessman
*Ring Lardner (1885–1933), writer
*Dan Le Batard, ESPN Radio & TV host
*Bernarr MacFadden, bodybuilder, owner of the Deauville Hotel
*Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxer
*Alex Omes, co-founder of Ultra Music Festival
*Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia, IFBB professional bodybuilder
*James Cash Penney, department store magnate
*Irving Jacob Reuter, General Motors
*Grantland Rice, sportswriter
*Knute Rockne, football player and coach
*Mark B. Rosenberg, political scientist who was the former President of Florida International University and former Chancellor (education), Chancellor of the State University System of Florida
*Ed Rubinoff (born 1935), tennis player
*Damon Runyon, newspaperman and writer
*Nicholas Schenck, MGM studios
*Dutch Schultz, mobster
*Robin Sherwood, actress
*Sid Tepper, Songwriter
*Gianni Versace
Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...
(1946–1997), fashion designer
*Betty Viana-Adkins, IFBB professional bodybuilder
*Neal Walk (1948–2015), basketball player
*Albert Warner, Warner Brothers studio founder
*Walter Winchell, columnist
*Garfield Wood, inventor
Sister cities
Miami Beach has 12 Town twinning, sister cities
* Brampton, Ontario, Brampton, Canada
* Almonte, Spain, Almonte, Spain
* Marbella, Spain, Marbella, Spain
* Fortaleza, Brazil
* Santa Marta, Colombia
* Český Krumlov, Czech Republic
* Nahariya, Israel
* Pescara, Italy
* Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Fujisawa, Japan
* Cozumel, Mexico
* Ica (city), Ica, Peru
* Basel, Switzerland
* Asmara, Eritrea
Tourism
The City of Miami Beach accounts for more than half of tourism to Miami Dade County. Of the 15.86 million people staying in the county in 2017, 58.5% lodged in Miami Beach. Resort taxes account for over 10% of the city's operating budget, providing $83 million in the fiscal year 2016–2017. On average, the city's resort tax revenue grows by three to five percent annually. Miami Beach hosts 13.3 million visitors each year. In fiscal year 2016/2017, Miami Beach had over 26,600 hotel rooms. Average occupancy in fiscal year 2015/2016 was 76.4% and 78.5% in fiscal year 2016/2017. Harold Rosen (mayor), Mayor Harold Rosen is credited with beginning the revitalization of Miami Beach when he notably abolished rent control in 1976, a move that was highly controversial at the time.
The Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority
The Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority is a seven-member board, appointed by the City of Miami Beach Commission. The authority, established in 1967 by the State of Florida legislature, is the official marketing and public relations organization for the city, to support its tourism industry.
See also
*8th & Ocean
*Collins Bridge
The Collins Bridge was a bridge that crossed Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach, Florida. At the time it was completed, it was the longest wooden bridge in the world. It was built by farmer and developer John S. Collins (1837–1928) wi ...
*Causeways
**Julia Tuttle Causeway
**Macarthur Causeway
**Venetian Causeway
The Venetian Causeway crosses Biscayne Bay between Miami on the mainland and Miami Beach on a barrier island in the Miami metropolitan area. The man-made Venetian Islands and non-bridge portions of the causeway were created by materials which ...
*Doral Hotel
*List of mayors of Miami Beach, Florida
*List of tallest buildings in Miami Beach
*List of upscale shopping districts
*Miami Beach Police Department
*Miami Modern Architecture
*Miami-Dade County
* Ocean Drive
*Rosie the Elephant
*South Beach Tow
*Spring Break
*''A Hole in the Head'', 1959 comedy film
*''The Bellboy'', 1960 comedy film
*''Fair Game (1995 film), Fair Game'', 1995 film
References
Bibliography
*
1920 ed.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Gallery
File:Colony Hotel Miami Beach Izzy.JPG, The historical Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
District at South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
at night.
File:Miami ocean drive.jpg, The Art Deco District at South Beach during the day.
File:Miami Beach Police headquarters.jpg, Miami Beach Police Department, Miami Beach Police HQ
File:Florida.JPG, A street of Miami Beach with Roystonea regia, royal palms
File:Mia lummus.jpg, Ocean Drive and Lummus Park, Miami Beach, Lummus Park
File:Lifeguard Tower (South Pointe Beach).jpg, Lifeguard stand at the South Pointe Beach
External links
Official sites
City of Miami Beach
Photos
Miami Beach Architecture Photos
Photographs of Miami Beach
From the State Library & Archives of Florida
Photos of Miami Beach, Miami and surrounding areas
Other
Miami Design Preservation League
nbsp;– Non-profit Organization for the preservation of Miami Beach Architectural History
Miami's Southeast Coast – Biscayne Bay Watershed – Florida DEP
*
Items related to Miami Beach
various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
Harris, Alex. “Miami Beach Is Waging War on Sea Rise. One Idea: Turn a Golf Course into Wetlands.” Miamiherald, Miami Herald, 20 Sept. 2019
Wildflower Preserve - Lemon Bay Conservancy
Wildflower Preserve
Wood, Travis. “As Hundreds of Golf Courses Close, Nature Gets a Chance to Make a Comeback.” Ensia
As hundreds of golf courses close, nature gets a chance to make a comeback
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