The Venetian Islands are a chain of

artificial islands An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...

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 ...

in the cities 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 ...

and

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 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The islands are, from west to east:

Biscayne Island The Venetian Islands are a chain of artificial islands in Biscayne Bay in the cities of Miami and Miami Beach, Florida. The islands are, from west to east: Biscayne Island (Miami), San Marco Island (Miami), San Marino Island (Miami Beach), D ...

(Miami),

San Marco Island The Venetian Islands are a chain of artificial islands in Biscayne Bay in the cities of Miami and Miami Beach, Florida. The islands are, from west to east: Biscayne Island (Miami), San Marco Island (Miami), San Marino Island (Miami Beach), Di ...

(Miami), San Marino Island (Miami Beach),

Di Lido Island Di Lido Island is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach on a man-made island in Biscayne Bay, Florida, United States. It is the third island from the east of the Venetian Islands, a chain of artificial islands in Biscayne Bay in the cities o ...

(Miami Beach), Rivo Alto Island (Miami Beach), and Belle Isle (Miami Beach).

Flagler Monument Island Flagler Memorial Island is an uninhabited artificial island of South Beach in the city of Miami Beach in Biscayne Bay, Florida. A high obelisk with allegorical sculptures at its base stands as a monument to Miami pioneer Henry M. Flagler, and w ...

remains an uninhabited picnic island, originally built in 1920 as a memorial to railroad pioneer

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 ...

. The islands are connected by bridges from the Miami mainland to Miami Beach.

History

The Venetian Islands project was proposed to be much larger than what exists today. Another causeway was to be built, called "The Drive of the Campanili." The causeway would connect Hibiscus Island (south of the Venetian Islands) with Di Lido Island. The road would then continue north right up the center of Biscayne Bay, with five new islands created along its path. The roadway would then veer slightly to the northeast, where it would end at Indian Creek Village. An additional four islands would be built along two east-west roads that would connect with the causeway. One of these roads was along the current route of the

Julia Tuttle Causeway Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g. ...

and the other along the current route of the 79th Street Causeway. The original bridge (called 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) with ...

) was built by farmer and developer

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 ...

with financial assistance from automotive parts and racing pioneer

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 ...

. At the time it was completed, it was the longest wooden bridge in the world. The 2½ mile wooden toll bridge opened on June 12, 1913, providing a critical link to the newly established city of

, formerly accessible only by a ferry service. While none of these islands were built, the foundation pillings for one of them can still be seen in Central Biscayne Bay between Di Lido Island and the

. The island was to be called

Isola di Lolando Isola di Lolando is an unfinished artificial island in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Hurricane damage and economic collapse caused the project to be abandoned shortly after the start of construction, but pilings remain visible in the bay and are a hazar ...

.''Florida InsideOut'' magazine
Competition No. 2
/ref> The demise of the island construction was due to a combination of the aftermath of 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 the end of the

Florida land boom of the 1920s The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble. This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned ...

. The Shoreland Company went bankrupt in 1927 due to objections of "further mutilation of the waterway". The original wooden causeway was replaced in 1925 by a series of arch drawbridges and renamed the Venetian Causeway. Today, the causeway is a popular stretch for people to jog, ride bikes, walk dogs and stroll. The islands offer residents a suburb feel that is located between (and within minutes of) Miami Beach's

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 ...

and Miami's new

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts The Arsht Center is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building const ...

Biscayne Island

Biscayne Island is a neighborhood in the

City of Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is also the westernmost of the Venetian Islands, a chain of artificial islands in

. During the 1930s, the island was used as an airport known as Viking Airport, with a hangar, 2,600-foot sod runway and seaplane ramps; the airport was closed by 1937 and residential development began in the 1940s. The island is now home to apartment buildings, residential neighborhoods, and a toll plaza portion of 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 ca ...

Demographics

As of 2000, the population of Biscayne Island had 412 people. The zip code for Biscayne Island is 33139. The area covers . As of 2000, there were 215 males and 197 females. The median age for males were 42.1 years old, while the median age for females were 48.0 years old. The average household size had 1.6 people, while the average family size had 2.4 members. The percentage of married-couple families (among all households) was 28.8%, while the percentage of married-couple families with children (among all households) was 4.0%, and the percentage of single-mother households (among all households) was 0.8%. The percentage of never-married males 15 years old and over was 19.6%, while the percentage of never-married females 15 years old and over was 14.6%. As of 2000, the percentage of people that speak English not well or not at all made up 6.9% of the population. The percentage of residents born in Florida was 24.8%, the percentage of people born in another U.S. state was 24.8%, and the percentage of native residents but born outside the U.S. was 4.7%, while the percentage of foreign born residents was 45.7%.

San Marco Island

San Marco Island is a neighborhood in the City of

. It is the 2nd westernmost of the Venetian Islands, a chain of artificial islands in

. It is between

and San Marino Island. It contains upscale houses and the

.San Marco Island on Google Maps
Maps.google.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.

References

External links

Venetian Islands Homeowners Association

Belle Isle Residents Association

{{authority control Artificial islands of Florida Islands of Miami Islands of Miami Beach, Florida Islands of Florida