Surfside is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

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 ...

, United States. The population was 5,689 as of the 2020 census. Surfside is a primarily residential beachside community, with several multistory condominium buildings adjacent to Surfside Beach on the Atlantic Ocean. The town is bordered on the south by the North Beach neighborhood of

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 ...

, on the north by

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, ...

, on the west by

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 ...

, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean.

History

Between 1923 and 1925, the Tatum Brothers subdivided the land on what is now Surfside. Starting in 1924, Henri Levy developed Biscaya Island and a portion of land from 87th to 92nd Streets. In 1929–1930, Russell T. Pancoast, built the Surf Club 90th Street 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 1935, fearing annexation by the city of

Miami Beach, Florida 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 artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

, 35 members of the privately-owned club incorporated the Town of Surfside and financed the venture with a $28,500 loan. Spearman Lewis was the first mayor of Surfside. In 1956, Surfside purchased the Lehman Estate on the northeast corner of 93rd Street and Collins Avenue. It acquired additional land via

eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

and then built a community center. In 1960, Hawthorne Park was dedicated. On March 1, 1973, Surfside signed a contract with

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a 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 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

to outsource fire/rescue services. In 1983,

The Shul of Bal Harbour The Shul of Bal Harbour is a Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue in Surfside, Florida named by ''Newsweek'' as one of America's 25 most vibrant congregations. History The Shul was founded by Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, who was sent as an emissary of the Chabad- ...

was established at 9540 Collins Avenue.

Condominium building collapse

On June 24, 2021, at 1:22 a.m. EDT, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story condominium building at 8777 Collins Avenue, partially collapsed, causing 98 deaths, in one of the deadliest structural failures in United States history. The building's 40-year recertification was in progress and the roof was being repaired. The cause of the collapse of the structure has not been established.

Geography

Surfside has a total area of . of it is land and of it (47.42%) is water.

Surrounding areas

Bay Harbor Islands Bay Harbor Islands is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,922 at the 2020 census. It is separated from the mainland by Biscayne Bay. History Bay Harbor Islands was founded by Shepard Broad on April 28, 1947. ...

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 ...

, Indian Creek

Street names

Avenues in Surfside are named for British and American authors and run in alphabetical order from east to west. * Abbott * Byron * Carlyle * Dickens * Emerson * Froude * Garland * Hawthorne * Irving In 1979, 95th Street in Surfside was renamed "Isaac Singer Boulevard" to reflect the residency of the famous Yiddish author

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 ...

on that street from 1977 until his death in 1991.

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 5,689 people, 2,328 households, and 1,519 families residing in the town.

2010 census

Approximately 23% of the population is aged 65 or older, 44% is foreign born, 94% have a computer, 65.7% have a bachelor's degree or higher. The median income is approximately $69,000 and 8.5% of people live in

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

. According to a 2010 brochure issued by the town, quoting year 2000 census data, Surfside had the 20th highest population of Brazilian residents in the U.S., with 1.6% of the populace. It had the 23rd highest percentage of Colombian residents at 4.66% of the town's population. It had the 34th highest percentage of Peruvians at 1.47% of the population. It had the 11th highest percentage of Venezuelans at 1.41% of the population. As of 2000,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

was spoken as a

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

by 49.41% of residents, while

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

was spoken by 42.11% of the population. Other languages spoken included

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

2.36%,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

2.04%,

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 **Ger ...

and

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

were both tied at 1.40%, and French was the

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

for 1.29% of the populace.

Jewish population

Approximately one-third of the population of Surfside are

Jews 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 ...

. It is also the most Jewish community in the

Miami metropolitan area The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...

. Around 2,500 Jews reside in Surfside. Including neighboring areas, 34% of Jews describe themselves as

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

, 24% as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, 18% as

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

and 24% as "just Jewish".

Education

Residents are assigned to

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and, , the fourth la ...

. Ruth K. Broad/Bay Harbor K–8 Center in

serves as the local elementary and

K–8 school K–8 schools, elementary-middle schools, or K–8 centers are schools in the United States that enroll students from kindergarten/pre-K (age 5–6) to 8th grade (up to age 14), combining the typical elementary school (K–5/6) and junior high ...

. Residents who want to have a conventional middle school may instead choose the zoned middle school, Miami Beach Nautilus Middle School.

Miami Beach Senior High School Miami Beach Senior High School (Beach High, MBSH) is a secondary school located at 2231 Prairie Avenue Miami Beach, Florida, across from the Miami Beach Convention Center and Botanical Garden. It is located at the corner of Prairie Avenue and ...

is the senior high school serving Surfside.

Notable people

Ivanka Trump Ivana Marie "Ivanka" Trump (; born October 30, 1981) is an American businesswoman and the first daughter of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. She was a senior advisor in his administration, and also was the ...

, daughter of former U.S. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

and

Senior Advisor to the President Senior Advisor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States. White House senior advisors are senior members of the White House Office. The title has been formally used since 1993. Res ...

between 2017 and 2021. *

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a pri ...

, son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump and Senior Advisor to the President between 2017 and 2021. * Philip B. Hofmann, former CEO of Johnson & Johnson *

Sholom Lipskar Sholom Dovber Lipskar (born 1946) is a Chabad rabbi who was principal of the Landow Yeshiva in Miami Beach in 1969. He founded The Shul of Bal Harbour in Surfside, Florida, as well as the Aleph Institute in 1981. Early life Born in Tashkent, ...

, rabbi and founder of

Rudolph W. Riefkohl Colonel Rudolph William Riefkohl (October 12, 1885 – November 13, 1950), was an officer in the United States Army, who played an instrumental role in helping the people of Poland overcome the 1919 typhus epidemic. Early years Riefkohl (birth n ...

, officer in United States Army *

, Yiddish writer, lived in Surfside from 1977 until his death in 1991 *

Sid Tepper Sid Tepper (June 25, 1918 – April 24, 2015) was an American songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Roy C. Bennett, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley. Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 so ...

, songwriter, lived in Surfside from 1970 to 2004

In popular culture

In 2018, Josh's Deli offerings of "Jewban" and "Spicy Tuna Latke" were featured in ''

Food Paradise (season 17) The seventeenth season of ''Food Paradise'', an American food reality television series narrated by Jess Blaze Snider on the Travel Channel, premiered on March 11, 2018. First-run episodes of the series aired in the United States on the Travel Ch ...

''.

References

External links

Town of Surfside
Official government website
Visit Surfside
Official tourism website {{authority control 1935 establishments in Florida Beaches of Florida Beaches of Miami-Dade County, Florida Jews and Judaism in Miami-Dade County, Florida Orthodox Judaism in Florida Orthodox Jewish communities Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean Populated places established in 1935 Towns in Florida Towns in Miami-Dade County, Florida