BY SHEAON REID
“All ages and races,Real sweet faces,
Every different nation, Spanish, Haitian, Indian, Jamaican,
black, white, Cuban and Asian..”
Will Smith couldn't have said it any better. Miami is a mini cultural melting pot within the United States.
From Downtown to North Miami Beach, one can hear up to three different languages being spoken - Spanish, Creole, English - and can assimilate themselves into many nations: Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Bahamas and many more.
Miami is perhaps the only city that can be a vacation spot, a refugee camp, a fashion center and a retirement community all at the same time. No other city can compare.
There is no doubt that Miami is rich in culture, heritage and diversity. Scattered around the city are key locations to remind one of the rich diversity.
Located in Downtown Miami is the Freedom Tower. The Freedom Tower was built in the Mediterranean Revival style in 1925. It used to house the Miami News and Metropolis before becoming a political asylum for many thousands of Cubans.
When Castro came into power in 1959, political refugees began flooding into South Florida. The tower contained in-processing services, basic medical and dental services, records on relatives already in the U.S. and relief aid for those starting a new life with nothing.
The tower provided nothing less than freedom from Castro, and the tower so rightly earned its name.
Further south, in the heart of Downtown Miami on Flagler Street, is the Historical Museum of South Florida. The museum is located at the Metro-Dade Cultural Center Plaza. The plaza resembles a Spanish fortress and covers an entire city block.
For further exploration, one can either take a stroll along Bay Front Park’s 30 acres of green space, or catch a concert at the amphitheater which has hosted a variety of concerts, from Elton John to Rob Zombie.
The park also features several memorials, including one to the crew of the Challenger space shuttle.
If you step across the threshold of historical heritage, you will step into a world of non-stop entertainment, for sprinkled into the melting pot are seasonings of fun, flavoring the already savory city.
One seasoning of fun is the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, which provides cultural exhibitions from around the world as well as cultural performances each year.
Bubbling deep in the heart of Miami is the flavor of the American Airlines Arena (AAA).
The 20,000 seat arena hosts NBA's Miami Heat and WNBA's Miami Sol home games.
One cannot experience the flavor of Miami without a quick stop at Bayside Marketplace. Located five minutes from the AAA, the Marketplace offers all kinds of arts, crafts and trinkets for souvenirs as well as live entertainment and boat rides around the city.Adding a final touch to the well flavored Miami is the International Book Fair. First called Books by the Bay in 1984, the fair has evolved into the largest and finest book fair in America.
Looking at Miami now as a major cosmopolitan center for international business, tourism, fashion, and nightlife, one would not believe that 100 years ago, Miami was once a swampland infested by mosquitoes.
Miami peeked its way through as a city on July 28,1896 after the Great Freeze of 1894-1895. The Great Freeze destroyed almost the entire citrus crop in the northern half of the state.
However, Miami was unaffected. Julia Tuttle, who purchased an enormous citrus plantation in 1891, had the only citrus on the market and used this to persuade Henry Flagler to expand his rail line, the Florida East Coast Railroad, to Miami.
When the expansion of the railroad was completed in 1896, it marked the birth of a city and opened up Miami to the rest of the United States.
Though Tuttle and the Brickells were among the first residents of Miami, the Tequesta Indians lived in Miami for an estimated 2,000 years.
However, the Tequestan Indians were not able to withstand the diseases brought by Europeans and were wiped out.
Creek tribes from Georgia and Alabama migrated to the lands left behind by the Tequestans in 1704, who are collectively known as the Seminoles.
When there were contemplations to originally name the city “Flagler” in honor of Henry Flagler, the original founders borrowed from the Seminoles and named the city “Miami” meaning “sweet water.”
City of Miami
- Year Incorporated: 1896
- Population in 2000: 362,470
- Property Tax: 8.71625 per $1,000 of assessed value
- City Hall: 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, FL 33133, 305-375-5126
- City Mayor: Manuel A. Diaz, 305-250-5300, mannydiaz@ci.miami.fl.us
- City Commission:
District 1: Angel Gonzalez, 305-250-5430, agonzalez@ci.miami.fl.us
District 2: Johnny L. Winton, 305-250-5333, jwinton@ci.miami.fl.us
District 3: Joe Sanchez, 305-250-5380, jsanchez@ci.miami.fl.us
District 4: Thomas Regalado, 305-250-5420, tr@ci.miami.fl.us
District 5: Vacant - City Manager: Joe Arriola, 305-250-5400, jarriola@ci.miami.fl.us
- City Clerk: Priscilla Thompson, 305-250-5360, clerks@ci.miami.fl.us
- Council Meetings: Commission meets every second and fourth Thursday of the month at 9 a.m.
- Next Election: November 8, 2005
- Police Chief: John Timoney, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Miami, FL 33128, 305-579-6565
- Building Department: 444 SW 2nd Avenue, 4th floor, building@ci.miami.fl.us
- Garbage pick up: Monday and Thursday - North of Flagler Street; Tuesday and Friday - South of Flagler Street
- Website: www.ci.miami.fl.us
