To the northwest of downtown Miami is Highland Park, one of the first suburbs outside of the original city limits, and it has suffered a similar fate, having been swallowed by the expansive Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine complex.
While the demise of Overtown is a familiar and sad story, it bears repeating that as recently as 1960, this vibrant segregated quarter hosted a population of 40,000. Forty years later, as block after block of Bahamian-style shotgun houses and other older styles of buildings fell to the wrecking ball, the community counted fewer than 10,000 residents.
THE LOSS
The reasons behind the wholesale destruction of many historic neighborhoods are familiar and are part of a national phenomenon. The post-World War II flight to suburbia and the concomitant abandonment of a collective stewardship over these neighborhoods by longtime residents stands out. Urban renewal programs and the construction of expressway right-of ways and cloverleafs through the heart of communities represents an additional reason.
