This South Florida city boomed after a hurricane. See the early years
By Miami Herald Archives
The Sportatorium in 1978.
Pembroke Pines was born as a city in 1960. But it wasn’t until the early ‘90s that it became a boomtown. That’s when thousands of people displaced from Hurricane Andrew in South Miami-Dade began new lives in the suburbs of South Broward.
During the early years, the Pines might have been best known as the home to the Hollywood Sportatorium, where people stuck in a long line of cars snaked along a two-lane road to see rock concerts. The other city staple has been West Perry Airport, home of the banner planes and lots of student pilots.
But over the past couple of decades, Pembroke Pines has been all about growth, with residential communities, a major shopping mall, big box stores, a city charter school system, big-name restaurants and a new city center that looks and feels like a downtown.
Let’s take a look at Pembroke Pines during the early years as we flip through the photos from the Miami Herald Archives:
Sportatorium
Patrons move through the ticket counter at the Hollywood Sportatorium in 1988 for the final concert, a country performance. Walter Michot Miami Herald File
The inside of the Hollywood Sportatorium in 1975. John Copeland Miami Herald File
The exterior of the Hollywood Sportatorium in 1976.
Neighborhoods
The Silver Lakes community in 1992 as thousands of people were moving to Pembroke Pines after Hurricane Andrew. Miami Herald File
While a backhoe loads dirt and debris into dump trucks in 1993, westbound traffic backs up in the 7300 block of Pines Boulevard, along Broward Community College’s South Campus. Marsha Halper Miami Herald File
An aerial view of Pembroke Pines in 1970 looking east. Palm Avenue cuts across the center of the picture from left to right. At center from top to bottom is the unfinished Johnson Street. Pines Boulevard is at right and Taft Street at left. The wagon wheel pattern of runways at North Perry Airport is at right near the top of the picture. If the photograph were taken today, Pembroke Lakes Mall would be below the aircraft. Tom Mosier Miami Herald File
A 1983 aerial photo of Century Village in Pembroke Pines under construction at lower half of picture. I-75 swings through the photo at left. Hollywood Boulevard cuts across the center from right to left. C.B. Smith Park is visible at right north of Hollywood Boulevard. copy
A 1959 photo shows South Florida State Hospital under construction in Pembroke Pines. Aerial photo looks west with a two-lane Hollywood Boulevard in upper right corner. Runways of North Perry airport are at bottom of picture. Miami Herald File
Business
The new Pembroke Pines Professional Centre in 1988. Miami Herald File
Angel Santibanez, owner and manager at this Fina service station and mini-mart just west of I-75 on Pines Boulevard Pembroke Pines. In 1993, he stocked a wide array of products ranging from general food items to oil filters and Cuban coffee. Janet Jarman Miami Herald File
In 1992, Bobby Exler, owner of the Italian Oven restaurant at 8300 Pines Blvd. Miami Herald File
In 1992, the foot-tall fiberglass Burdines palm trees at Pembroke Lakes Mall, Pines Boulevard and Hiatus Road in Pembroke Pines. Peter Andrew Bosch Miami Herald File
In 1993, Long John Silver’s restaurant at 9901 Pines Blvd. in Pembroke Pines. The shopping strip where the restaurant is located was painted pink, violating a city zoning law that prohibits multicolor strips. Andrew Enrique Valentin Miami Herald File
This story was originally published June 6, 2025 at 8:18 AM.
