Miami, "the Magic City," really began in 1891 when a widow from Cleveland, Julia Tuttle, moved to South Florida and convinced Standard Oil cofounder Henry Flagler to help her develop the area. Flagler built a railroad to Miami and the tourists began to arrive, entranced by the orange blossoms and fine weather. During World War II, the city grew as the military moved in to build major training centers that brought thousands of new people into the region.Sites include: Cape Florida, Royal Palm Hotel, Halcyon Hotel, Point View, Burlingame Island, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Flagler Street, Scottish Rite Temple, Freedom Tower, Biscayne Boulevard, Riverside, Tamiami Trail, Miami River, Coconut Grove, Vizcaya, El Jardin, Pan Am terminal, Coral Gables, Biltmore Hotel, Douglas Entrance, Miracle Mile, Hialeah Race Course, Opa-Locka, Miami Beach, Collins Canal, Fisher Island, Espanola Way, Deauville Hotel, Normandy Isle and Old City Hall.

The first book devoted to the history of African Americans in south Florida and their pivotal role in the growth and development of Miami, Black Miami in the Twentieth Century traces their triumphs, drudgery, horrors, and courage during the first 100 years of the city's history. Firsthand accounts and over 130 photographs, many of them never published before, bring to life the proud heritage of Miami's black community. Beginning with the legendary presence of black pirates on Biscayne Bay, Marvin Dunn sketches the streams of migration by which blacks came to account for nearly half the city’s voters at the turn of the century. From the birth of a new neighborhood known as "Colored Town," Dunn traces the blossoming of black businesses, churches, civic groups, and fraternal societies that made up the black community. He recounts the heyday of "Little Broadway" along Second Avenue, with photos and individual recollections that capture the richness and vitality of black Miami's golden age between the wars. A substantial portion of the book is devoted to the Miami civil rights movement, and Dunn traces the evolution of Colored Town to Overtown and the subsequent growth of Liberty City. He profiles voting rights, housing and school desegregation, and civil disturbances like the McDuffie and Lozano incidents, and analyzes the issues and leadership that molded an increasingly diverse community through decades of strife and violence. In concluding chapters, he assesses the current position of the community--its socioeconomic status, education issues, residential patterns, and business development--and considers the effect of recent waves of immigration from Latin America and the Caribbean. Dunn combines exhaustive research in regional media and archives with personal interviews of pioneer citizens and longtime residents in a work that documents as never before the life of one of the most important black communities in the United States.

From South Beach to the Everglades, Historic Photos of Greater Miami is a photographic history collected from the areas top archives. With around 200 photographs, many of which have never been published, this beautiful coffee table book shows the historical growth from the mid 1800's to the late 1900's of ?the Magic City? in stunning black and white photography. The book follows life, government, events and people important to Miami and the building of this unique city. Spanning over two centuries and two hundred photographs, this is a must have for any long-time resident or history lover of Miami!

Miami Beach began its rise to the top of the world's resort scene when Carl Fisher, builder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, arrived prior to 1920. The lure of "The World's Playground" was impossible to ignore for many, as hotels and restaurants flourished, even through the Great Depression. The images in this volume evoke poignant memories of Miami Beach's great past, almost inevitable downturn, and return to life with the discovery of South Beach and a renewed interest in art deco. Among the vintage views, most of which have never before been published, are early Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue; Miami Beach High School; Parham's; Junior's; Wolfies; Pumperniks; the first hotel on Miami Beach, Brown's; the Roney Plaza; the Fontainebleau; and, of course, the people who helped create this modern paradise.

Six-year-old Manuel Diaz and his mother first arrived at Miami's airport in 1961 with little more than a dime for a phone call to their relatives in the Little Havana neighborhood. Forty years after his flight from Castro's Cuba, attorney Manny Diaz became mayor of the City of Miami. Toward the end of the twentieth century, the one-time citrus and tourism hub was more closely associated with vice than sunshine. When Diaz took office in 2001, the city was paralyzed by a notoriously corrupt police department, unresponsive government, a dying business district, and heated ethnic and racial divisions. During Diaz's two terms as mayor, Miami was transformed into a vibrant, progressive, and economically resurgent world-class metropolis. In Miami Transformed: Rebuilding America One Neighborhood, One City at a Time, award-winning former mayor Manny Diaz shares lessons learned from governing one of the most diverse and dynamic urban communities in the United States. This firsthand account begins with Diaz's memories as an immigrant child in a foreign land, his education, and his political development as part of a new generation of Cuban Americans. Diaz also discusses his role in the controversial Elián González case. Later he details how he managed two successful mayoral campaigns, navigated the maze of municipal politics, oversaw the revitalization of downtown Miami, and rooted out police corruption to regain the trust of businesses and Miami citizens. Part memoir, part political primer, Miami Transformed offers a straightforward look at Diaz's brand of holistic, pragmatic urban leadership that combines public investment in education and infrastructure with private sector partnerships. The story of Manny Diaz's efforts to renew Miami will interest anyone seeking to foster safer, greener, and more prosperous cities.

Miami, Florida, is fast becoming a critical center for contemporary art. Serving as an incubator for outstanding visual artists, this "natural playground for inspiration" is poised to become one of the leading cultural destinations of the world. With more than 315 stunning color photos, this exciting new book takes readers through significant highlights of the city's art history and showcases the works of over 100 contemporary artists who have helped bring the cultural evolution to fruition. Ranging from established artists with international careers to those beginning to make a name for themselves, this selection reveals diversity that breathes creative energy into the sultry, scintillating city of Miami.

"America's Playground" has seen many changes over the years. From architectural to botanical, Lost Miami Beach covers these changes and the development of the current preservation strategy. Miami Beach has been "America's Playground" for a century. Still one of the world's most popular resorts, its 1930s Art Deco architecture placed this picturesque city on the National Register of Historic Places. Yet a whole generation of earlier buildings was erased from the landscape and mostly forgotten: the house of refuge for shipwrecked sailors, the oceanfront mansions of Millionaires' Row, entrepreneur Carl Fisher's five grand hotels, the Community Theatre, the Miami Beach Garden and more. Join historian Carolyn Klepser as she rediscovers through words and pictures the lost treasures of Miami Beach and recounts the changes that sparked a renowned preservation movement.

Enjoy the beautiful curated photographs (in color) of Miami in Florida, USA The photos captures the quintessential stunning landmarks, scenery and architectural buildings of the country and city from day to night without no words (texts) This full page picture book will make a great home coffee table decor accessory or as a gift for a loved one 8.5" x 11" / large size Glossy softcover

"Born out of fantasy and speculation, designed for fun and profit, Miami Beach has been, from its inception, a city of mythical composition. Its famed Art Deco District was designated a Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and today the area is basking in a revival of interest and attention. Nevertheless, while fashion photographers and entrepreneurs, artists, developers, restaurateurs and club owners flock to the neighborhood, it is still struggling, after years of deterioration and neglect, to recreate itself out of its own forgotten glamour. Despite a new palette of confectionery colors and the renovation of numerous buildings, the Art Deco District remains in need of urban cultivation, of a reinterpretation that transcends its original resort identity. Author Laura Cerwinske introduces Tropical Deco: The Architecture and Design of Old Miami Beach by discussing both the area's past and its future. Throughout her comprehensive exploration of the most concentrated neighborhood of Art Deco buildings in the world, she details the style's evolution and examines its design. Tropical Deco: The Architecture and Design of Old Miami Beach treats its readers to a delightful view of a unique adaption of a historic architectural style. For, while Miami Beach's Art Deco architecture derives its stylistic roots from the streamlined and electric visions of the cosmopolitan North, Tropical Deco design is much softer and more temperately seductive. These are buildings whose narrative and evocative nature is at once sophisticated, naive and filled with humor."--Publisher.

Miami is one of the great destinations of the world. Gerald Hoberman, the widely acclaimed, award winning, master photographer, author and designer took to the air over Miami in a romantic helium-filled blimp. What better way to capture the vibrant sunny disposition of Miami and the beaches, that sparkling jewel of Florida's coastline on camera? Hoberman then comes down to earth so to speak, camera at the ready and in an extraordinary display of further photographic and artistic virtuosity, incisively captures the very spirit and essence of Miami as never before. Each impactful image will leave the reader spellbound from cover to cover. Accompanied by well researched, informative and entertaining text, it also has some typical Hoberman serendipity thrown in for good measure to add "spice to the gingerbread." This book, one of a kind, will provide many fascinating hours of riveting reading. It is a "must have" for travelers planning a journey there. It is a wonderful memento for those who have already visited and deserves a special pride of place, in the homes and libraries of the people who proudly call Miami home.