| South Florida's history is mostly
recent. As late as 1870 there were only 100 people residing in Miami-Dade
County. One of the oldest settlements was Coconut Grove, where
a post office was established in 1873. Miami simply popped
into existence as a tourist town with the arrival of the railroad and the
building of one of Flagler's hotels in 1896.
Miami grew quickly in the next twenty years. But then came The Boom. The Boom, from 1920 to 1926, was the greatest land speculation bubble the world has ever known. At the crest, in 1925, every statistic was fabulous. In that year 971 subdivisions were platted, 481 hotels were built. It was estimated that one third of the cash in the United States was stuffed into Miami banks. In 1924 the Miami Herald became, for two years, the world's largest newspaper. Things began to slow down in 1926 and then came the September hurricane. Boom turned into bust. The Great Depression began in Miami several years earlier than the rest of the country. But while the rest of the country was mired in depression another, smaller boom began in Miami Beach. It was the time of the building of hundreds of art deco hotels and apartment buildings. Movies such as "Flying down to Rio" in Pan Am's clipper ships and enjoying the "Moon Over Miami" popularized Miami throughout the entire world in the 1930's. With the coming of war in 1941, tourism slowed and construction abruptly stopped. But fortunately for Miami, it became a major center for military training for the allies. After the war, Miami started growing again. Air conditioning made it more livable. The arrival of jet airplanes solidified Miami's position as the capital of the caribbean. Miami was the headquarters of Eastern Airlines, National Airlines, and Pan Am's main base. But Miami was still an all-American tourist town until 1959. The Cuban revolution changed all that. Tens of thousands of well educated Spanish speaking exiles poured into Miami, transforming it into a cosmopolitan city. Key Biscayne had its moment in the spotlight when it became Nixon's winter White House. Then came drugs. And the notorious wealth of drug money. Our image became known as "Miami Vice". In the 1990's Miami became the cruise ship capital of the world. And Miami Beach, which had declined because of increased tourism in the Caribbean, had a resurgence: South Beach became a fashion and club scene mecca. More immigrants from the chaos to the south of us has made Miami the most diverse large city in the United States according to the 2000 census. |