Isidor Cohen

YMCA Building in 1920 from McAllister Hotel

YMCA in Downtown Miami (1918 – 1978)

Sixty years is a good run for a building in Miami. Many of the city’s early twentieth century structures had a far shorter lifespan. When the YMCA building at 40 NE Third Avenue, aka Short Street, was opened in 1918,…


Brady's Grocery & Bank of Bay Biscayne on Avenue D in 1896.

Miami’s Christmastime Fire of 1896

As joyous as the holiday season of 1896 was for the South Florida community, there was foreboding on the part of its lone newspaper, the Miami Metropolis, over the damage a fire could bring to its wood frame buildings, and…


Elks Lodge in Downtown Miami in 1912

History of Miami Elks Lodge 948

Although the club does not meet in its original location, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (B.P.O.E.) #948 is one of the oldest fraternal organizations in Miami. The organization is referred to as the “Elks Lodge”. The club currently…