Articles by Casey Piket

Miami Skyline in 1930

Origin of Miami’s Nickname

The moniker has become ubiquitous with the city that celebrates eternal summer. While it conjures a poetic and optimistic view of the metropolis it describes, it also infers that the municipality possesses a mystical aura. Given the rugged environs of…


Chateau Miami at Petit Douy in 2020

Petit Douy in Brickell

At what was once the southern edge of the city of Miami, at the corner of Fifteenth Road and Brickell Avenue, stands a unique French chateau on an oolitic limestone ridge that is one of the highest points in Miami’s…


Preparing Grounds of Royal Palm Hotel in 1896

Preparing the Grounds for the City of Miami

In the Fall of 1895, John Sewell was in Palm Beach, Florida, working for Joseph A. McDonald who was the head of the construction arm of the Florida East Coast Railway. It was during a brief meeting that McDonald informed…


Miami City Commission in 1921. Ed Romfh in the middle.

Remembering Miami Pioneer Ed Romfh

Those who took a chance on the fledgling city of Miami in the late 1890s understood that the municipality offered boundless opportunity but required versatility. From prior to incorporation until the start of the Twentieth Century, pioneers came to Miami…


Postcard of Flagler Street in 1912

Residential Flagler Street in 1912

Given that Flagler Street is the main thoroughfare through downtown Miami today, it is hard to fathom that it was once lined with beautiful Victorian-style homes occupied by some of the city’s prominent early pioneers. The eastern portion of Flagler,…