Extension of SE First Street in 1925

Southeast First Street Extension in 1925

Cover: Southeast First Street Extension in 1925

In preparation for the opening of the newly created Bayfront Park in 1925, the City of Miami extended SE First Street from SE Second Avenue to South Bayshore Boulevard. The boulevard was later renamed to Biscayne Boulevard.

Prior to the extension of the street, the land being constructed in the photo (Figure 1), was part of Royal Palm Park which was privately owned and associated with the Royal Palm Hotel. By the early 1920s, the people of Miami pushed for a new city owned park and which prompted city leaders to plan for the construction of Bayfront Park. Figure 2 is a Sanborn Map showing the layout of South First Street and Royal Palm Park in 1924, prior to the extension of the thoroughfare.

Sanborn Map in 1924.

Figure 2: Sanborn Map in 1924

On the left side of the featured photograph is the Huntington Building which is located at 168 SE First Street (southwest corner of SE Second Avenue & SE First Street), and was under construction when this picture was taken. The edifice opened in the summer of 1926 and is still standing today and is configured as office condominiums.

On the right side of the photograph was Hotel Urmey which was located on the northwest corner of SE Second Avenue and SE First Street. The hotel was constructed in 1916, opened on January 4, 1917, and was razed to make room for the Centro Lofts which opened in 2016.

This photograph is part of the Gleason Waite Romer collection at the Miami-Dade Public Library. Romer photographed a lot of Miami and surrounding areas beginning in the 1920s and into the 1960s. After he passed away in 1971 his collection of negatives and photographs were donated to the Miami-Dade Public Library and are accessible online at the library’s website under ‘digital collections.’

 

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Images:

  • Cover: Work on SE First Street in 1925. Courtesy of Miami-Dade Public Library as part of the Romer Collection.
  • Figure 1: Sanborn Map: 1921 – 1924.