miami

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…


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…


Aerial of Fort Dallas in 1894

Miami in 1893 – Part 1 of 2

Pre-incorporation Miami, that is the period prior to 1896, was a subtropical Eden with its clear streams and dense foliage, its billowing clouds, and stunning light, its sounds of birds and other wildlife in an untrammeled wilderness. Our information on…


Aerial of downtown Miami in 1921

Aerial of Flagler Street in 1921

The aerial photo of downtown Miami in 1921 provides a glimpse of what the area looked like on the eve of the great building boom of the mid-1920s. The photo was taken prior to the construction of most of the…


Perricones Entrance

Gut Feeling Leads Perricone to Brickell

Some of the best decisions in life are made with a gut feeling. There are those who are lucky enough to trust their gut for a lifetime of good decisions. Steve Perricone is one of those people. From the time…