Cover: Brickell Point Cottage in 1949
At the turn of the twentieth century, Brickell Point evolved with the growth of the City of Miami. The Brickell trading post was removed, and replaced by two cottages that were constructed to provide a secluded and tranquil alternative to staying at establishments found on the north side of the Miami River. The isolation of Brickell Point provided a respite from the relatively hectic environment found in downtown Miami during the early decades of the 1900s.
This video extends the story of Mary, whose husband died in 1908, and how her business acumen allowed the Brickell family to prosper leading up to the great building boom of the 1920s. When she sold 60-acres of land to James Deering for $180,000 in 1912, land used to construct Villa Vizcaya, Deering acknowledged that Mary was the better negotiator and that he got “robbed”.
As the new millennium approached, Brickell Point was embroiled in controversy when developer Michael Baumann razed the Brickell Point Apartments to construct a high-rise condominium. An archaeological survey uncovered over 2000 years of history with the discovery of the Miami Circle. After a long and drawn-out negotiation, Baumann sold the Brickell Point property to the state of Florida that in-turn preserved the site as a state landmark and park.
Watch Part Two of the History of Brickell Point to learn about Brickell Point’s journey through the twentieth century to the modern day.
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