Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1 Mingling with the beautiful hipsters amid the jaw-dropping Wynwood Walls
murals.
2 Cigar smoke and dominoes; saying bienvenido a Little Havana in Máximo
Gómez Park .
3 Taking in a show at the gorgeous Adrienne Arsht Center for the Perform-
ing Arts .
4 Splashing about the faux grottoes and coral cliffs in the magnificent Vene-
tian Pool .
5 Dancing to Caribbean beats and chow down on curried conch and goat at
the monthly Big Night in Little Haiti .
6 Relaxing far from the celebs while still appreciating the beautiful Miami
skyline in Crandon Park .
7 Exploring the opulent Vizcaya Museum & Gardens .
8 Wandering through the architectural heritage of the Art Deco Historic Dis-
trict .
History
It's always been the weather that's attracted Miami's two most prominent species: deve-
lopers and tourists. But it wasn't the sun per se that got people moving here - it was an ice
storm. The great Florida freeze of 1895 wiped out the state's citrus industry; at the same
time, widowed Julia Tuttle bought out parcels of land that would become modern Miami,
and Henry Flagler was building his Florida East Coast Railroad. Tuttle offered to split her
land with Flagler if he extended the railway to Miami, but the train man didn't pay her any
heed until north Florida froze over and Tuttle sent him an 'I told you so' message: an or-
ange blossom clipped from her Miami garden.
The rest is a history of boom, bust, dreamers and opportunists. Generally, Miami has
grown in leaps and bounds following major world events and natural disasters. Hurricanes
(particularly the deadly Great Miami Hurricane of 1926) have wiped away the town, but it
just keeps bouncing and building back better than before. In the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, Miami earned a reputation for attracting design and city-planning mavericks
such as George Merrick, who fashioned the artful Mediterranean village of Coral Gables,
and James Deering, designer of the fairy-tale Vizcaya mansion.
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