Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Greater Miami - North
Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami
MUSEUM
11am-5pm Tue-Sun; )
The Museum of Contemporary Art has long been a reason to hike up to the far reaches of
North Miami. Its galleries feature excellent rotating exhibitions of contemporary art by
local, national and international artists.
Ancient Spanish Monastery
CHURCH
$8/4; 10am-4:30pm Mon-Sat, from 11am Sun; )
The Episcopal Church of St Bernard de Clairvaux is a stunning early-Gothic and
Romanesque building. Constructed in 1141 in Segovia, Spain, it was converted to a
granary 700 years later, and eventually bought by newspaper tycoon William Randolph
Hearst. He had it dismantled and shipped to the USA in more than 10,000 crates, intending
to reconstruct it at his sprawling California estate. But construction was never approved by
the government, and the stones sat in boxes until 1954, when a group of Miami developers
purchased the dismantled monastery from Hearst and reassembled it. Now it's a lovely,
popular oasis (busy for weddings especially, so call before going) and allegedly the oldest
building in the western hemisphere. Church services are held at 8am, 10:30am and noon
on Sunday, and a healing service is held at 10am on Wednesday.
Hialeah Park
PARK
Hialeah is more Havanan than Little Havana (more than 90% of the population speak
Spanish as a first language), and the symbol and center of this working-class Cuban com-
munity is this grand former racetrack. Today a walk through the grounds is recommended,
if only to gaze at the grand staircases and pastel-painted concourse, and imagine the thun-
der of racing hooves. Look for the caps, boots and saddle carved into the window below
the administration building, and the oft-photographed central fountain.