History of Miami, Florida

The first inhabitants of the then-hostile South Florida land were the Tequesta Indians. In the 16th century, Spaniards came to settle South Florida. Eventually, Florida became a new star in the American flag in 1821. Seminoles and slaves came during this period to enhance the local population, and a rather large number of Bahamian sailers came also to live in Florida.

Miami came to life trough the dream of some visionaries that invested heavily in the area, namely Julia Tuttle and Henri Flagler. The real birth of Miami occured when Henri Flagler extended his railway up to the soon-to-be incoprorated new city of Miami in 1896. Visionaries came on board to build what eventually became Miami among whome were the famous John Collins and Carl Fisher.

The 30's saw the birth of the Art Deco movement in Florida, with the building of most of historic edifices in South Beach - in the area known today as the historic district, Collins Avenue and Ocean Drive.The 40's and 50's also saw numerous world-renowed architects (such as Morris Lapidus) coming and building up Miami into the Jewel it is today.This heritage has been carefully guarded by preservationists, and made it possible to preserve the architectural historical value of what makes up most of Miami.

Miami became a major training center for the US army in the 40's during world war II - and a large number of soldiers decided to stay here after the war. The next big event was the coup d'etat of Cuba by Castro, which initiated a wave of immigration that continues up to today.

Miami has lived through several real estate and tourism cycles, from being a top travel destination in the 30's and 40's to its decline from the 70's up to the mid 80's. From then, the combination of the new trendy series being shot in Miami: Miami Vice, as well as internationally-renowned stars such as Madonna and Silvester Stallone coming to live in Miami, started to bring Miami back "en vogue".

Miami is a major international travel destination and is still rising from what it is currently - A place that attracts millions of anonymous vacationers, the trendiest international as well as american artists and celebrities calling Miami a first home, a second home, or simply their favorite playground.