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103-418: In 1891, Carl Graham Fisher (1874–1939) opened a bicycle shop with his two brothers. Regarded as a promotional genius, Fisher was also involved in bicycle racing and stunts. Around 1900, the national bicycle craze turned to a newer invention: the automobile . In partnership with his friend Barney Oldfield , Fisher converted the bicycle shop to handle automobiles, telling his fellow racer, "I don't see why

206-526: A PBS report, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929 (followed by the Great Depression) "sealed Fisher's fate". One source indicates that during the years before his death, Fisher was living in a modest cottage on Miami Beach. For his final project, in 1938, Fisher developed and built Key Largo's Caribbean Club , a fishing club for men who were not rich. After he died, the club was turned into

309-693: A Tropical Storm Emily -related rain flood on August 1, 2017, can cause great unexpected flooding. Combined with the higher roads and sidewalks, this leaves unchanged properties relatively lower and prone to inundation. According to the Köppen climate classification , Miami Beach has a tropical monsoon climate (Am). Like much of Florida, there is a marked wet and dry season in Miami Beach. Rainfall amounts to about 1,700 millimetres (67 in) per year. The tropical rainy season runs from May through October, when showers and late day thunderstorms are common. The dry season

412-661: A breach of promise . Meanwhile, he and his new wife Jane went on a business trip for their honeymoon. In 1921, they had one child, who died a month later from pyloric stenosis . She adopted a four-year-old child in 1925; he disapproved and they divorced in Paris in 1926. She then married and divorced three men; after her last marriage she went to court to change her name to Jane Watts Fisher and falsely styled herself as his widow. Fisher's second marriage, to his secretary, Margaret Eleanor Collier, lasted until his death. She then married Howard W. Lyon, his business associate. In 1904, Fisher

515-588: A "poor man's retreat." He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1971. Just south of Miami Beach, Fisher Island is named for him and is one of the wealthiest and most exclusive residential areas in the United States. It is built on a parcel that is a combination of "the old Vanderbilt estate" bought from Fisher and a municipal trash dump. Carl Fisher was born in Greensburg, Indiana , nine years after

618-406: A baby elephant named "Rosie" , that was a favorite with newspaper photographers. In 1921, he got free publicity all across the country with what would be called today a promotional "photo-op" of Rosie serving as a "golf caddy" for vacationing President-elect Warren Harding. Billboards of bathing beauties enjoying white beaches and blue ocean waters appeared around the country. Fisher even purchased

721-516: A casino. Despite reports, no evidence shows that Key Largo was filmed there in 1948, according to research completed in 2014. Fisher died July 15, 1939, at age 65, of a stomach hemorrhage in a Miami Beach hospital, following a lengthy illness compounded by alcoholism. His pallbearers included Barney Oldfield, William Vanderbilt, and Gar Wood . He was interred at the family mausoleum at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. On July 15, 1939,

824-636: A hotel blocking bulldozers as they approached a hotel. After many years of effort, the Miami Beach city commission created the first two historic preservation districts in 1986. The districts covered Espanola Way and most of Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue in South Beach. The designation of the districts helped protect buildings from demolition and created standards for renovation. While some developers continued to focus on demolition, several investors like Tony Goldman and Ian Schrager bought art deco hotels and transformed them into world famous hot spots in

927-623: A huge, illuminated sign proclaiming "It's June in Miami" in Times Square . During the Florida land boom of the 1920s , real-estate sales took off as Americans discovered their automobiles and the paved Dixie Highway, which through no coincidence led to the foot of the Collins Bridge. Fewer than 1,000 year-round residents lived in Miami Beach in 1920. In the next five years, the resident population of

1030-639: A new project. Arthur C. Newby (president of National ), Frank H. Wheeler (maker of the Wheeler-Schebler carburetor ), James A. Allison (partner in Prest-O-Lite ) and he invested in what became Indianapolis Motor Speedway , which is now surrounded by the city of Indianapolis. The first automobile race in August 1909 ended in disaster. The loose rock track led to numerous crashes, fires, terrible injuries to race-car drivers and spectators, and deaths. The race

1133-435: A total area of 18.7 sq mi (48.5 km ), of which 7.0 sq mi (18.2 km ) is land and 11.7 sq mi (30.2 km ) (62.37%) is water. Miami Beach encounters tidal flooding of certain roads during the annual king tides , though some tidal flooding has been the case for decades, as the parts of the western side of South Beach are at virtually 0 ft (0 m) above normal high tide, with

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1236-446: A vacation to Miami around 1910, he saw potential in the swampy, bug-infested stretch of land between Miami and the ocean. He knew earlier pioneers needed working capital and ideas. His mind transformed the 3,500 acres (14 km ) of mangrove swamp and beach into the perfect vacation destination for his automobile-industry friends. His wife and he bought a vacation home there in 1912, and he began acquiring land. Though he did not invent

1339-459: A wave of Cuban refugees entered South Florida and dramatically changed the demographic make-up of the area. In 2017, one study named zip code 33109 ( Fisher Island , a 216-acre island located just south of Miami Beach), as having the 4th most expensive home sales and the highest average annual income ($ 2.5 million) in 2015. The sun and warm climate attracted many Jewish families and retirees. One estimate states that "20,000 elderly Jews" were part of

1442-559: Is 82,890 according to the 2020 census . It has been one of America's preeminent beach resorts since the early 20th century. In 1979, Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The Art Deco District is the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures erected between 1923 and 1943. Mediterranean , Streamline Moderne and Art Deco are all represented in

1545-462: Is believed to be the first automobile dealership in the United States, and also worked at developing an automobile racetrack locally. After being injured in stunts himself, and following a safety debacle at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway , of which he was a principal, he helped develop paved racetracks and public roadways. Improvements he implemented at the speedway led to its nickname, "The Brickyard." In 1912, Fisher conceived and helped develop

1648-489: Is from November through April, when few showers, sunshine, and low humidity prevail. The island location of Miami Beach, however, creates fewer convective thunderstorms, so Miami Beach receives less rainfall in a given year than neighboring areas such as Miami and Fort Lauderdale . Proximity to the moderating influence of the Atlantic gives Miami Beach lower high temperatures and higher lows than inland areas of Florida. Miami Beach

1751-535: Is in hardiness zone 11a, with an annual mean minimum temperature of 43 °F (6 °C). Miami Beach has never reported temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F). Miami Beach's location on the Atlantic Ocean , near its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico , make it extraordinarily vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms . Miami has experienced several direct hits from major hurricanes in recorded weather history –

1854-530: Is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay , the latter of which separates the Beach from the mainland city of Miami . The neighborhood of South Beach , comprising the southernmost 2.5 sq mi (6.5 km ) of Miami Beach, along with Downtown Miami and the PortMiami , collectively form the commercial center of South Florida . Miami Beach's population

1957-439: Is not without criticism. Some residents worry that the efforts will not be sufficient to successfully adapt to rising sea levels and wish the city had pursued a more aggressive plan. On the other hand, some worry that the city is moving too quickly with untested solutions. Others yet have voiced concerns that the plan protects big-money interests in Miami Beach. Pump failures such as during construction or power outages, including

2060-475: Is now the Art Deco District, was also featured prominently in the 1983 feature film Scarface and the 1996 comedy The Birdcage . Lincoln Road , running east–west parallel between 16th and 17th Streets, is a nationally known spot for outdoor dining and shopping and features galleries of well known designers, artists and photographers such as Romero Britto , Peter Lik , and Jonathan Adler . In 2015,

2163-473: Is the official marketing and public relations organization for the city, to support its tourism industry. South Beach (also known as SoBe, or simply the Beach), the area from Biscayne Street (also known as South Pointe Drive) one block south of 1st Street to about 23rd Street, is one of the more popular areas of Miami Beach. Although topless sunbathing by women has not been officially legalized, female toplessness

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2266-448: Is tolerated on South Beach and in a few hotel pools on Miami Beach. Before the TV show Miami Vice helped make the area popular, SoBe was under urban blight , with vacant buildings and a high crime rate . Today, it is considered one of the richest commercial areas on the beach, yet poverty and crime still remain in some places near the area. Miami Beach, particularly Ocean Drive of what

2369-506: The 1906 Florida Keys hurricane , 1926 Miami hurricane , 1935 Yankee hurricane , 1941 Florida hurricane , 1948 Miami Hurricane , 1950 Hurricane King and 1964 Hurricane Cleo , the area has seen indirect contact from hurricanes: 1945 Homestead Hurricane , Betsy (1965), Inez (1966), Andrew (1992), Irene (1999), Michelle (2001), Katrina (2005), Wilma (2005), and Irma (2017). As of 2010 , those of Hispanic or Latino ancestry accounted for 53.0% of Miami Beach's population. Out of

2472-487: The Fontainebleau and Eden Roc Hotels. Several North Beach neighborhoods were designated as historic in 2018. A large collection of MiMo (Miami Modern) buildings can be found in the area. Jackie Gleason hosted his Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine (September 29, 1962 – June 4, 1966) television show, after moving it from New York to Miami Beach in 1964, reportedly because he liked year-round access to

2575-543: The Lincoln Highway , the first road for the automobile across the entire United States. A convoy trip a few years later by the U.S. Army along Fisher's Lincoln Highway was a major influence upon then-Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower years later in championing the Interstate Highway System during his presidency in the 1950s. Following on the success of his east-west Lincoln Highway, Fisher initiated efforts on

2678-487: The Miami Daily News noted Fisher's ingenuity was influential and guided to earlier Miami Beach pioneers, summing him up: "Carl G. Fisher, who looked at a piece of swampland and visualized the nation's greatest winter playground, .... he once said "I could just as easily have started a cattle ranch." Will Rogers remembered Fisher as a Florida pioneer with these words: Fisher was the first man to discover that there

2781-461: The porous nature of the ground and limestone beneath the surface. In addition to present difficulty with below-grade development, some areas of southern Florida, especially Miami Beach, are beginning to engineer specifically for sea level rise and other potential effects of climate change . This includes a five-year, US$ 500 million project for the installation of 60 to 80 pumps, building of taller sea walls , planting of red mangrove trees along

2884-724: The "dismantling on Miami Beach of restrictive barriers to Jewish ownership of real estate" was underway; many Jews bought properties from others. By the 1940s and 50s, an increasing number of Jewish families built hotels. The first "skyscraper" was the 18-story Lord Tarleton Hotel built in 1940 by Samuel Jacobs. The Jewish mobster Meyer Lansky , who ran some "carpet joints" (gambling operations) in Florida by 1936, and eventually controlled casinos in Cuba and Las Vegas, retired in Miami and died in Miami Beach. During World War II , Jewish doctors were not granted staff privileges at any area hospitals so

2987-658: The "sun and fun capital of the world" on camera. CBS canceled the series in 1970. Each December, the City of Miami Beach hosts Art Basel Miami Beach , one of the largest art shows in the United States. Art Basel Miami Beach, the sister event to the Art Basel event held each June in Basel, Switzerland, combines an international selection of top galleries with a program of special exhibitions, parties and crossover events featuring music, film, architecture, and design. Exhibition sites are located in

3090-486: The 1.9%, 0.6% were Indian , 0.4% Filipino , 0.3% Other Asian , 0.3% Chinese , 0.1% Japanese , 0.1% Korean , and 0.1% were Vietnamese . In 2010, 2.8% of the population considered themselves to be of only American ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity), and 1.5% were of Arab ancestry (with the majority of them being of Palestinian and Lebanese descent), as of 2010 . As of 2010 , there were 67,499 households, while 30.1% were vacant. 13.8% had children under

3193-449: The 15.86 million people staying in the county in 2017, 58.5% lodged in Miami Beach. Resort taxes account for over 10% of the city's operating budget, providing $ 83 million in the fiscal year 2016–2017. On average, the city's resort tax revenue grows by three to five percent annually. Miami Beach hosts 13.3 million visitors each year. In fiscal year 2016/2017, Miami Beach had over 26,600 hotel rooms. Average occupancy in fiscal year 2015/2016

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3296-652: The 1966–1967 season with new, color episodes of The Honeymooners , with Sheila MacRae and Jane Kean as Alice Kramden and Trixie Norton, respectively. The regular cast included Art Carney as Ed Norton; Milton Berle was a frequent guest star. The show was shot in color on videotape at the Miami Beach Auditorium (later renamed the Jackie Gleason Theatre of the Performing Arts), now known as Fillmore Miami Beach , and Gleason never tired of promoting

3399-712: The 4.4%, 1.3% were Black Hispanics , 0.8% were Subsaharan African , and 0.8% were West Indian or Afro-Caribbean American (0.3% Jamaican , 0.3% Haitian , 0.1% Other or Unspecified West Indian , 0.1% Trinidadian and Tobagonian .) As of 2010 , those of (non-Hispanic white) European ancestry accounted for 40.5% of Miami Beach's population. Out of the 40.5%, 9.0% Italian , 6.0% German , 3.8% were Irish , 3.8% Russian , 3.7% French , 3.4% Polish , 3.0% English , 1.2% Hungarian , 0.7% Swedish , 0.6% Scottish , 0.5% Portuguese , 0.5% Dutch , 0.5% Scotch-Irish , and 0.5% were Norwegian . As of 2010 , those of Asian ancestry accounted for 1.9% of Miami Beach's population. Out of

3502-662: The 500-mile (800 km) event, the first in a long line of races known as the Indianapolis 500 . In 1913, foreseeing the automobile's impact on American life, Fisher conceived and was instrumental in the planning, development, and construction of the Lincoln Highway , the first road across America, which connected New York City to San Francisco. Fisher estimated the highway, an improved, hard-surfaced road stretching almost 3,400 miles (5,500 km), would cost $ 10 million. Fellow industrialists Frank Seiberling and Henry Bourne Joy helped Fisher with their promotional skills, together creating

3605-423: The 53.0%, 20.0% were Cuban , 4.9% Colombian , 4.6% Argentine , 3.7% Puerto Rican , 2.4% Peruvian , 2.1% Venezuelan , 1.8% Mexican , 1.7% Honduran , 1.6% Guatemalan , 1.4% Dominican , 1.1% Uruguayan , 1.1% Spaniard , 1.0% Nicaraguan , 0.9% Ecuadorian and 0.8% were Chilean . As of 2010 , those of African ancestry accounted for 4.4% of Miami Beach's population, which includes African Americans . Out of

3708-530: The Arts winner, Moises Kaufman . In October 2016, Miami New Drama took over operations of the Colony Theatre, and since then, the 417-seat Art Deco venue hosts Miami New Drama's theatrical season as well as other live events. The Miami City Ballet, a ballet company founded in 1985, is housed in a 63,000 sq ft (5,900 m ) building near Miami Beach's Bass Museum of Art . The Miami Beach Festival of

3811-841: The District. The Historic District is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the East, Lenox Court on the West, 6th Street on the South and Dade Boulevard along the Collins Canal to the North. The movement to preserve the Art Deco District's architectural heritage was led by former interior designer Barbara Baer Capitman , who now has a street in the District named in her honor. In 1870, father and son Henry and Charles Lum purchased land on Miami Beach for 75 cents an acre. The first structure to be built on this uninhabited oceanfront

3914-553: The Dixie Highway, a network of north-south routes extending from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to southern Florida , which he felt would provide an ideal way for residents of his home state to vacation in southern Florida. In September 1916, Fisher and Indiana Governor Samuel M. Ralston attended a celebration opening the roadway from Indianapolis to Miami. The future City of Miami Beach became Fisher's next big project. On

4017-490: The Lincoln Highway Association. Much of the highway was paid for by contributions from automobile manufacturers and suppliers, a policy bitterly opposed by Henry Ford . Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas A. Edison , both friends of Fisher's, sent checks, as well as the then-President Woodrow Wilson , who has been noted as the first U.S. President to make frequent use of an automobile for what

4120-682: The Miami Beach Electric Company and the Miami Beach Railway Co. It began service on December 14, 1920, and ran from downtown Miami, where it shared tracks with Miami's own trolley system, to the County Causeway (renamed MacArthur Causeway after World War II). After crossing Biscayne Bay to Miami Beach, the tracks looped around the section of Miami Beach south of 47th Street. Around 1926, Florida Power and Light acquired Fisher's streetcar system, and expanded it, double tracking

4223-677: The Miami Beach area grew 440%. People from all over the country flocked to South Florida in hopes of getting rich buying and selling real estate. They sent home tales of riches being made when orange groves and swamp lands were subdivided, sold, and developed. The art of the swap, which helped fund the Collins Bridge, was apparently the source of great satisfaction to Fisher. He had bought another 200 acres (0.81 km ) that now form Fisher Island from Dana A. Dorsey , South Florida's first African American millionaire, and had begun some development there in 1919. Five years later, he traded seven acres of Fisher Island to William Kissam Vanderbilt II of

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4326-571: The Miami Beach peninsula. Collins' family members saw the potential in developing the beach as a resort. This effort got underway in the early years of the 20th century by the Collins/Pancoast family, the Lummus brothers, both bankers from Miami, and Indianapolis entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher . Until then, the beach here was only the destination for day-trips by ferry from Miami, across the bay. By 1912, Collins and Pancoast were working together to clear

4429-533: The Miami Beach residents passed a law forbidding bicycling, rollerblading, skateboarding and other motorized vehicles on Lincoln Road during busy pedestrian hours between 9:00 am and 2:00 am. By the 1970s, jet travel had enabled vacationers from the northern parts of the US to travel to the Caribbean and other warm-weather climates in the winter. Miami Beach's economy suffered. Elderly retirees, many with little money, dominated

4532-761: The New World Symphony made a highly publicized move into the New World Center building designed by Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry . Gehry is famous for his design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain , and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California. The new Gehry building offers Live Wallcasts™, which allow visitors to experience select events throughout

4635-628: The Venetian Islands except Belle Isle. The Miami Beach peninsula became an island in April 1925 when Haulover Cut was opened, connecting the ocean to the bay, north of present-day Bal Harbour . The great 1926 Miami hurricane put an end to this prosperous era of the Florida Boom , but in the 1930s Miami Beach still attracted tourists, and investors constructed the mostly small-scale, stucco hotels and rooming houses, for seasonal rental, that comprise much of

4738-477: The age of 18 living with them, 26.3% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 61.1% were non-families. 49.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older (4.0% male and 8.0% female.) The average household size was 1.84 and the average family size was 2.70. The City of Miami Beach accounts for more than half of tourism to Miami Dade County. Of

4841-417: The area. Although a dedicated enthusiast of automobile travel, Fisher was aware that wealthy vacationers in those days often preferred to cross the long distances to southeastern Florida by railroad , a tradition begun by some families years earlier with Henry M. Flagler 's Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) and the resorts he established at places like St. Augustine and Palm Beach , and eventually Miami,

4944-464: The automobile can't be made to do everything the bicycle has done." Fisher promoted the automobile dealership as he had his bicycle shop with carefully planned stunts. He flew an automobile over Indianapolis supported by a hot air balloon , and pushed another off the roof of his four-story building in downtown Indianapolis. Fisher made millions with the sale and manufacture of an early form of headlights , became involved with automobile racing and

5047-433: The business of selling automobiles, with his friend Barney Oldfield . The Fisher Automobile Company in Indianapolis is considered most likely the first automobile dealership in the United States. It carried multiple models of Oldsmobile , REO , Packard , Stoddard-Dayton , Stutz , and others. Fisher staged an elaborate publicity stunt in which he attached a hot-air balloon to a white Stoddard-Dayton automobile and flew

5150-402: The car over downtown Indianapolis. Thousands of people observed the spectacle and Fisher triumphantly drove back into town, becoming an instant media sensation. Unbeknownst to the public, the flying car had had its engine removed to lighten the load, and several identical cars were driven out to meet it, to allow Fisher to drive back into the city. Afterward, he advertised, "The Stoddard-Dayton was

5253-573: The city's Art Deco District, and ancillary events are scattered throughout the greater Miami metropolitan area. The first Art Basel Miami Beach was held in 2002. In 2016, about 77,000 people attended the fair. The 2017 show featured about 250 galleries at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Miami Beach is home to the New World Symphony , established in 1987 under the artistic direction of Michael Tilson Thomas . In January 2011,

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5356-481: The community built Mount Sinai Medical Center on Miami Beach. The North Shore Jewish Center was built in 1951 and became Temple Menorah after an expansion in 1963. Post–World War II economic expansion brought a wave of immigrants to South Florida from the Northern United States, which significantly increased the population in Miami Beach within a few decades. After Fidel Castro 's rise to power in 1959,

5459-640: The emerging American auto industry. In 1904, he and friend James A. Allison bought an interest in the U.S. patent to manufacture acetylene headlights , a precursor to electric models that became common about ten years later. Soon, his firm supplied nearly every headlamp used on automobiles in the United States as manufacturing plants were built all over the country to supply the demand. The headlight patent made him rich as an automotive parts supplier when Allison and he sold their company, Prest-O-Lite, to Union Carbide in 1913 for $ 9 million (equivalent to $ 268 million in 2022). Fisher operated in Indianapolis what

5562-465: The end of the American Civil War , the son of Albert H. and Ida Graham Fisher. Apparently suffering from alcoholism , a problem which also plagued Carl later in life, his father left the family when he was a child. Severely astigmatic , he had difficulty paying attention in school, as uncorrected astigmatism can cause headaches, eyestrain, and blurred vision at all distances. He quit school when he

5665-545: The end. He wanted to be there the quickest and first... In 1947, Jane Fisher, his ex-wife (who married him in 1909 and was divorced in 1926), wrote a book about his life. Fabulous Hoosier was published by R.M. McBride and Co. She wrote: Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida , United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida . The municipality

5768-627: The entire city averaging only 4.4 ft (1.3 m) above mean sea level (AMSL). However, a recent study by the University of Miami showed that tidal flooding became much more common from the mid-2000s. The fall 2015 king tides exceeded expectations in longevity and height. Traditional sea level rise and storm mitigation measures including sea walls and dykes, such as those in the Netherlands and New Orleans , may not work in South Florida due to

5871-491: The famous and wealthy Vanderbilt family, for the latter's 150-ft steam yacht Eagle . Vanderbilt used the property, later expanded to 13 acres, to create an enclave even more luxurious and exclusive than many of Miami Beach's finest. The Miami Yacht Club that Fisher built in 1924 was later converted into a private mansion that was extensively renovated in 2017; the property was on the market for $ 65 million in May 2018. By 1926, Fisher

5974-533: The financing needed to complete the Collins Bridge the following year in return for a land swap deal. That transaction kicked off the island's first real estate boom. The Collins Bridge cost over $ 150,000 and opened on June 12, 1913. Fisher helped by organizing an annual speed boat regatta, and by promoting Miami Beach as an Atlantic City-style playground and winter retreat for the wealthy. By 1915, Lummus, Collins, Pancoast, and Fisher were all living in mansions on

6077-487: The first automobile to fly over Indianapolis. It should be your first automobile, too." Another stunt involved pushing a car off the roof of a building and then driving it away, to demonstrate its durability. "Blossom Heath" was Fisher's estate in Indianapolis. Completed in 1913, it was built on Cold Spring Road between the estates of his two friends and Indianapolis Motor Speedway partners, James A. Allison and Frank H. Wheeler. The house included portions of an earlier house on

6180-661: The golf course at the nearby Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill (where he built his final home). His closing line became, almost invariably, "As always, the Miami Beach audience is the greatest audience in the world!" In the Fall 1966 television season, he abandoned the American Scene Magazine format and converted the show into a standard variety hour with guest performers. The show was renamed The Jackie Gleason Show , lasting from September 17, 1966 – September 12, 1970. He started

6283-471: The historic buildings in South Beach. After battling local developers and Washington DC bureaucrats, MDPL prevailed in its quest to have the Miami Beach Art Deco District named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. While the recognition did not offer protection for the buildings from demolition, it succeeded in drawing attention to the plight of the buildings. Due in part to

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6386-433: The island, three hotels and two bathhouses had been erected, an aquarium built, and an 18-hole golf course landscaped. The Town of Miami Beach was chartered on March 26, 1915; it grew to become a City in 1917. Even after the town was incorporated in 1915 under the name of Miami Beach, many visitors thought of the beach strip as Alton Beach, indicating just how well Fisher had advertised his interests there. The Lummus property

6489-530: The island. To accommodate the wealthy tourists, several grand hotels were built, among them: The Flamingo Hotel , The Fleetwood Hotel, The Floridian, The Nautilus, and the Roney Plaza Hotel. In the 1920s, Fisher and others created much of Miami Beach as landfill by dredging Biscayne Bay; this human-made territory includes Star, Palm, and Hibiscus Islands, the Sunset Islands, much of Normandy Isle, and all of

6592-404: The land that would later become Miami Beach. In fact, the pine trees on today's Pinetree Drive served as an erosion buffer for Collins' plantations. Meanwhile, across Biscayne Bay, the City of Miami was established in 1896 with the arrival of the railroad and developed further as a port when the shipping channel of Government Cut was created in 1905, cutting off Fisher Island from the south end of

6695-564: The land, plant crops, supervise the construction of canals to get their avocado crop to market and set up the Miami Beach Improvement Company. There were bathhouses and food stands, but no hotel until Brown's Hotel was built in 1915 (still standing, at 112 Ocean Drive). Much of the interior landmass at that time was a tangled jungle of mangroves. Clearing it, deepening the channels and water bodies, and eliminating native growth almost everywhere in favor of landfill for development,

6798-649: The lavish Montauk Manor and a yacht club." The project built roads, planted nurseries, laid water pipes, and built houses. He built Montauk Manor, which still exists as a luxury resort today (pictured at right). He also built the Montauk Tennis Auditorium . Because of financial reversals suffered by Fisher, the Montauk project went into receivership in 1932. According to his wife Jane, Montauk "was Carl’s first and only failure", but she died before Fisher's most significant losses. The Carl Fisher Tower stands in

6901-499: The line across the causeway. While sale of electric service was a growth industry across the United States, though, the street railway portion went into a period of decline, along with the entire industry. All rail service between Miami and Miami Beach was terminated on October 17, 1939. Even with the new street railway connecting with the FEC, while wealthy people came to vacation, only a few were buying land or building homes. The U.S. public

7004-465: The middle of Montauk at approximately 100 feet tall. In 1925, Fisher's wealth was estimated as exceeding $ 50 million. In later years, he borrowed heavily and the hurricane in September 1926 damaged a large part of Miami Beach and reduced tourism. The losses in his real-estate ventures and the crash of 1929 left Fisher virtually penniless. "Fisher's financial house of cards began to collapse", according to

7107-476: The money in trade for 200 acres (0.81 km ) of land. The new 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (4 km) wooden toll bridge opened on June 12, 1913. Fisher financed the dredging of Biscayne Bay to create its vast residential islands. He later built several landmark luxury hotels, including the Flamingo Hotel , that were meant to attract the wealthy and celebrated elite to convince them to buy permanent residences in

7210-545: The name Miami Beach, he popularized it. He platted the second plat in Miami Beach, following the Lummus Brothers. Fisher continued his wise investment in infrastructure. The Collins Bridge across Biscayne Bay between Miami and the barrier island that became Miami Beach was built by John S. Collins (1837–1928), an earlier farmer and developer originally from New Jersey . Collins, then 75 years old, had run out of money before he could complete his bridge. Fisher lent him

7313-476: The newfound awareness of the art deco buildings, vacationers, tourists and TV, and movie crews were drawn to South Beach. Investors began to rehabilitate hotels, restaurants and apartment buildings in the area. Despite the enthusiasm for the historic buildings by many, there were no real protections for historic buildings. As wrecking crews threatened buildings, MDPL members protested by holding marches and candlelight vigils. In one case, protestors stood in front of

7416-403: The north-south Dixie Highway in 1914, which led from Michigan to Miami. Under his leadership, the initial portion was completed within a single year, and he led an automobile caravan to Florida from Indiana. At the south end of the Dixie Highway in Miami, Florida, Fisher saw another opportunity. Fisher, with the assistance of his partners John Graham McKay and Thomas Walkling, became involved in

7519-475: The north. In 1926, Fisher began working on a "Miami Beach of the North". His project at Montauk at the eastern tip of Long Island in New York was to provide a warm-season counterpart to the Florida development. Four associates and he purchased 9,000 acres (36 km ) and built a luxurious hotel, office building, marina, and attractions. One source stated that they built about "30 Tudor-style buildings, including

7622-459: The population of Miami Beach was still Jewish. During the 1980s many of the Jewish citizens left and moved to "Delray Beach, Lake Worth and Boca Raton". During the 1990s, South Beach transformed into a home of the fashion industry and celebrities. In 1999, there were only 10,000 Jewish people living in Miami Beach. Timeline of Miami Beach, Florida According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the city has

7725-478: The population of South Beach. To help revive the area, city planners and developers sought to bulldoze many of the aging art deco buildings that were built in the 1930s. By one count, the city had over 800 art deco buildings within its borders. In 1976, Barbara Baer Capitman and a group of fellow activists formed the Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL) to try to halt the destruction of

7828-474: The population of the beach in the late 1970s". In a 2017 interview, a demographer from the University of Miami estimated that there "might have been as many as 70,000 Jews in Miami Beach at one point" declining to "around 19,000 in 2014". The decline was motivated partly by "increasing prices during the art deco movement and an increase in crime and changing cultural demographics". In 1980 however, 62 percent of

7931-535: The present " Art Deco " historic district. Carl Fisher brought Steve Hannagan to Miami Beach in 1925 as his chief publicist. Hannagan set-up the Miami Beach News Bureau and notified news editors that they could "Print anything you want about Miami Beach; just make sure you get our name right." The News Bureau sent thousands of pictures of bathing beauties and press releases to columnists like Walter Winchell and Ed Sullivan. One of Hannagan's favorite venues

8034-406: The real-estate development of a largely unpopulated barrier island near Miami. They invested in land and dredging, promoted deed restrictions, and provided much-needed working capital to the earlier Lummus and Collins family pioneers to develop Miami Beach . For example, Fisher funded completion on the first bridge to link Miami to Miami Beach. The new Collins Bridge crossed Biscayne Bay directly at

8137-405: The sea walls, and the physical raising of road tarmac levels, as well as possible zoning and building code changes, which could eventually lead to retrofitting of existing and historic properties. Some streets and sidewalks were raised about 2.5 ft (0.76 m) over previous levels; the four initial pumps installed in 2014 are capable of pumping 4,000 US gallons per minute. However, this plan

8240-438: The season at the half-acre, outdoor Miami Beach SoundScape through the use of visual and audio technology on a 7,000 sq ft (650 m ) projection wall. Miami beach is also home to Miami New Drama , the resident theater company at the historic Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road. The regional theater company was founded in 2016 by Venezuelan playwright and director, Michel Hausmann , and playwright, director, and Medal of

8343-518: The simple dignity of the house. Unlike some of his friends and neighbors, Fisher built a large but simple house decorated primarily in yellow, his favorite color. It did not contain exotic woodwork, elaborate carvings, or extensive decoration. In 1928, after Fisher moved permanently to Miami Beach, the Fisher estate in Indianapolis was leased and later purchased by the Park School for Boys. The Fisher mansion

8446-466: The site and featured a 60-foot-long living room with a 6-foot-wide fireplace where logs burned all day. The house had twelve bedrooms and a huge glass-enclosed sun porch. Fisher built a house for his mother on the southern part of the estate. The estate also included a five-car garage, an indoor swimming pool, a polo course, a stable, an indoor tennis court and gymnasium, a greenhouse, and extensive gardens. A newspaper article dated February 2, 1913, described

8549-525: The southern terminus of the FEC, where he built the well-known and later infamous Royal Palm Hotel . In developing Miami Beach's potential for resort hotels, Fisher needed a transportation connection for the 5 miles (8.0 km) from the FEC railroad station in Miami. The solution he developed was the Miami Beach Railway, an electric street railway system that served the additional purpose of providing electric service. Other investors and he formed

8652-482: The terminus of the Dixie Highway. Cars were charged a toll to cross. Fisher is one of the best-known promoters of the Florida land boom of the 1920s, which inculcated racial deed restrictions into Florida culture for decades. Prior to the hurricane in September 1926 , he was worth an estimated $ 50-100 million depending on the source. This unforeseen storm reduced Miami Beach to rubble. Fisher's financial endeavors never fully recovered. His next major project, Montauk,

8755-518: The ‘80s and ‘90s. Among the celebrities that frequented Miami Beach were Madonna , Sylvester Stallone , Cher , Oprah Winfrey and Gianni Versace . Additional historic districts were created in 1992. The new districts covered Lincoln Road, Collins Avenue between 16th and 22nd Streets and the area around the Bass Museum . In 2005, the city began the process of protecting the mid-century buildings on Collins Avenue between 43rd to 53rd Streets including

8858-522: Was 12 years old to help support his family. For the next five years, Fisher held a number of jobs. He worked in a grocery and a bookstore, then later he sold newspapers, books, tobacco, candy, and other items on trains departing Indianapolis, a major railroad center not far from Greensburg. He opened a bicycle repair shop in 1891 with his two brothers. A successful entrepreneur , he expanded his business and became involved in bicycle racing and later, automobile racing . During his many promotional stunts, he

8961-476: Was 76.4% and 78.5% in fiscal year 2016/2017. Mayor Harold Rosen is credited with beginning the revitalization of Miami Beach when he notably abolished rent control in 1976, a move that was highly controversial at the time. The Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority is a seven-member board, appointed by the City of Miami Beach Commission. The authority, established in 1967 by the State of Florida legislature ,

9064-519: Was a billboard in Times Square, New York City, where he ran two taglines: "'It's always June in Miami Beach' and 'Miami Beach, Where Summer Spends the Winter.'" Anti-semitism was rampant in the 1920s and into the 30s. Developer Carl Fisher would sell property only to gentiles so Jews were required to live south of Fifth Street. As recently as the 1930s, hotels refused to accept Jews. As the 1930s developed,

9167-505: Was a principal in the building of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Lincoln Highway and Dixie Highway , two of the earliest paved roads across the United States. Fisher Automobile Company was sold to Gibson Automobile Company in 1911. Fisher re-incorporated a new Fisher Automobile Company in 1913, but little is known of its fate. Carl G. Fisher Carl Graham Fisher (January 12, 1874 – July 15, 1939)

9270-456: Was an American entrepreneur in the automotive industry, highway construction and real estate development. Carl G. Fisher was born in Greensburg on January 12, 1874. In his early life in Indiana, with family financial strains and a disability, Fisher became a bicycle enthusiast and opened a modest bicycle shop with his brothers. He became involved in bicycle racing, and many activities related to

9373-405: Was apparently slow to catch on to the vacation land and homes Fisher envisioned for Florida. His investments in Miami Beach were not paying off, at least not until he again used his promotional skills, which had worked so well years earlier in Indiana. Ever the innovative promoter, Fisher seemed tireless in his efforts to draw attention to Miami Beach, a story recounted by PBS . Fisher had acquired

9476-528: Was approached by the owner of a U.S. patent to manufacture acetylene headlights. Fisher's firm soon supplied nearly every headlamp used on automobiles in the United States, as manufacturing plants were built all over the country to supply the demand. The headlight patent made him rich as an automotive parts supplier and led to friendships with notable auto magnates. Fisher made millions when partner James A. Allison and he sold their Prest-O-Lite automobile headlamp business to Union Carbide . Fisher also entered

9579-642: Was called Ocean Beach, with only the Collins interests previously referred to as Miami Beach. In 1925, the Collins Bridge was replaced by the Venetian Causeway, described as "a series of drawbridges and renamed the Venetian Causeway ". Carl Fisher was the main promoter of Miami Beach's development in the 1920s as the site for wealthy industrialists from the north and Midwest to and build their winter homes here. Many other Northerners were targeted to vacation on

9682-468: Was damaged by fire in the 1950s and the rear portion of the house was demolished and replaced with a classroom wing during 1956–57. The property was sold to Marian College in the 1960s and combined with two nearby estates into one 110-acre (0.45 km ) campus. Today, none of Fisher's original buildings remain on the Marian College campus. In 1909, Fisher joined a group of Indianapolis businessmen in

9785-578: Was described as stress-relief relaxation rides. In 1919, as World War I was ending, the U.S. Army undertook its first transcontinental motor convoy along the Lincoln Highway. One of the young Army officers was Dwight David Eisenhower , then a lt. colonel, who credited the experience when supporting construction of the Interstate Highway System when he became President of the United States in 1952. Fisher next turned his attention to creating

9888-426: Was destroyed in the 1926 Miami Hurricane and never rebuilt. Miami Beach then initiated the planting of a coconut plantation along its shore in the 1880s, led by New Jersey entrepreneurs Ezra Osborn and Elnathan T. Field, but the venture failed. One of the investors in the project was agriculturist John S. Collins , who achieved success by buying out other partners and planting different crops, notably avocados, on

9991-546: Was envisioned as the "Miami Beach of the North." It was to be located at on the eastern tip of Long Island, New York. It was cut short by Fisher's losses in the Florida land-boom bust, the Great Depression of 1929, his divorce, and alcoholism. After his fortune was lost, he lived in a small cottage in Miami Beach, doing minor work for old friends. He took on one more project, the Caribbean Club on Key Largo , intended as

10094-478: Was expensive. Once a 1600-acre, jungle-matted sand bar three miles out in the Atlantic, it grew to 2,800 acres when dredging and filling operations were completed. With loans from the Lummus brothers, Collins had begun work on a 2½-mile-long wooden bridge, the world's longest wooden bridge at the time, to connect the island to the mainland. When funds ran dry and construction work stalled, Indianapolis millionaire and recent Miami transplant Fisher intervened, providing

10197-420: Was frequently injured on the dirt and gravel roadways, leading him to become one of the early developers of automotive safety features. A highly publicized stunt involved dropping a bicycle from the roof of the tallest building in Indianapolis, which brought on a confrontation with the police. In 1909, while 35 and engaged to his fiancée, Fisher met and married 15-year-old Jane Watts. His ex-fiancée sued him for

10300-424: Was halted and cancelled when only halfway completed. Undeterred, Fisher convinced the investors to install 3.2 million paving bricks, leading to the famous nickname "the brickyard". (This persists, though it has since been resurfaced.) The speedway reopened, and on Memorial Day , May 30, 1911, 80,000 spectators paid the $ 1 admission (and many thousands more unpaid in overlooking buildings and trees) and watched

10403-450: Was sand under the water...[sand] that could hold up a real estate sign. He made the dredge the national emblem of Florida. Howard Kleinburg, an author and Miami Beach historian described Fisher: If you look at Fisher's entire life, it's a marathon. It's a race. It was a race to achieve the top of whatever field he was in at the time. Everything he did he went into it with his heart, his soul, his money, and he would not stop until he reached

10506-609: Was the Biscayne House of Refuge, constructed in 1876 by the United States Life-Saving Service through an executive order issued by President Ulysses S. Grant , at approximately 72nd Street. Its purpose was to provide food, water, and a return to civilization for people who were shipwrecked. The structure, which had fallen into disuse by the time the Life-Saving Service became the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915,

10609-611: Was worth an estimated $ 50-100 million, depending on the source. He could have been financially secure for life. The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, alcoholism, and the Great Depression of 1929 set him back. Always ready for a new idea, Fisher was known for moving from project to project. Success or failure had never stopped him from attempting something new. In her 1947 book, his ex-wife Jane Watts Fisher quoted him as replying, when she had hoped that he would slow down at some point, "I don't have time to take time." Instead, he redirected his promotional efforts to yet another new project far to

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