https://youtu.be/HfJhD-7tlhc   On a fall morning in 1959, four years after the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down the “separate but equal” doctrine and ruled segregated education unconstitutional, Dade County schools took the first steps toward integration. The county admitted seven-year-old Gary Range and three other African American students to Orchard Villa Elementary School Read More...

Ah, who can forget roller skating in Miami! Remember when you skated through your neighborhood on a sunny afternoon or grooved to the music on the roller rink dance floor? Get ready to lace up your skates to roll back in time in this edition of Learning from Miami featuring a roller skating spectacular from Miami’s past Read More...

  Do you remember going to your first show at the Miami Arena? Many of us who grew up in Miami have fond memories of that pastel pink amphitheater in Downtown with its name scribbled in white cursive letters across the front of the building. We had a totally awesome time at the Miami Arena, whether we were rocking out to our first concert there, or cheering for our favorite team at our first sporting event Read More...

Historic Fort Dallas park was designated a city park in 1983. Currently it is abandoned, fenced off, and in need of a major renovation. The Miami River Commission is urging City of Miami officials to reopen the city-owned park, located at 60-64 SE Fourth Street. Fort Dallas houses several major historic buildings on its property Read More...

Upscale dining halls are shopping mall food court’s younger, hipper cousin, and they are popping up all over South Florida. Shopping centers such as Brickell City Centre and Aventura Mall have recently opened their own upscale dining halls. Very soon, downtown Miami will join the upscale food court trend when the former Miami Center for Architecture & Design (MCAD) building (310 SE 1st St Read More...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIrhoSfbmA0 As 2018 comes to a close, building developments continue to rise in downtown Miami. New structures are breaking ground in 2019, changing the way we live and travel, while linking us to the past. BRIGHTLINE It’s been less than a year since Brightline launched its passenger train service here in South Florida and big changes are underway Read More...

Actor Burt Reynolds passed away on September 6, 2018 at 82 years old. He was well known for his roles in films such as “Deliverance” and “Smokey and the Bandit.” Reynolds was also a Florida native who founded one of the most famous cultural centers in South Florida, the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre Read More...

  [caption id="attachment_3608" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Burdines building looking east along Flagler Street from the intersection with Miami Avenue. Photo courtesy of the State Library and Archives of Florida.[/caption] Before the era of mega malls, there were department stores.  One of the most memorable local department stores in Florida was Burdines Read More...

   Spring Bayou.  Photo courtesy of the State Archives of Florida. Tarpon Springs is a quaint little fishing village named after a type of fish that thrived around the waters of the city in the late 19th century. This small town is located on the Anclote River less than a mile from the Gulf of Mexico, is famous as the "sponge capital of the world," and is known for its delectable seafood Read More...