1960's

School Integration

The landmark Brown v. Board of Education desegregation ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court came out in May 1954, but it wasn’t until 1959 that Miami-Dade County’s schools admitted the first group of African Americans to Orchard Villa Elementary School, which had been all white.  Seven-year-old Gary Range and three other black students broke barriers […]

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Miami Skaters

Over the years, from the ’60s through today, skateboarders in Miami have made impromptu ramps out of stairs, railings and Miami Marine Stadium.

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Record Stores

Not long ago, 45-inch singles and 12-inch LPs sporting beautiful artwork and superb liner notes were the norm. South Florida music fans would faithfully visit their favorite record stores to discover the next Pink Floyd and find rare, out-of-print treasures. South Florida still houses a few audiophile havens including Sweat Records, Yesterday and Today Records, […]

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Chilly Cheesecake

While a Miami Beach photographer shot pictures, the girls lolled on the sand in their swimsuits, smiled, decorated the lifeguard boat, smiled, read big black headlines in the New York papers about “Bitter Cold In Storm’s Wake” and “Deep Freeze Hangs On,” smiled and acted warm. Then they confessed. Said Adrienne Bourbeau: “Not that I’m […]

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Diners and delis

The last blue plate specials may have been served quite a while ago at some of these diners but they were beloved in their day.  Wolfie’s, a Miami Beach landmark for a half-century,  served a slew of famous — and infamous — patrons. Meyer Lansky, Muhammad Ali, Deion Sanders and Liza Minnelli enjoyed the overstuffed […]

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Elvis in Miami

Thousands of screaming, weeping teenagers mobbed the downtown Miami FEC station to welcome back the singer-turned-sergeant-turned civilian.

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Miami Marine Stadium

Miami Marine Stadium, an architectural gem on Biscayne Bay that opened in 1963 and closed in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew, was a popular venue for speedboat races and concerts. A long-running campaign to reopen it has raised millions of dollars.

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Dade County Youth Fair

Back in 1952, the Dade County Fair was a four-day event that featured mom-and-pop concession stands. Over the years, it grew into a much larger annual event including carnival rides.

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Muhammad Ali

Ferdie Pacheco – Ali’s longtime fight doctor and friend- once said, “Cassius Clay was born in Louisville, but Muhammad Ali was born in Miami.” Cassius Clay arrived in Miami in the winter of 1960, fresh from winning a gold medal at the Rome Olympics. He trained at the legendary Fifth Street Gym for his heavyweight […]

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Loop Road

Loop Road, cut in 1928, is 24 miles long, starting in western Miami-Dade County at the Tamiami Trail and winding westward through the Big Cypress Swamp. 

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