North Miami Beach (commonly referred to asNMB) is a city inMiami-Dade County, Florida, United States. TheCity of North Miami Beach is part of theMiami metropolitan area ofSouth Florida. Originally named "Fulford-by-the-Sea" in 1926, after Captain William H. Fulford of theU.S. Coast Guard, the city was renamed "North Miami Beach" in 1931. The population was 43,676 at the 2020 US census.[5]
The first non-indigenoussettlement wasplatted in 1881, and was calledFulford-By-The-Sea.[2]
In the 1920s,Carl G. Fisher built an all-wooden racetrack with stands for 12,000 spectators, known as theFulford–Miami Speedway. This event, held on February 22, 1926, dubbed the Carl G. Fisher Cup Race, was a forerunner to the auto races atSebring andDaytona. In September 1926, after just one race, the track was destroyed by the1926 Miami hurricane.[8]
The hurricane of 1926 essentially ended theSouth Florida real estate boom, and in an effort to alleviate their losses and the damage to the city, local residents came together as theTown of Fulford. In 1927, it was incorporated as theCity of Fulford.[9]
U.S. Route 1 (Biscayne Boulevard) runs through the east side of the city, leading south 11 miles (18 km) todowntown Miami and north 14 miles (23 km) toFort Lauderdale.Interstate 95 runs along the northwest border of the city, with access from Exit 12.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.37 square miles (13.9 km2). 4.4 square miles (11 km2) of it are land and 0.53 square miles (1.4 km2) of it (9.78%) are water.[4]
Although the North Miami Beach boundaries once stretched to the Atlantic Ocean, the city no longer has any beaches within its limits. They are now a short distance away, within the city of Sunny Isles Beach across the Intracoastal Waterway.
North Miami Beach city, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of 2000, 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 44.3% were married couples living together, 19.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.44.
As of thecensus of 2000, there were 40,786 people, 13,987 households, and 9,804 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 3,174.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (8,223/sq mi). There were 15,350 housing units at an average density of 1,194.9 per square kilometre (3,095/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 46.68%White (24.8% wereNon-Hispanic White),[20] 38.97%African American, 0.29%Native American, 4.04%Asian, 0.07%Pacific Islander, 4.61% fromother races, and 5.34% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 30.02% of the population.
As of 2000, there were 13,987 households out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% weremarried couples living together, 19.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.44.
In 2000, the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $31,377, and the median income for a family was $35,047. Males had a median income of $26,278 versus $22,110 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $14,699. About 18.4% of families and 20.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2000, North Miami Beach had the fourth highest percentage ofHaitian residents in the US, with 19.9% of the US populace.[22] It had the forty-seventh highest percentage ofColombian residents in the US, at 2.83% of the city's population,[23] and the sixty-seventh highest percentage ofCuban residents in the US, at 4.92% of the city's population.[24] It also had the sixtieth mostDominicans in the US, at 2.39% (tied withVirginia Gardens,)[25] while it had the twenty-ninth highest percentage ofBahamians (tied withMunford, Alabama,) at 1.1% of all residents.[26] North Miami Beach'sJamaican community had the twenty-first highest percentage of residents, which was at 5.5% of all residents.[22] It's also home to the twenty-eighth highest percentage ofPeruvian residents in the US, at 1.8% of the population (tied withRichmond West.)[27]
Despite Asians making up only 3.41% of North Miami Beach's population as of 2020, the city's main commercial artery along NE 167th street converging into North Miami Beach Boulevard and then becoming 163rd street, has taken the unofficial name of "Chinatown" due to the large concentration of Asian owned and operated businesses in the area. The area has been referred to unofficially as "Chinatown" since the early 1990s by both locals and North Miami Beach city officials. As of late, even Miami-Dade County officials have begun to reference the area as Chinatown. Local guides and Miami websites have called 163rd street Miami's unofficial Chinatown.
North Miami Beach's has a historic 12th centurymedieval Spanishmonastery, theSt. Bernard de Clairvaux Church. This stone building around a patio, the cloisters of the Monastery of St. Bernard de Clairvaux, was built inSacramenia,Segovia, Spain in the 12th century. It was purchased byWilliam Randolph Hearst in the 1920s, dismantled and shipped to the United States, and reassembled after Hearst's death in North Miami Beach in the 1950s. It is atourism attraction and a popular spot forweddings.
In 1966, a major accomplishment was the completion of the tennis complex and two community centers, Victory Park and Uleta Community Center.
In 1968, the Washington Park Community Center[28] was built, and the Allen Park Youth Center[29] was completed in 1973.
North Miami Beach expanded its parks in the 1980s as a result of the city commission making strides to benefit the community.
The city now has the Judge Arthur I. Snyder Tennis Center. It includes twelve lighted clay Hydrogrid tennis courts, six lighted lay-kold hard tennis courts, four racquetball courts, and two paddleball courts. The center also has a clubhouse and pro-shop, a picnic area, and lounge and shower facilities.[30]
North Miami Beach is governed by a commission-manager system[31] in the form of a Mayor, Commission, and a professional City Manager. In this type of a government, commission members are the leaders and policy makers in the community. This form of government was implemented in 1958, after a new charter was voted on.[9]
The mayor is elected citywide and serves up to two consecutive two-year terms.[32]
There is an elected mayor and six-member city commission, with the city manager, city clerk, and city attorney being appointed positions that are responsible for implementing the policies of the city commission.[32]
In 1993, in an effort to promote neighborhood stability throughout the city, North Miami Beach built a state-of-the-art police station and redeveloped infrastructure in the Government Center neighborhood.
The bond program Proud Neighborhoods took place in September 2000 and had 67 different projects. This allowed for the improvement of streets, sidewalks, lighting and landscaping in every neighborhood of the city. It took five years but it brought substantial improvements.
North Miami Beach Public Library (NMB Library), also referred to as the Lafe Allen Public Library, is a 23,000 square foot facility located at 1601 NE 164th Street in North Miami Beach, Florida. The library's collection currently contains over 60,000 items, including both fiction and non-fiction materials, DVDs, audio books, compact discs, newspapers, magazines, and foreign language materials. Digital services include access to e-materials and reference resources, such as Florida Electronic Library, Newsbank, Reference USA, World Book, NoveList Plus, and more.[37]
In 1959, the North Miami Beach Library was initially opened inside of a storefront on NE 163rd Street as a branch of the Miami-Dade Public Library System (then known as the City of Miami Library system). This location was relocated and expanded to two storefronts at the corner of NE 19th Avenue and NE 169th Street the following year.[38] In 1961, however, the city ended its attachment with the City of Miami Library system and became an independent library. During this time, the library was merely a staff of two. The staff had a minor budget of 25,000 to build the collection for the library. After residents of the City of North Miami Beach voted to build a permanent location for the library in 1964, a new building was constructed on 164th Street and opened in 1965. Renovations to this facility in 1981 and 1994 grew the branch from its original 10,000 square feet to make room for the library's expanding collection. The last reservation took place in 1994 and granted the facility its current dimensions at over 23,000 square feet.
The NMB Library offers a variety of services to the residents of North Miami Beach, such as access to study and meeting rooms, employment resources, early literacy programs, voter registration forms, citizenship materials, and passport assistance. Computers, printers, copiers, scanners, and fax machine services are also available. The library's dedicated teen area, known as the Discovery District, is a space specifically designed to provide library patrons aged 13–19 with a place to read, study, or work on school projects.[39] Access to computers, 3D printers, virtual reality, and zSpace for educational and recreational purposes is also provided.
^Bramson, Seth.From Farms and Fields to the Future: The Incredible History of North Miami Beach.Arcadia Publishing, June 1, 2012.ISBN1614236410, 9781614236412.Google Books PT125. "[...] and then on to North Miami Beach Senior High,[...] or Dr. Michael Krop Senior High,[...] to complete their secondary educations. (Prior to the opening of NMB and Krop, North Miami Beach's high school-age students went to North Miami or Norland High Schools.)"