South Miami, Florida | |
|---|---|
| City of South Miami | |
 | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: SoMi | |
| Motto: The City of Pleasant Living | |
 Location inMiami-Dade County and the state ofFlorida | |
 U.S. Census Bureau map showing city limits | |
| Coordinates:25°42′29″N80°17′43″W / 25.70806°N 80.29528°W /25.70806; -80.29528 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Miami-Dade |
| Settled | 1897 |
| Incorporated | June 24, 1927 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.31 sq mi (5.98 km2) |
| • Land | 2.27 sq mi (5.87 km2) |
| • Water | 0.042 sq mi (0.11 km2) |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 12,026 |
| • Density | 5,304.5/sq mi (2,048.07/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 33143, 33155 (Miami) |
| Area codes | 305,786,645 |
| FIPS code | 12-67550[4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 2405491[2] |
| Website | www |
South Miami is acity inMiami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of theMiami metropolitan area ofSouth Florida. The population was 12,026 as of the2020 census.[3]
South Florida had been roamed by Native Americans (Tequesta,Calusa, andJaega), probably for centuries, before white pioneers advanced through Little Hunting Ground (later known asMiami'sCoconut Grove neighborhood) to Big Hunting Ground (now known as theCutler neighborhood ofPalmetto Bay).[5]
Wilson Alexander Larkins (1860–1946) was 36 years old when he, his wife (Katie Estelle Burtashaw) and five children, and their livestock arrived in Fort Dallas (now theLummus Park Historic District of Miami) in 1896. He purchased property west of Red Road and Sunset Drive, where he built a home and barn. He also built the first general store east of that area in 1898 at what is known today as Cartagena Plaza or Cocoplum Circle[6] (actually inCoral Gables). As the community grew, he established a post office in the community. Larkins became the first postmaster, a role he held for sixteen years;[7] he named the area "Manila", but the majority of the settlers, who began building homes around his store, preferred the name of "Larkins" in his honor.[8]
A depot was placed along theFlorida East Coast Railway in 1904, and in the same year, John Moses Dowling built the first house within what is now South Miami city limits. His son-in-law opened the first store on the west side of the tracks, called the White Palace Grocery.[8]
Other prominent historic families have historic buildings and streets named for them, such as Dorn Avenue (Southwest 59th Avenue) and the Shelley Building, among others.[6] Harold W. Dorn and his brother Robert moved to the area in 1910; their primary interest was growingmango andavocado.[9][10] Mary E. Dorn was the first president of the Cocoplum Thimble Club, the firstWomen's club in Larkins.[8] In 1925, the Dorn brothers built the Riviera Theatre at 5700South Dixie Highway; in 1934, Charles T. Fuchs moved his Holsum Bakery from Homestead to South Miami and turned the Riviera Theatre Building into a bakery.
The first African-American to purchase land in the Larkins area was Marshall Williamson, who moved there fromMadison, Florida. He built his home at 6500 SW 60th Avenue and allowed it to be used for church services even before the construction was completed. In 1916, he donated land for the St. John's AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church, one of Larkins' first churches and the first church in the black community; it is located at 6461 SW 59th Place. Later, Williamson also donated land for theJ. R. E. Lee School. Because of his generosity, the black neighborhood became known as Madison Square, after Williamson's hometown. Williamson died in 1972. Named after him is Marshall Williamson Park, at 6125 SW 68 Street.[11][12]
In 1926, area residents wanted to incorporate their area, and because of the booming city to the north of them, they chose the name of "Town of South Miami". The original town boundaries were Red Road on the east, Kendall Drive to the south, Palmetto Road to the west (nowPalmetto Expressway), and Bird Road and Miller Drive to the north. The year 1926 also saw the firststreet lighting and the first incoming class of freshmen at the newly charteredUniversity of Miami campus, which abuts the city of South Miami eastern boundary along Red Road (SW 57th Avenue). Also founded with a university theme that same year was theCambridge Lawns neighborhood of South Miami, situated just 0.7 miles (1.1 km) from the university campus. The neighborhood's Cambridge Lawns Historic District, some 30 homes in the Tudor Revival and Mediterranean revival style completed in 1928, were granted historic recognition by the City of South Miami in 2005.
Also in 1926, South Miami received extensive damage from the1926 Miami hurricane. The town's leaders asked Congress to "relieve the people of their income tax for the current year," but federal assistance was not forthcoming.[5] The Florida East Coast Railway station burned down, leaving the town without a station for many years. Residents suffered storm damage again fromHurricane Andrew in 1992 and fromHurricane Bonnie (1998).
On June 25, 1927, W. A. Forster was sworn in as South Miami's first mayor.[13]
In 1933, the original six square miles of South Miami were reduced to just over three miles (5 km) due to an effort to reduce municipal responsibilities. The city's size was reduced again in 1937, and many of the northern city residents sued to get out of the city. This is why the city of South Miami has the most irregular boundaries of any city inMiami-Dade County today.
Of mid-century South Miami, local historian Donna Shelley writes:
In the mid-1950s, South Miami was at the crossroads between town and country. It was where you could buy hay for your horse and a tux for a social event. The economy was booming postWorld War II: a bank was established, the First National Bank of South Miami, new buildings were constructed, a hospital established (South Miami Hospital) and the community prospered. The Holsum Baking Company, which moved to South Miami fromHomestead in the 1930s was an important contributor to South Miami's growth. Many long-time residents recall waking up to the olfactory stimulation of bread being baked at the Holsum bakery on the corner of Sunset Drive and Red Road.[6]
Construction of the current City Hall building was approved by referendum in 1955. Designed by architect Henry George Fink, the governmental seat on Sunset Drive was dedicated in October 1956 by Mayor Paul U. Tevis.
Jack Block was elected mayor of the city in 1968, and was thereafter re-elected every two years until 1984 when, as he told interviewer Gregory W. Bush, "I started to not enjoy it as much."[14] In that interview, for theUniversity of Miami Oral History Program, he gave snapshots of South Miami history when he told Bush (a history professor at the University of Miami),
I moved here March 6, 1956, and lived in the same house. I love this city. There are times you get aggravated with what is going on. It's a friendly community. Do you remember when they had the riots down inOvertown back atNixon's first inauguration. They had theConvention down here. Everywhere in town there were riots going on. In the city of South Miami we had a bigbarbeque which was held in the black area in one of the black parks. Where theJaycees and myself, I cookedribs all night long, and all the white people were there serving the black community. And we had no problems. When there were police problems the black community would get hold of me and tell me, "There's a car load of people coming in fromCoconut Grove," and we could tell the police. That's the way this community is. It's a close-knit community. Black people living with white, you don't get that anywhere else.[14]
In 1990, Catherine (Rutherford) McCann (1933–2009) was elected as South Miami's first female Mayor, and was re-elected in 1992. She was responsible for the clean-up of South Miami after Hurricane Andrew; theMiami Herald wrote, "She had an encyclopedic knowledge of the South Miami city charter. She pushed for affordable housing and responsible development."[15]
In 2000, South Miami joined other municipalities in the country in forming city partnerships to help foster cultural and economic development between cities around the world. South Miami is a member ofSister Cities International and formed relationships with the cities of Grand Turk inTurks and Caicos Islands andBasseterre inSaint Kitts and Nevis.
According to reporting bySOMI magazine, a local publication, during early October 2018, "[o]n August 21, 2018, in the City of South Miami Commission Chambers the forging of a 'Sister-City' between the City of South Miami, Florida, and theMunicipio de Medellin, Colombia, was formalized."[16]
South Miami is bordered to the east by the city ofCoral Gables, to the south by the town ofPinecrest, to the west by unincorporatedGlenvar Heights, and to the north by unincorporatedCoral Terrace.U.S. Route 1 (South Dixie Highway) passes through the city, leading northeast 8 miles (13 km) toDowntown Miami and southwest 20 miles (32 km) toHomestead.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, South Miami has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2), of which 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2), or 1.78%, are water.[1]
Coral Gables
Coral Gables, UnincorporatedMiami-Dade County
Coral Gables| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 1,160 | — | |
| 1940 | 2,408 | 107.6% | |
| 1950 | 4,809 | 99.7% | |
| 1960 | 9,846 | 104.7% | |
| 1970 | 11,780 | 19.6% | |
| 1980 | 10,895 | −7.5% | |
| 1990 | 10,404 | −4.5% | |
| 2000 | 10,741 | 3.2% | |
| 2010 | 11,657 | 8.5% | |
| 2020 | 12,026 | 3.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[17] | |||
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 3,466 | 28.82% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 1,424 | 11.84% |
| Native American orAlaska Native (NH) | 6 | 0.05% |
| Asian (NH) | 493 | 4.10% |
| Pacific Islander orNative Hawaiian (NH) | 1 | 0.01% |
| Some other race (NH) | 96 | 0.80% |
| Two or more races/Multiracial (NH) | 327 | 2.72% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 6,213 | 51.66% |
| Total | 12,026 | 100.00% |
As of the2020 U.S. census, there were 12,026 people, 4,329 households, and 2,533 families residing in the city.[19]
| South Miami Demographics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 census | South Miami | Miami-Dade County | Florida |
| Total population | 11,657 | 2,496,435 | 18,801,310 |
| Population, percent change, 2000 to 2010 | +8.5% | +10.8% | +17.6% |
| Population density | 5,137.6/sq mi | 1,315.5/sq mi | 350.6/sq mi |
| White or Caucasian (includingWhite Hispanic) | 75.1% | 73.8% | 75.0% |
| (Non-Hispanic White or Caucasian) | 35.4% | 15.4% | 57.9% |
| Black or African-American | 17.0% | 18.9% | 16.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | 43.1% | 65.0% | 22.5% |
| Asian | 3.9% | 1.5% | 2.4% |
| Native American orNative Alaskan | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Pacific Islander orNative Hawaiian | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Two or more races (Multiracial) | 2.0% | 2.4% | 2.5% |
| Some Other Race | 1.7% | 3.2% | 3.6% |
As of the2010 U.S. census, there were 11,657 people, 4,127 households, and 2,596 families residing in the city.[20]
In 2000, 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.15.
In 2000, the city population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $42,488, and the median income for a family was $57,791. Males had a median income of $37,250 versus $29,772 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $24,526. About 8.9% of families and 17.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2000, speakers ofEnglish as afirst language accounted for 59.69% of residents, whileSpanish speakers consisted of 37.45%, and speakers ofFrench made up 1.26% of the population.[21]
The South Miami business community is served by Chamber South with offices at 6410 S.W. 80 Street in South Miami, and by the Red Sunset Merchants Association of South Miami.
The Consulate-General of Mexico in Miami is located on the ground floor of the office building located at 5975 Southwest 72nd Street (Sunset Drive) in South Miami.[22] Tech/automotive ecommerce startup company PartsHawk[23] occupies the top floor of the same building.
The nine-acre property site of theHolsum Bakery was for decades afterward known as theBakery Center to the local residents, and various businesses came and went on that site long after Holsum was gone.
A large complex called, in fact, theBakery Center, a $35 million project, was proposed in 1982. It was built and opened in 1985, but it was not popular and was demolished in 1996.[24] South Miami residents complained about the architecture, which seemed closed from pedestrians, elitist, and far too tall for a town that liked small, homey buildings andmom-and-pop shops. (Historian Donna Shelley wrote an essay about it entitled "From Baking Dough, To Spending Dough, To Losing Dough";[24]The New York Times wrote in 1996 that "few retail projects failed as badly as the Bakery Center".[25]) Perhaps the one admired feature was on the outside: an enormous mural byRichard Haas.[26] The investors were never able to find enough small businesses to rent all available spaces in the monolithic building. The consistently successful business, anIMAX theater, was undervalued and closed.[24]
In the 1990s, a largeshopping mall calledThe Shops at Sunset Place was built on the site a retail/entertainment center with a wide, welcoming entrance. The mall had many anchor stores, a mega-plex movie site with 24 movie theaters, and restaurants but several of these places have closed. Food is available from restaurants (such as sidewalkcrêpe makers), and it is a popular teenage hangout.
The mall has its detractors. Gabriel Lopez-Bernal, anurban planner praised by theMiami New Times for his blogging on "civic discourse",[27] wrote: "Unlike its predecessor, Sunset Place was designed to be an open-aired Mediterranean community, incorporating former mall aspects like big boxed anchor tenants with street-level restaurants, faux cityscapes, and even a few residential units. The center was originally envisioned to be an entertainment center, but the quick failure of some of the theme restaurants and IMAX Theater, quickly changed intended target use. Since its inception, the mall has struggled to maintain a strong and lasting business base."[28]
In 2015, The Shops at Sunset Place was acquired for $110.2 million by the joint venture of Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT), Coconut Grove-based Grass River Property, and Miami Beach-based Comras Co.[29] The mall is, thus, under new management[30] and has been seeking to redevelop the site with plans for a new hotel and other improvements.
South Miami is served byMetrobus throughout the area, and by theMiami Metrorail, connecting the city toDowntown Kendall,Downtown Miami, and theMiami Intermodal Center atMiami International Airport. Metrorail is available at:
The city provides a free shuttle service with nine designated stops on a two-mile loop within the city's Downtown area during specified hours on Tuesdays to Saturdays (no service on Sundays and Mondays).[31]
The city has numerous parks and a vibrant downtown filled with historic buildings, restaurants and unique shops.[32] Much of South Miami stretches down U.S. 1, along which it features a wide variety of retail stores and restaurants on long-owned real estate or in newershopping plazas. The South Miami Branch library of theMiami-Dade Public Library System is open 6 days a week and offers a largechildren's room, as well as (for a small branch) an extensive collection of DVDs andlarge-print books.
South Miami has a number of parks, including:
In 2017, the City of South Miami adopted a Parks and Recreation Master Plan which is a long-range planning document that is meant to help shape the direction, development and delivery of the city's parks and recreation system over an 8- to 10-year period from adoption.[36] According to the City of South Miami's website, "[t]he purpose of this plan is to advance the mission and vision of the Parks and Recreation Department to further the establishment of a high quality parks system and maximize the effectiveness of the department and its resources."[36]
South Miami is served by theMiami market for local radio and television. Three newspapers in South Miami include the hyperlocalSouth Miami News, which is part of the Community Newspapers chain, theMiami Herald, which publishes a weekly zoned "Neighbors" section serving South Miami and adjacent communities, and the weeklyMiami New Times. Long-time South Miami resident John Edward Smith (image marketing and business development consultant) publishesSOMI Magazine every two months, whose "About SOMI" web page states "balances hometown interest while promoting the many businesses located in the South Miami Town Center."[37]
South Miami has a diverse offering in its restaurants. Dara Smith and Olee Fowler wrote in January 2020, "Not historically top of mind as one of the city's major food destinations, South Miami's culinary scene is slowly taking shape. From fine dining to fast casual, [there are] can't miss food and drink spots."[38] There are many Japanese restaurants withsushi bars. Italian, American and Cuban restaurants are also easy to find.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools serves South Miami.
South Miami is also home to theMiami Conservatory (now known as the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet[42]). Founded in 1949, it is Miami's oldest and best knownballet school.
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South Miami uses a City Manager form of government. The Commission sets the policies and the City Manager acts as the chief executive officer. Commissioners are elected to four-year terms and the Mayor is elected to a two-year term. The Mayor is the Chair of the City Commission meetings.
South Miami City Government as of November 2022 includes:
Javier E. Fernandez 2,833
Horace G. Feliu 1,652
Steve Calle 2,126
Luis Joseph Gil 2,026
Lisa Bonich 2,230
Michelle Readon 2,025
Amend Charter Required Commission Meetings
Yes 2,518
No 1,833
Amend Charter Four-Year Term City Mayor
Yes 2,167
No 2,278
Amend Charter City Ofc/Dept Internal Fund Transfer
Yes 2,670
No 1,603
Amend Charter Installation Elected Official
Yes 3,444
No 862
Lisa Bonich was appointed as the Vice Mayor until the next City elections.
South Miami Hospital, located at 62nd Avenue (Paul Tevis Road) andU.S. Route 1, opened in 1960 as a 100-bed hospital and currently serves 467 beds. It is one of seven hospitals in the Baptist Health South Florida system. The hospital was recognized as aMagnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence in 2004 and again in 2008, by theAmerican Nurses Credentialing Center.[43] It was also on Solucient's list of top 100 hospitals in the country and earned the Florida Governor's Sterling Award in 2010.[44] It was named the No. 1 hospital in South Florida byU.S. News & World Report in 2012, and ranked No. 42 in the country ingeriatrics and No. 47 inorthopedics.[45] The Hospital features anaddiction treatment program, acardiac catheterization lab, adiabetes program and a fulloncology department as well as the center forRobotic Surgery, the Center for Women and Infants, South Miami Heart Center and a Level IIINeonatal Intensive Care Unit.[43] The Hospital earned $35.5 million in 2012.[46]
Municipalities and communities ofMiami-Dade County, Florida,United States | ||
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| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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| National | |
