You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Guided by a visionary widow named Julia Tuttle, the city of Miami truly came into being in 1896 and has not stopped growing. Halfway through the last century, the apparent domination of land, population, and business by whites and--for decades--repressed African Americans became tested and balanced by the victims of the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Beyond that, hundreds of thousands of others from Spanish-speaking lands came to create what truly is an international metropolis. The chapters of Miami's existence are delineated by those legendary locals who came earliest; those who were the pioneers; those who established businesses that endured; those who were the builders and visionaries; those who served in politics; those who came from other places; those who created, built, and extended educational and arts opportunities; and those who embraced the placid environment and natural beauty of the "Magic City."
The first comprehensive architectural and cultural history of condominium and cooperative housing in twentieth-century America. Today, one in five homeowners in American cities and suburbs lives in a multifamily home rather than a single-family house. As the American dream evolves, precipitated by rising real estate prices and a renewed interest in urban living, many predict that condos will become the predominant form of housing in the twenty-first century. In this unprecedented study, Matthew Gordon Lasner explores the history of co-owned multifamily housing in the United States, from New York City’s first co-op, in 1881, to contemporary condominium and townhouse complexes coast to coast. Lasner explains the complicated social, economic, and political factors that have increased demand for this way of living, situating the trend within the larger housing market and broad shifts in residential architecture and family life. He contrasts the prevalence and popularity of condos, townhouses, and other privately governed communities with their ambiguous economic, legal, and social standing, as well as their striking absence from urban and architectural history.
A hurricane is a tropical storm with winds that have reached a constant speed of 74 miles per hour or more. Hurricane winds blow in a large spiral around a relative calm centre known as the "eye." The "eye" is generally 20 to 30 miles wide, and the storm may extend outward 400 miles. As a hurricane approaches, the skies will begin to darken and winds will grow in strength. As a hurricane nears land, it can bring torrential rains, high winds, and storm surges. A single hurricane can last for more than 2 weeks over open waters and can run a path across the entire length of the eastern seaboard. August and September are peak months during the hurricane season that lasts from 1 June to 30 November. This book presents the facts and history of hurricanes.
African Americans have risen from the slave plantations of nineteenth-century Florida to become the heads of corporations and members of Congress in the twenty-first century. They have played an important role in making Florida the successful state it is today. This book takes you on a tour, through the 67 counties, of the sites that commemorate the role of African Americans in Florida's history. If we can learn more about our past, both the good and the not-so-good, we can make better decisions in the future. Behind the hundreds of sites in this book are the courageous African Americans like Brevard County's Malissa Moore, who hosted many Saturday night dinners to raise money to build a church, and Miami-Dade's Gedar Walker, who built the first-rate Lyric Theater for black performers. And of course also featured are the more famous black Floridians like Zora Neale Hurston, Jackie Robinson, Mary McCleod Bethune, and Ray Charles.
From the early 1900s, when visitors reached the sparkling new bathing resort by ferry, to the heydey of Art Deco hotels in the 1930s and beyond, Miami Beach has cast its spell over millions of people and been transformed into a world-class travel destination. Sandy beaches, a balmy climate, a vibrant local community, and a distinctive architectural heritage certainly make Miami Beach a one-of-a-kind city.
In Saving South Beach, historic preservation clashes with development as each side vies for control of South Beach. A spectrum of characters are present, from Barbara Baer Capitman, the ailing middle-aged widow who became an evangelist for the Miami Beach Art Deco district, to Abe Resnick, the millionaire Holocaust survivor determined to stop her. From pioneers to volunteers, from Jewish retirees to Cuban exiles, from residents and business owners to developers and city leaders, each adds another piece to the puzzle, another view of the intense conflict that ensued. Although a number of the area's iconic buildings were demolished, the Miami Design Preservation League succeeded in entering almost half of the neighborhood into the National Register of Historic Places, kicking off a revitalization effort that spread throughout South Beach. Preservationist M. Barron Stofik lived in Miami during this turmoil-ridden period and, through hundreds of interviews and extensive investigation, weaves together dramatic themes of civic heroism, preservation, and cultural change in the passionate human story behind the pastel facades and neon lights.
In the brief 100 years since its inception, Miami, which began its life on the shores of the Miami River, has been transformed into an international city that continues to blossom under the warm South Florida sun. Home to just 30,000 pioneering souls in 1920, the greater Miami area has grown to be 2.1 million residents strong and boasts a unique heritage made up of grand hotels and skyscrapers, aviation and marine history, as well as famous people and places.
Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida early on Monday morning, August 24, 1992. Widely described as the worst natural disaster in modern U.S. history, the storm left 38 people dead in South Florida, 80,000 homes destroyed, and damage estimates of at least $20 billion. The area devastated by the hurricane was approximately three times the size of Manhattan. Almost 250,000 people were left homeless by Andrew—roughly the population of the entire city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Garbage generated by the storm in a single night was equal to the projected landfill for Dade County for the next thirty years. Hurricane Andrew, the Public Schools and the Rebuilding of Community addresses the experience of the Dade County Public Schools—its teachers and students, administrators and staff—during the first school year following the storm. In particular, it examines the role of the schools in helping people cope with a disaster of the magnitude of Hurricane Andrew, and more specifically, with their role in rebuilding community.
The story of developers selling off the Sunshine State is as old as the first railroad tracks laid across the peninsula. But seldom do we hear about the men who actually built a better Florida. In George Merrick, Son of the South Wind, South Florida historian Arva Moore Parks recounts George Merrick's quest to distinguish himself from the legions of developers who sought only profit. Helping to create the land boom of the 1920s, Merrick transformed his family's citrus grove just outside of Miami into one of the finest planned communities: the "master suburb" of Coral Gables. With a team of architects and city planners, he built homes for the growing middle class in the Mediterranean Style us...