Miami ( or ) is a major coastal city in southeastern
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
, in the United States. Miami is the
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of
Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the county population was 2,387,170 in 2007, making it the most populous county in Florida and the ninth most populous county in the United States...
, the most populous county in Florida. With an estimated population of 424,662 in 2007, Miami is the largest city within the
Miami metropolitan areaSouth Florida, or more officially the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Area, encompasses a three-county area of the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The metropolitan area covers the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. The three counties are the three most...
, which is the seventh-largest metro area in the United States with over 5.4 million residents. The Miami Urbanized Area (as defined by the Census Bureau) was the fifth most populous urbanized area in the U.S. in the 2000 census with a population of 4,919,036. The
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
estimated that in 2007, Miami had become the fourth largest urbanized area in the United States, behind
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
,
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
, and
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
.
Miami is recognized as a
global cityA global city is a city deemed to be an important node point in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a...
because of its importance in
financeFinance is the science of funds management. The general areas of finance are business finance, personal finance, and public finance. Finance includes saving money and often includes lending money. The field of finance deals with the concepts of time, money and risk and how they are interrelated...
,
commerceCommerce is a division of trade or production which deals with the exchange of goods and services from producer to final consumer. It comprises the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information, or money between two or more entities...
, media,
entertainmentAn entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.Entertainment is typically passive - as in watching opera or a movie. Activities which involve participating in games or sports are more often considered to be recreation...
,
artsThe arts is a broad subdivision of culture, composed of many expressive disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts...
and
international tradeInternational trade is exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, it represents a significant share of gross domestic product . While international trade has been present throughout much of history , its economic, social, and political...
. The city is home to many company headquarters, banks, and television studios. It is an international center for popular entertainment in television, music, fashion, film, and the
performing artsThe performing arts are those forms of art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
. The city's Port of Miami is known for accommodating the largest volume of cruise ships in the world and is home to many
cruise lineA cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...
headquarters. Miami is also home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States.
Since 2001, Miami has been undergoing a large building
boomManhattanization is a neologism coined to describe the construction of many tall or densely situated buildings which transforms the appearance and character of a city. It was a pejorative word used by critics of the highrise buildings built in San Francisco during the 1960s and 1970s, who claimed...
with more than 50
skyscraperA skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition or height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper...
s rising over built or currently under construction in the city.
Miami's skyline is ranked third most impressive in the U.S., behind
New York City and
Chicago, and 18th in the world according to the Almanac of Architecture and Design. Its growth has made it the ninth tallest skyline in the United States and 25th tallest in the world. The city currently has the eight tallest (as well as thirteen of the fourteen tallest) skyscrapers in the state of Florida, with the tallest being the
Four Seasons Hotel & TowerThe Four Seasons Hotel and Tower, also known as the Four Seasons Hotel Miami or simply the Four Seasons Tower, is a skyscraper in Miami, Florida. The tower contains a Four Seasons Hotel, office space and several residential condominium units on the upper floors. Rising of 789 feet and 64 floors,...
.
In 2008, Miami was ranked as "America's Cleanest City" according to Forbes Magazine for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets and city-wide recycling programs. In a 2009
UBSUBS AG is a diversified global financial services company, with its main headquarters in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland. It is the world's largest manager of private wealth assets, "the world's biggest manager of other people's money" and is also the second-largest bank in Europe, by both market...
study of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States (of four U. S. cities included in the survey) and the world's fifth-richest city, in terms of
purchasing powerPurchasing power is the number of goods/services that can be purchased with a unit of currency. For example, if you had taken one dollar to a store in the 1950s, you would have been able to buy a greater number of items than you would today, indicating that you would have had a greater purchasing...
.
History
The Miami area was first inhabited for more than one thousand years by the
Tequestahi your butt is showing!The Tequesta Native American tribe, at the time of first European contact, occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida...
s, but was later claimed for
SpainThe Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in world history, and one of the first global empires. It included territories and colonies in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, from the 15th century through—in the case of its African holdings—the latter portion of the 20th century...
in 1566 by
Pedro Menéndez de AvilésPedro Menéndez de Avilés was a sixteenth century Spanish admiral and pirate hunter. He is best remembered for his foundinggvkeogjnie0syhgw4s5ilpeaik,\wsketljfkjknse3k.tz;gdxpjik,\wskrema.zg;fkjding of St...
. A Spanish
missionA religious Mission or Mission station is a location for missionary work.While primarily a Christian term, the concept of the religious "Mission" is also used prominently by the Church of Scientology and their Scientology Missions International....
was constructed one year later in 1567. In 1836,
Fort DallasFort Dallas is a ghost town that was located on the banks of the Miami River in what is now Downtown Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.-History:Old Fort Dallas was established on the plantation of Richard Fitzpatrick in 1836 as an U.S...
was built, and the Miami area subsequently became a site of fighting during the Second Seminole War.
Miami holds the distinction of being the only major city in the United States founded by a woman,
Julia TuttleJulia DeForest Tuttle, was an entrepreneur, citrus farmer and businesswoman who was largely responsible for, and the original owner of, the land upon which the city of Miami, Florida, was built...
, who was a local
citrusCitrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world. The most well known examples are the orange, the lemon, the grapefruit, and the lime. The Latin word citrus was borrowed from ancient Greek kedros...
grower and a wealthy
ClevelandCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border...
native. The Miami area was better known as "Biscayne Bay Country" in the early years of its growth. Some published reports described the area as a promising wilderness. The area was also characterized as "one of the finest building sites in Florida." The
Great FreezeThe Great Freeze refers to the winter of 1894-1895, especially in Florida where the brutally cold weather destroyed much of the nation's citrus crop....
of 1894-1895 hastened Miami's growth, as the crops of the Miami area were the only ones in Florida that survived. Julia Tuttle subsequently convinced Henry Flagler, a railroad tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railroad to the region. Miami was officially incorporated as a city on July 28, 1896 with a population of just over 300.
Miami prospered during the 1920s with an increase in population and infrastructure but weakened after the collapse of the
Florida land boom of the 1920sThe Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble, which burst in 1925, leaving behind entire new cities and the remains of failed development projects such as Isola di Lolando in north Biscayne Bay. The preceding land boom shaped Florida's future for decades and created...
, the
1926 Miami HurricaneThe 1926 Miami Hurricane was an intense hurricane that devastated Miami, Florida in September 1926. The storm also caused significant damage in the Florida Panhandle, the U.S. state of Alabama, and the Bahamas...
and the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
in the 1930s. When World War II began, Miami, well-situated due to its location on the southern coast of Florida, played an important role in the battle against
German submarinesU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
. The war helped to expand Miami's population; by 1940, 172,172 people lived in the city. After
Fidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician, one of the primary leaders of the Cuban Revolution, the Prime Minister of Cuba from February 1959 to December 1976, and then the President of the Council of State of Cuba until his resignation from the office in February 2008...
rose to power in 1959, many
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
ns sought refuge in Miami, further increasing the population. In the 1980s and 1990s, various crises struck South Florida, among them the
Arthur McDuffieArthur McDuffie , an African American, whose death at the hands of five white Miami-Dade police officers, and the officers' subsequent acquittals, caused one of the worst race riots in United States history.- About McDuffie :...
beating and the subsequent riot, drug wars,
Hurricane AndrewHurricane Andrew was the last and third most powerful of three Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the United States during the 20th century, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew caused 65 deaths....
, and the
Elián GonzálezThe custody and immigration status of a young Cuban boy, Elián González , was at the center of a heated controversy in 2000 involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, his father, his Miami and Cuban relatives, and the Cuban-American community of Miami...
uproar. Nevertheless, in the latter half of the 20th century, Miami became a major international, financial, and cultural center.
Miami and its metropolitan area grew from just over one thousand residents to nearly five and a half million residents in just 110 years (1896-2006). The city's nickname,
The Magic City, comes from this rapid growth. Winter visitors remarked that the city grew so much from one year to the next that it was like magic.
Geography
At only of land area, Miami has the smallest land area of any major U.S. city with a metro area of at least 2.5 million people. The city proper is home to less than 1 in 13 residents of South Florida. Additionally, 52% of Miami-Dade County's population doesn't live in any incorporated city. Miami is the only major city in the United States bordered by two national parks,
Everglades National ParkEverglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida. The largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, it contains the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades marshland region of southwestern Florida...
on the west, and
Biscayne National ParkBiscayne National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southern Florida, due east of Homestead. The park preserves Biscayne Bay, one of the top scuba diving areas in the United States. Ninety-five percent of the park is water. In addition, the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive...
on the east.
Miami and its suburbs are located on a broad plain between the Florida Everglades to the west and
Biscayne BayBiscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of south Florida. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts, North Bay, Central Bay and South Bay.North Bay lies between Miami Beach barrier...
to the east that also extends from
Florida BayFlorida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland and the Florida Keys. Its area is variously stated to be , or , or . Nearly all of Florida Bay is included in Everglades National Park. The southern edge, along the Florida Keys is in the Florida Keys National Marine...
north to
Lake OkeechobeeLake Okeechobee locally referred to as The Lake or The Big O, is a freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the second-largest freshwater lake wholly within the continental United States and the largest in the southern United States...
. The elevation of the area never rises above 40 ft (12 m) and averages at around 6 ft (2 m) above mean sea level in most neighborhoods, especially near the coast. The highest undulations are found along the coastal
Miami Rock RidgeThe Miami Rock Ridge is a continuous limestone outcropping which formerly encompassed a large extent of far southern Florida, including portions of the Everglades ecosystem...
, whose substrate underlies most of the eastern Miami metropolitan region. The main portion of the city lies on the shores of Biscayne Bay which contains several hundred natural and artificially created barrier islands, the largest of which contains
Miami BeachMiami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated on 26 March, 1915. It is located on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; the Bay separates Miami Beach from the city of Miami, Florida. The city is often referred to under the...
and
South BeachSouth Beach is a neighborhood of the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. This area was the first section of Miami Beach...
. The
Gulf StreamThe Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Strait of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland...
, a warm
ocean currentAn ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon the water, such as the wind, Coriolis force, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
, runs northward just 15 miles (24.1 km) off the coast, allowing the city's climate to stay warm and mild all year.
Geology
The surface bedrock under the Miami area is called
Miami ooliteOolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm: rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
or
Miami limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geologic record...
. This bedrock is covered by a thin layer of soil, and is no more than 50 feet (15 m) thick. Miami limestone formed as the result of the drastic changes in sea level associated with recent glaciations or
ice ageThe general term "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Within a long-term ice age, individual...
s. Beginning some 130,000 years ago the Sangamonian Stage raised sea levels to approximately 25 feet (7.5 m.) above the current level. All of southern Florida was covered by a shallow sea. Several parallel lines of reef formed along the edge of the submerged Florida
plateauIn geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain...
, stretching from the present Miami area to what is now the
Dry TortugasThe Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, USA, about west of Key West, and west of the Marquesas Keys, the closest islands. Still further west is the Tortugas Bank, which is completely submerged. The first Europeans to discover the islands were the...
. The area behind this reef line was in effect a large lagoon, and the Miami limestone formed throughout the area from the deposition of
ooliteOolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm: rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
s and the shells of bryozoans. Starting about 100,000 years ago the
Wisconsin glaciationThe last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age, occurring in the Pleistocene epoch. It began about 110,000 years ago and ended about 9,600 - 9,700 BC. During this period there were several changes between glacier advance and retreat. The maximum extent of...
began lowering sea levels, exposing the floor of the lagoon. By 15,000 years ago, the sea level had dropped to 300 to below the contemporary level. The sea level rose quickly after that, stabilizing at the current level about 4000 years ago, leaving the
mainlandMainland is usually the continental part of a region, as opposed to the islands nearby, or, if the region is entirely insular, the largest of the several islands comprising the region. Sometimes the residents are called "the Mainlanders"...
of South Florida just above sea level.
Beneath the plain lies the
Biscayne AquiferThe Biscayne Aquifer, named after Biscayne Bay, is a surficial aquifer. It is a shallow layer of highly permeable limestone under a portion of South Florida...
, a natural underground source of fresh water that extends from southern
Palm Beach CountyPalm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in area. As of 2007, the rapidly-growing county's estimated population was 1,351,236, making it the third most populous in the state and the twenty ninth most populous in the United States...
to
Florida BayFlorida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland and the Florida Keys. Its area is variously stated to be , or , or . Nearly all of Florida Bay is included in Everglades National Park. The southern edge, along the Florida Keys is in the Florida Keys National Marine...
, with its highest point peaking around the cities of
Miami SpringsMiami Springs is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estates...
and
HialeahHialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2006, the population estimate by the U. S. Census Bureau had the city's population reduced to 209,971, making it the sixth largest city in the state...
. Most of the
South Florida metropolitan areaSouth Florida, or more officially the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Area, encompasses a three-county area of the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The metropolitan area covers the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. The three counties are the three most...
obtains its drinking water from this aquifer. As a result of the aquifer, it is not possible to dig more than 15 to 20 ft (4.57 to 6.1 m) beneath the city without hitting water, which impedes underground construction. For this reason, the
mass transitA rapid transit, metro, subway, underground, or elevated railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade separated from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically either in underground tunnels or elevated above street level...
systems in and around Miami are elevated or
at-gradeGrading in civil engineering and construction is the work of ensuring a level base for a construction work such as a foundation or the base course for a road or a railway...
.
Most of the western fringes of the city extend into the
EvergladesThe Everglades are subtropical wetlands located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
, a subtropical
marshIn geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland which is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants. Woody plants will be low-growing shrubs. A marsh is different from a swamp,...
land located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
. This causes occasional problems with local wildlife such as
alligatorsThe American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, is one of the two living species of Alligator, a genus within the family Alligatoridae. The American Alligator is native only to the Southeastern United States, where it inhabits wetlands that frequently overlap with human-populated areas...
venturing into Miami communities and major highways.
In terms of land area, Miami is one of the smallest major cities in the United States. According to the
US Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city encompasses a total area of 55.27 mi² (143.15 km²). Of that area, 35.67 mi² (92.68 km²) is land and 19.59 mi² (50.73 km²) is water. That means Miami comprises over 400,000 people in a mere , making it one of the most densely populated cities in the United States, along with New York City, San Francisco, and
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
among others. Miami is located at .
Climate
Miami has a true
tropical climateA tropical climate is a kind of climate typical in the tropics. Köppen's widely-recognized scheme of climate classification defines it as a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above .- Examples of tropical climates :...
, specifically the
Tropical monsoon climateTropical monsoon climate, occasionally also known as a tropical wet climate or tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate, is a relatively rare type of climate that corresponds to the category Am under the Köppen climate classification...
(
Köppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by the Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself notably in 1918 and 1936...
Am) with hot & humid summers and warm winters, with a marked dry season in the winter. The city does experience cold fronts from late October through March. However, the average monthly temperature for any month has never been recorded as being under 64.4 °F (January averages 67 °F). Most of the year is warm and humid, and the summers are almost identical to the climate of the Caribbean tropics. The wet season lasts from May to October, when it gives way to the dry season, which features mild temperatures with some invasions of cool air, which is when the little winter rainfall occurs — with the passing of a front. The hurricane season largely coincides with the wet season.
In addition to its sea-level
elevationThe elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, often the mean sea level. Elevation, or geometric height, is mainly used when referring to points on the Earth's surface, while altitude or geopotential height is used for points above the surface, such as an...
, coastal location and position just above the
Tropic of CancerThe Tropic of Cancer, or the Northern tropic, is one of five major degree measures or major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. It is the northmost latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead at noon...
, the area owes its warm, humid climate to the
Gulf StreamThe Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Strait of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland...
, which moderates climate year-round. A typical summer day does not have temperatures below 75 °F (24 °C). Temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s (30-35 °C) accompanied by high humidity are often relieved by afternoon
thunderstormA thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, a hailstorm, or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically-assigned cloud type associated with the...
s or a
sea breezeA sea-breeze is a wind from the sea that develops over land near coasts. It is formed by increasing temperature differences between the land and water which create a pressure minimum over the land due to its relative warmth and forces higher pressure, cooler air from the sea to move inland...
that develops off the Atlantic Ocean, which then allow lower temperatures, although conditions still remain very muggy. During winter, humidity is significantly lower, allowing for cooler weather to develop. Average minimum temperatures during that time are around 60 °F (15 °C), rarely dipping below 40 °F (4 °C), and the equivalent maxima usually range between 70 and 77 °F (19-24 °C).
Miami has never recorded a triple-digit
temperatureIn physics, temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the higher temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics...
; the highest temperature recorded was . The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city of Miami was 30 °F (-1 °C) on several occasions. Miami has never recorded an accumulation of snow, and only once recorded flurries, on January 20, 1977. Weather conditions for the area around Miami were recorded sporadically from 1839 until 1900, with many years-long gaps. A cooperative temperature and rainfall recording site was established in what is now Downtown in December, 1900. An official
Weather Bureau OfficeThe National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
was opened in Miami in June, 1911.
Miami receives abundant rainfall, one of the highest among major U.S. cities. Most of this rainfall occurs from mid-May through early October. It receives annual rainfall of 58.6 inches (1488 mm), whereas nearby
Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of Broward County. According to 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 183,606...
and Miami Beach receive 63.8 in (1621 mm) and 48.3 in (1227 mm), respectively, which demonstrates the high local variability in rainfall rates.
Hurricane seasonA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones feed on heat released when moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor contained in the moist air...
officially runs from June 1 through November 30, although hurricanes can develop beyond those dates. The most likely time for Miami to be hit is during the peak of the
Cape VerdeA Cape Verde-type hurricane is an Atlantic hurricane that develops near the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa. The average hurricane season has about two Cape Verde-type hurricanes, which are usually the most intense storms of the season because they often have plenty of warm open...
season which is mid-August through the end of September. Due to its location between two major bodies of water known for tropical activity, Miami is also statistically the most likely major city in the world to be struck by a hurricane, trailed closely by
Nassau, BahamasNassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 260,000 , nearly 80 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, and
HavanaHavana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. The city/province has 2.4 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 3.7 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region...
,
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
. Despite this, the city has been fortunate in not having a direct hit by a hurricane since
Hurricane CleoHurricane Cleo was the third named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 1964 Atlantic hurricane season. Cleo was one of the longest-lived storms of the season...
in 1964. However, many other hurricanes have affected the city, including
BetsyHurricane Betsy was a powerful hurricane of the 1965 Atlantic hurricane season which caused enormous damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana. Betsy made its most intense landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River, causing significant flooding of the waters of Lake Pontchartrain into...
in 1965,
AndrewHurricane Andrew was the last and third most powerful of three Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the United States during the 20th century, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew caused 65 deaths....
in 1992,
IreneHurricane Irene was a hurricane that produced somewhat heavy damage across southern Florida during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth tropical storm and the sixth hurricane of the season, Irene developed in the western Caribbean Sea on October 13 from a tropical wave. It moved northward,...
in 1999, and Hurricanes
KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
and
WilmaHurricane Wilma was the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma was the twenty-second storm , thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, and fourth Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 season Hurricane Wilma was the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the...
in 2005. In addition, a tropical depression in October 2000 passed over the city, causing record rainfall and flooding. Locally, the storm is credited as the
No Name Storm of 2000Tropical Storm Leslie was the costliest tropical cyclone of the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season. The twelfth named storm of the season, Leslie formed out of a trough of low pressure on October 4 to the east of Florida. Initially a subtropical cyclone, it strengthened and attained enough tropical...
, though the depression went on to become Tropical Storm Leslie upon entering the Atlantic Ocean. Miami has been identified as one of three cities in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
most vulnerable to hurricanes, mainly due to its location and it being surrounded by ocean and low-lying
coastal plainA coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in western South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...
s, the other two cities being New Orleans and
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
.
Surrounding areas
- Miami Springs
Miami Springs is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estates...
, HialeahHialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2006, the population estimate by the U. S. Census Bureau had the city's population reduced to 209,971, making it the sixth largest city in the state...
, BrownsvilleBrownsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 14,393....
, GladeviewGladeview is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 14,468 at the 2000 census. Gladeview is also a sub division in Miami's Liberty City neighborhood.-Geography:...
, West Little RiverWest Little River is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 32,498 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Little River is located at ....
, El PortalEl Portal is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA. The village name is derived from the Spanish phrase for "the gate," after two wooden gates that once stood as a gateway to the village. The population was 2,505 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
, Miami ShoresMiami Shores is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,380 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,040....
, Unincorporated Miami-Dade County
- North Bay Village
North Bay Village is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 6,733. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,819.-Geography:North Bay Village is located at ....
, Miami BeachMiami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated on 26 March, 1915. It is located on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; the Bay separates Miami Beach from the city of Miami, Florida. The city is often referred to under the...
- Fisher Island
Fisher Island is a census-designated place located on an artificial island of the same name on unincorporated land in Miami-Dade County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had only 218 households and a total population of 467 persons...
, Key BiscayneKey Biscayne is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and southeast of Miami...
- Coral Gables
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is known as the home of the University of Miami.The population was 42,249 at the 2000 census...
, Unincorporated Miami-Dade County, West MiamiWest Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,863 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Miami is located at ....
, Coral TerraceCoral Terrace is an unincorporated suburban community and census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,380 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Coral Terrace is located at ....
- Coral Gables, Unincorporated Miami-Dade County, West Miami, Coral Terrace, Westchester
Westchester is a census-designated place in suburban Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,271 at the 2000 census....
- Coral Gables, Fountainbleau
Fontainebleau is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 59,549 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Fontainebleau is located at ....
, Unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Hialeah, Brownsville, Gladeview, West Little River, El Portal
- Unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Miami Springs, Miami Lakes, Hialeah, Brownsville, Gladeview, West Little River, El Portal, Miami Shores
Neighborhoods
Miami is partitioned into many different sections, roughly into North, South, West and Downtown. The heart of the city is
Downtown MiamiDowntown Miami is the central business district of South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Miami, Florida. Brickell Avenue/Biscayne Boulevard is the main north-south road in downtown, and Flagler Street is the main east-west road in the Central Business District. As of 2009, there are approximately...
and is technically on the eastern side of the city. This area includes
BrickellBrickell is an urban neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States. Along with Downtown, Brickell is Miami and South Florida's major financial district. Brickell is also a dense, high-rise residential neighborhood with many upscale, luxury condominium and apartment towers...
,
Virginia KeyVirginia Key in an island in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is mostly within the city limits of Miami. The portion to the southwest of the Rickenbacker Causeway containing the Miami Seaquarium is in the unincorporated county. It is in Biscayne Bay between Key Biscayne and the...
,
Watson IslandWatson Island may refer to:* Watson Island, Queensland, Australia* Watson Island, Miami, Florida, United States* Watson's Island, County Down, is a townland in County Down, Northern Ireland...
, and the Port of Miami. Downtown is South Florida's central business district, and home of many major
bankA bank is a financial institution licensed by a government. Its primary activities include borrowing and lending money.Many other financial activities were allowed over time. For example banks are important players in financial markets and offer financial services such as investment funds...
s,
financialFINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...
headquarters, cultural and
tourist attractionA tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
s, and
high-riseA high-rise is a tall building or structure. Normally, the function of the building is added, for example high-rise apartment building or high-rise offices. Compare: low-rise...
residential towers.
The southern side of Miami includes
Coral WayCoral Way is a primarily east-west street that begins in downtown Miami, Florida.The eastern terminus is at Brickell Avenue in the downtown Miami Financial District...
, The Roads and Coconut Grove. Coral Way is a historic residential neighborhood built in 1922 connecting Downtown with Coral Gables, and is home to many old homes and tree-lined streets. Coconut Grove was established in 1825 and is the location of Miami's City Hall in Dinner Key, the
Coconut Grove PlayhouseThe Coconut Grove Playhouse was a legitimate theater in Miami, Florida, United States.Constructed as a movie house in 1926, the historic Playhouse includes two stages, the 1700-seat proscenium Mainstage Theater and the intimate 100-seat Encore Room Theater...
,
CocoWalkCocoWalk, is an upscale lifestyle center located in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida. The center houses 32 tenants, including a movie theater, posh retail shops, and many restaurants...
, many
nightclubA nightclub is a drinking, dancing and entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. People who frequent nightclubs are known as clubbers...
s,
barA bar is an establishment that serves drinks, especially alcoholic beverages such as beer, liquor, and cocktails, for consumption on the premises....
s,
restaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s and
bohemianBohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits, with few permanent ties...
shops, and as such, is very popular with local college students. It is a historic neighborhood with many parks and gardens such as
Villa VizcayaVizcaya is an estate or villa in a North Italian sixteenth-century style on Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida, designed for agriculture industrialist James Deering as a winter residence...
,
The KampongThe Kampong is an 11-acre tropical garden in Coconut Grove, an area of the city of Miami, Florida, USA. It is one of the five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden , and is open to . An admission fee is charged....
,
The Barnacle Historic State ParkThe Barnacle Historic State Park is a Florida State Park located on Biscayne Bay, at 3485 Main Highway, Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida. Built in 1891, it is the oldest house in its original location in Miami-Dade County. The Barnacle was the home of Ralph Middleton Munroe, one of...
, and home of the Coconut Grove Convention Center, many of the country's most prestigious private schools, and numerous historic homes and estates.
The western side of Miami includes
Little HavanaLittle Havana is a neighborhood and former census-designated place within the City of Miami, Florida, United States. It has many Cuban immigrant residents. Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba...
, West Flagler, and Flagami, and is home to many of the city's traditionally immigrant neighborhoods. Although at one time a mostly Jewish neighborhood, today western Miami is home to immigrants from mostly
Central AmericaManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
and
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
, while the west central neighborhood of
AllapattahAllapattah is a neighborhood mostly in the City of Miami, Florida, and partly in an adjacent unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, United States.-History:...
is a multicultural community of many ethnicities.
The northern side of Miami includes
MidtownMidtown Miami is a neighborhood in the City of Miami, Florida, United States. It is north of Downtown and south of the Design District. It is roughly divided by NE 20th Street to the south, I-195 to the north, I-95 to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east. Wynwood and Edgewater are sub-districts...
, a district with a great mix of diversity with many West Indians,
HispanicHispanic is a term that historically denoted a relationship to the ancient Hispania . During the modern era, it took on a more limited meaning, relating to the contemporary nation of Spain....
s,
bohemiansBohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits, with few permanent ties...
, artists, and
WhitesWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
.
EdgewaterEdgewater is a neighborhood in the City of Miami north of Downtown. It is roughly divided by NW/NE 20th Street to the south, I-195 to the north, US 1 to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east.-Demographics:...
, and Wynwood, are neighborhoods of Midtown and are made up mostly of high-rise residential towers and are home to the
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing ArtsAdrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, commonly called The Arsht Center, is Florida's largest performing arts center and is located on Biscayne Boulevard in Downtown Miami, Florida, USA. It is the third-largest performing arts center in the United States, after the Lincoln Center in New...
. The wealthier residents usually live in the northeastern part, in Midtown, the
Design DistrictThe Miami Design District is a neighborhood north of Midtown in Miami, Florida, United States. It is within the Buena Vista and southern extremity of Little Haiti neighborhoods...
, and the
Upper East SideFor the part of New York City, see Upper EastsideThe Upper Eastside neighborhood of the City of Miami, is north of Midtown, east of Little Haiti, south of the village of Miami Shores, and sits on Biscayne Bay...
, with many sought after 1920s homes and home of the
MiMo Historic DistrictMiami Modernist Architecture or better known as MiMo, is a style of architecture from the 1950s and 1960s that originated in Miami, Florida as a resort vernacular unique to Miami and Miami Beach...
, a style of architecture originated in Miami in the 1950s. The northern side of Miami, also has notable African-American and Caribbean immigrant communities such as
Little HaitiLittle Haiti or La Petite Haïti, is a neighborhood in the City of Miami, Florida, United States known as a traditional center for Haitian and Francophone culture in the city.-Location:...
, Overtown (home of the Lyric Theater), and
Liberty CityLiberty City is a neighborhood within the City of Miami, Florida, United States. It is listed as "Model City" on many Miami websites, however the name is rarely, if ever, used by anyone, especially local residents and South Floridians....
.
Entertainment and performing arts
Miami is home to many entertainment venues, theaters, museums, parks and performing arts centers. The newest addition to the Miami arts scene is the
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing ArtsAdrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, commonly called The Arsht Center, is Florida's largest performing arts center and is located on Biscayne Boulevard in Downtown Miami, Florida, USA. It is the third-largest performing arts center in the United States, after the Lincoln Center in New...
, the second-largest performing arts center in the United States after the Lincoln Center in New York City, and is the home of the
Florida Grand OperaFlorida Grand Opera , is the seventh-oldest opera company in the United States, currently in its 69th season. The company was founded as the Opera Guild of Greater Miami in 1941 by Dr. Arturo di Filippi and has grown under the successive leadership of General Directors Robert Herman and Robert M....
. Within it are the Ziff Ballet Opera House, the center's largest venue, the Knight Concert Hall, the Carnival Studio Theater and the Peacock Rehearsal Studio. The center attracts many large scale operas, ballets, concerts, and musicals from around the world and is Florida's grandest performing arts center. Other performing arts venues in Miami include the
Gusman Center for the Performing ArtsThe Olympia Theater and Office Building is a historic theater in Miami, Florida. It is located at 174 East Flagler Street. On March 8, 1984, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places....
,
Coconut Grove PlayhouseThe Coconut Grove Playhouse was a legitimate theater in Miami, Florida, United States.Constructed as a movie house in 1926, the historic Playhouse includes two stages, the 1700-seat proscenium Mainstage Theater and the intimate 100-seat Encore Room Theater...
, Colony Theatre, Lincoln Theatre,
New World Symphony HouseThe New World Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra academy in Miami, Florida. It is America's only full-time orchestral academy dedicated to preparing gifted graduates from distinguished music conservatories for successful careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles...
, Actor's Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, Jackie Gleason Theatre, Manuel Artime Theater,
Ring TheatreThe Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, located on the campus of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, United States, is the student theatre of the University of Miami....
, Playground Theatre, Wertheim Performing Arts Center, the Fair Expo Center and the
Bayfront Park AmphitheaterBayfront Park is a major public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida. The park began construction in 1924 under the design plans of Warren Henry Manning and officially opened in mid-1925. Starting in 1980, it underwent a major redesign by Japanese-American modernist artist and landscape...
for outdoor music events.
The city is home to numerous museums as well, many of which are in
DowntownDowntown Miami is the central business district of South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Miami, Florida. Brickell Avenue/Biscayne Boulevard is the main north-south road in downtown, and Flagler Street is the main east-west road in the Central Business District. As of 2009, there are approximately...
. These include the
Bass MuseumThe Bass Museum of Art is an art museum located in Miami Beach, Florida in the United States located at 2121 Park Avenue. The museum specializes in art from around the world from the Renaissance to modern art...
,
Frost Art MuseumThe Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in University Park in metropolitan Miami, Florida....
,
Historical Museum of Southern FloridaThe Historical Museum of Southern Florida is a historical museum located in Miami, Florida, USA, which gives information about the history of South Florida and the Caribbean. HMSF is accredited by the American Association of Museums, as it has been since 1979.HMSF occupies a building in downtown...
,
Jewish Museum of FloridaThe Jewish Museum of Florida is located in two restored historic buildings that were formerly synagogues, at 301 & 311 Washington Ave., in Miami Beach, Florida. The main Museum building, at 301 Washington Ave., was built in 1936, is on the National Register of Historic Places, has Art Deco...
,
Lowe Art MuseumThe Lowe Art Museum is an art museum located in Coral Gables, Florida, a Miami suburb in Miami-Dade County. The museum is run and operated by the University of Miami and opened in 1950. The museum has an extensive collection of art with permanent collections in Greco-Roman antiquities, Renaissance,...
,
Miami Art MuseumThe Miami Art Museum is an art museum located in Downtown Miami, Florida, in the United States. It was founded in 1996 as the successor to the Center for the Fine Arts...
,
Miami Children's MuseumThe Miami Children’s Museum is a non-profit educational institution located on Watson Island, in the city of Miami, Florida.-About the museum:Founded in 1983, the museum opened its current building to the public on September 7 2003...
,
Miami Science MuseumThe Miami Science Museum is an attraction located in the city of Miami, Florida USA. The museum itself also contains the Space-Transit Planetarium, Weintraub Observatory and a wildlife center...
,
Museum of Contemporary ArtThe Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum located in the heart of downtown North Miami, Florida. The structure was designed by the internationally acclaimed architecture firm Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, New York, which worked in conjunction with the Miami firm of Gelabert-Navia to...
, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Wolfsonian-FIU Museum and the Miami Cultural Center, home of the
Main Miami LibraryThe Miami-Dade Public Library System is a system of libraries in Miami, Florida and Miami-Dade County in the United States.-Early years:...
. Other popular cultural destinations in the area include
Jungle IslandJungle Island is an interactive animal theme park in the City of Miami, Florida, United States. It was originally Parrot Jungle and moved from the village of Pinecrest to its present location on Watson Island in the City of Miami and renamed as Parrot Jungle Island...
,
Miami MetroZooMiami MetroZoo is the largest and oldest zoological garden in Florida. It is located in southern unincorporated Miami-Dade County southwest of the city of Miami and west of the village of Palmetto Bay. It houses over 1,200 wild animals and is the only subtropical zoo in the continental United...
,
Miami SeaquariumThe Miami Seaquarium is a 38 acre marine park located on the island of Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is located near downtown Miami. It is the longest operating oceanarium in the United States. In addition to the marine mammals, the Miami Seaquarium...
,
Coral CastleCoral Castle is a stone structure created by the Latvian-American eccentric Edward Leedskalnin north of the city of Homestead, Florida in Miami-Dade County at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Southwest 157th Ave...
,
St. Bernard de Clairvaux ChurchSt. Bernard de Clairvaux Church is a medieval Spanish monastery cloister which was built in the town of Sacramenia in Segovia, Spain, in the 12th century but dismantled in the 20th century and shipped to New York in the United States. It was eventually reassembled in North Miami Beach, Florida,...
,
Charles Deering EstateCharles Deering Estates consists of a three floor wooden house and a three floor stone mansion on a property in Palmetto Bay, Florida in the United States...
, and parks and gardens in and around the city; there are over 80 parks in Miami. The largest and most popular parks are
Bayfront ParkBayfront Park is a major public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida. The park began construction in 1924 under the design plans of Warren Henry Manning and officially opened in mid-1925. Starting in 1980, it underwent a major redesign by Japanese-American modernist artist and landscape...
and
Bicentennial ParkBicentennial Park is a major public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida. The park opened in 1976 after having previously been an old yacht basin. It was named "Bicentennial Park" to celebrate the bicentennial of the United States in that same year...
(located in the heart of Downtown and the location of the American Airlines Arena and
Bayside MarketplaceBayside Marketplace is an indoor/outdoor marketplace located in downtown Miami, just south of the AmericanAirlines Arena on Biscayne Bay. The mall opened in 1987, during the 1980s downtown building boom that spawned the Wachovia Financial Center in 1984 and the Bank of America Tower in 1987. It was...
),
Fairchild Tropical Botanic GardenFairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a 33 ha botanic garden, with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees and vines, located in Coral Gables, Florida, USA....
, Tropical Park, Watson Island,
Morningside ParkMorningside Park is a New York City public park in the northern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The area occupies 110th to 123rd Streets from Morningside Avenue to Morningside Drive at the border between Harlem and Morningside Heights. Its distinctive natural geography is a...
and
Key BiscayneKey Biscayne is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and southeast of Miami...
.
Miami is also a major fashion center, home to models and some of the top modeling agencies in the world. Miami is also host to many fashion shows and events, including the annual
Miami Fashion WeekMiami Fashion Week is an annual fashion week held in Miami, Florida, United States. Miami Fashion Week, not to be confused with the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami, is held every year during the spring in Wynwood Arts District of Miami. Miami Fashion Week was started in 1998 and is the world's...
and the
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week MiamiMercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami is an annual fashion week held in Miami, Florida, United States. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami, not to be confused with Miami Fashion Week, is held every year during the Summer at the Raleigh Hotel at 1775 Collins Avenue in South Beach, Miami Beach...
held in the Wynwood Art District.
Music
Miami music is varied.
CubansCubans are people inhabiting or originating from Cuba. Most Cubans live in Cuba, although there is also a large Cuban diaspora, especially in the United States.-Demographics:...
brought the
congaThe conga is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent....
and
rumbaRumba is a dance term with two quite different meanings.First, it means Cuban event of African style, organically related to the rumba genre of Afro-Cuban music. There are several styles of this rumba, the most common being the guaguancó....
to Miami from their homelands instantly popularizing it in American culture. Dominicans brought bachata, and
merengueMerengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the Spanish name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar. It is unclear as to why this name became the...
, while
ColombiansColombians may refer to:* Citizens of Colombia, a country in South America.* Ethnic Colombians** Colombian people, persons from Colombia or of Colombian ancestry...
brought
vallenatoVallenato, along with cumbia, is currently a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in...
. West Indians and
Caribbean peopleThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
have brought
reggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based...
,
socaSoca is a form of dance music which originated in the Islands of Trinidad and Tobago from calypso music. It originally combined the melodic lilting sound of calypso with insistent percussion and local chutney music...
,
kompaCompas is a Haitian musical genre derived from African and European roots. It is also known as kompa, kompas, kompass, compas direct, or konpa direct...
,
zoukZouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti, St. Lucia, and Dominica. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local creole of French. In Africa, it is popular in franco- and lusophone countries...
,
calypsoCalypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad and Tobago.- Caribbean history :The islands had a core population of descendants of African slaves and workers and remnants of the indigenes, while colonial masters changed rapidly bringing settlers from France, Spain and the...
, and steel pan to the area as well.
In the early 1970s, the Miami
discoDisco is a genre of dance music that that had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, psychedelic and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
sound came to life with
TK RecordsTK Records was one of the record labels started by Henry Stone. It distributed disco stars KC and the Sunshine Band until 1981.TK Records is closely associated with the early rise of disco music, being the label on which the first disco song to become a #1 hit on the pop music charts was released,...
, featuring the music of
KC and the Sunshine BandKC and the Sunshine Band is an American musical group. Founded in 1973 in Miami, Florida, their style has included funk, R&B, and disco. Their most well known songs include the disco hits "That's the Way ", " Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "Keep It Comin' Love", "Get Down Tonight", "Give...
, with such hits as "Get Down Tonight", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" and "That's the Way (I Like It)"; and the Latin-American disco group,
Foxy (band)Foxy is a Latin Dance/disco group formed in 1976 in Miami, Florida.The group consisted of Ish "Angel" Ledesma , Richard "Richie" Puente , Charlie Murciano , Arnold Paseiro and Joe Galdo...
, with their hit singles "Get Off" and "Hot Number". Miami-area natives
George McCraeGeorge McCrae is a soul and disco singer, most famous for his 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby", released on the independent, TK Records label, based in Hialeah, Florida, in May of 1974.-Career:...
and
Teri DeSarioTeri DeSario is a singer/songwriter from Miami, Florida. DeSario worked within several music genres out of high school. She was vocalist, played recorder and harp from 1970 - 1977 with a Medieval and Renaissance music group, the Early Music Consort, headed by scholar and Pro Musica member Arnold...
were also popular music artists during the 1970s disco era. Miami-influenced,
Gloria EstefanGloria Estefan is a Grammy Award-winning Cuban-American singer and songwriter. She is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 90 million albums sold worldwide, 26.5 million of those in the United States alone...
and the Miami Sound Machine, hit the popular music scene with their Cuban-oriented sound and had huge hits in the 1980s with "Conga" and "Bad Boys".
Miami is also considered a "hot spot" for
dance musicThis article is about dance music in general. You may also be looking for electronic dance music or dance-pop.Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
,
FreestyleFreestyle or Latin Freestyle, also called Latin Hip Hop in its early years, is a form of electronic music. Performers such as Stevie B, TKA, George Lamond, Sa-Fire, Information Society, Noel, The Cover Girls, Nocera, Laissez Faire,, Shana, Tolga, Dino, Joee Desimone, Fascination, Seduction, Coro,...
, a style of dance music popular in the 80's and 90's heavily influenced by
ElectroElectro is a genre of electronic music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 and funk records. Records in the genre typically have electronic sounds and some vocals are delivered in a deadpan, mechanical manner, often through a vocoder or other electronic distortion.-Definition and...
, hip-hop, and disco. Many popular Freestyle acts such as
Pretty TonyTony "Pretty Tony" Butler was an influential 1980s electro and freestyle artist based out of Miami, Florida.He recorded a string of popular club tracks on Jam Packed and Sherman Nealy's Music Specialist label in the mid-'80s...
,
Debbie DebDebbie Deb is an American dance-pop singer, best known for 1980s freestyle dance classics such as "Lookout Weekend" and "When I Hear Music".-Biography:...
,
Stevie BStevie B is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who was highly influential in the Latin freestyle and High-Energy, mostly from Miami dance music scene of the late 1980s. Also known as the King of Freestyle, Stevie B is perhaps best-known for his 1990 number-one hit "Because I Love...
, and
ExposéExposé is an American vocal group. Primarily consisting of lead vocalists Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, and Gioia Bruno, the group achieved much of their success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, becoming the first group to have four top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from their debut...
, originated in Miami.
IndieIn popular music, independent music, often generally abbreviated as "indie", is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
/
folkThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
acts
Cat PowerCat Power is the stage name of American singer/songwriter Chan Marshall . She is known for her minimalist style, sparse guitar and piano playing, and breathy vocals.-Biography:...
and
Iron & WineSamuel Beam, better known by his stage and recording name Iron & Wine , is an American singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album...
are based in the city, while
alternative hip hopAlternative hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop music that is defined in greatly varying ways. Allmusic defines it as follows:...
artist
Sage FrancisPaul Francis is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island . Rapping under the pseudonym "Sage Francis," his style blends a varying tone and delivery with subject matter that focuses on intricate sequences of widely varying imagery, metaphors, the occasional pun, absurdism, word play often in...
, electro artist
UffieAnna-Catherine Hartley, better known by her stage name Uffie, is an American-born, Paris-based rapper and lyricist currently signed by French music label Ed Banger Records. She incorporates the genres of synthpop, electronica, hip hop, rap and dance into her music and often works with her fellow...
, and the
electroclashElectroclash, sometimes alternatively spelled as Elektroklash, is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. Larry Tee coined the term, but DJ Hell from Gigolo Records is also often regarded as one of the pioneers of the genre....
duo
Avenue DAvenue D was a female electroclash duo from Miami, Florida, based out of New York City and consisting of Debbie and Daphne D. The band are proteges of Larry Tee, and perform for his parties. Their music is an energetic, humorous and sexually-explicit mix of rap, electro and new wave...
were born in Miami, but musically based elsewhere. Also,
punkPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band
Against All AuthorityAgainst All Authority is an American rock band, formed in Florida in 1992. Playing in the ska punk style, their business practice follows a stringent DIY ethic.-History:...
is from Miami, and
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
/metal bands
NonpointNonpoint is a four-piece alternative metal group originating from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.- The beginnings :Nonpoint was formed in January 1998 by drummer Robb Rivera, vocalist Elias Soriano and bassist Kenneth "KB" Charman...
and
Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson is an American rock band founded by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The band advocates nonconformism and iconoclasm, often utilizing controversial imagery and lyrical content...
each formed in neighboring Fort Lauderdale. Popular Cuban American female recording artist,
Ana CristinaAna Cristina Álvarez , known professionally as Ana Cristina, is an American pop singer. Her family is of Cuban, Spanish, and French descent....
, was born in Miami in 1985, and became the first Hispanic person in history to perform the "Star Spangled Banner" at a presidential inauguration.
The 80's and 90's also brought the genre of high energy
Miami BassMiami bass , is a type of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of the Roland TR-808 sustained kick drum, raised dance tempos, and occasional sexually explicit lyrical content differentiate it from other hip hop subgenres...
to dance floors and car subwoofers throughout the country.
Miami BassMiami bass , is a type of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of the Roland TR-808 sustained kick drum, raised dance tempos, and occasional sexually explicit lyrical content differentiate it from other hip hop subgenres...
spawned artists like 2 Live Crew (featuring Uncle Luke), 95 South, Tag Team, 69 Boyz, Quad City DJ's, and Freak Nasty. Examples of these songs are "Whoomp! (There It Is)" by Tag Team in 1993, "Tootsee Roll" by 69 Boyz in 1994, and "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by the Quad City DJ's in 1996. These songs all reached the top 10 in the pop charts and gave Miami Bass a new commercial success.
Miami is also home to a vibrant techno and dance scene and hosts the
Winter Music ConferenceThe Winter Music Conference is a weeklong electronic dance music event, held every March since the mid-1980s in South Florida. It is aimed at professionals such as artists, DJs, record label representatives , producers, promoters, radio and the media....
, the largest dance event in the world,
Ultra Music FestivalUltra Music Festival is an outdoor electronic music event held annually in Miami, Florida during the Winter Music Conference which occurs annually during the month of March...
and many
electronicaElectronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
music-themed celebrations and festivals. Along with neighboring
Miami BeachMiami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated on 26 March, 1915. It is located on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; the Bay separates Miami Beach from the city of Miami, Florida. The city is often referred to under the...
, Miami is home to some famous nightclubs, such as
SpaceClub Space is a large nightclub located in the downtown area of Miami, Florida, owned by Louis Puig.In the nine years of operation, Space has resided in two buildings. was a one-story renovated warehouse, consisting of three rooms, as well as an outdoor patio area, which was one of the primary...
, Mansion, Parkwest, Ink, and Cameo. The city is known to be part of
clubland- Places :*Clubland is an area of London that contains a high number of Gentlemen's clubs.*Clubland sometimes refers to vacation destinations such as Mykonos, Miami, Ibiza, and Ayia Napa, which pride themselves on the variety of clubs and bars playing electronica music and its variations.- Film...
, along with places such as
MykonosMykonos is a Greek island and a tourist destination, renowned for its cosmopolitan character and its intense nightlife. The island is part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. It spans an area of and rises at an elevation of at its highest point. The island is composed...
,
IbizaIbiza is an island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Iberian Peninsula Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses...
and
Ayia NapaAyia Napa is a resort at the far eastern end of the south coast of the island of Cyprus, famous for its sandy beaches. In recent years, apart from being a family holiday destination, it has become a 'party capital' similar to Ibiza, Rimini and Mykonos...
.
There are also several
rapHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
and
hip hopHip hop as a cultural movement "manifest in B-boying , graffiti writing, DJing and eMCeeing/rapping – is an artistic commitment to seize freedom from oppressive social conditions...
artists out of Miami. They include
DJ KhaledKhaled Khaled , better known by his stage name DJ Khaled, is a Palestinian American hip hop musician and radio personality. He is the DJ for the group Terror Squad and a record producer. Khaled also is a radio host for the Miami-based urban music radio station WEDR...
,
Rick RossWilliam Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, sometimes written as Rick Ro$$ is an American rapper. He took his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...
,
Trick Daddy Maurice Young better known as Trick Daddy, is an American rapper. Originally billed as Trick Daddy Dollars, and sometimes known as T-Double-D, he has been worth a estimated 890 million dollars popular for making club hits such as "Shut Up" and "Let's Go".-Music career:Young appeared on the track...
,
Ace HoodAntoine McColister, better known by his stage name Ace Hood is an American rapper. He is signed to DJ Khaled's label We The Best Music & Def Jam.-Biography:...
,
TrinaKatrina Laverne Taylor , better known by her stage name Trina, is an American rapper.'-Early life:Trina is of African American,and Dominican descent. Growing up, she lived in both the Liberty City housing projects in Miami and upper-class Pembroke Isle...
, and
PitbullArmando Christian Pérez , better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American recording artist. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002, after which he released his debut album in 2004 titled M.I.A.M.I. under TVT Records...
.
Media
Miami is served by numerous newspapers, the major English-language newspaper is
The Miami HeraldThe Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered in Downtown Miami, Florida. It primarily serves Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties in the U.S...
;
El Nuevo HeraldEl Nuevo Herald is a McClatchy newspaper published daily in Spanish in Miami, Florida, in the United States. The Heralds sister paper is The Miami Herald, also produced by the McClatchy Company.-History:...
is the major Spanish-language newspaper. Other major newspapers include
Miami TodayMiami Today is a weekly Miami newspaper headquartered in the Brickell district of Miami, Florida, United States. The newspaper is printed weekly and specializes on business, stock market, trade, development and news regarding the immediate Brickell and Downtown Miami area. The newspaper is popular...
, headquartered in
BrickellBrickell is an urban neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States. Along with Downtown, Brickell is Miami and South Florida's major financial district. Brickell is also a dense, high-rise residential neighborhood with many upscale, luxury condominium and apartment towers...
,
Miami New TimesThe Miami New Times is a free weekly South Florida metropolitan area newspaper distributed every Thursday; the newspaper company is headquartered in The Miami New Times is headquartered in Midtown Miami....
, headquartered in
MidtownMidtown Miami is a neighborhood in the City of Miami, Florida, United States. It is north of Downtown and south of the Design District. It is roughly divided by NE 20th Street to the south, I-195 to the north, I-95 to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east. Wynwood and Edgewater are sub-districts...
,
Miami Sun Post,
South Florida Business JournalSouth Florida Business Journal is a newspaper printed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the Miami, Florida area, covering general business news, major events in Miami, Florida and around the world, with sections on global news and local news, business news and political news, Florida cultural life...
,
South Florida Sun-Sentinel,
Miami Times, and
Biscayne Boulevard Times. Two additional Spanish-language newspapers,
El SentinelEl Sentinel is the name of two Spanish language newspapers in Florida, both owned by the Tribune Company of Chicago.* El Sentinel del Sur de la Florida, a weekly based in Fort Lauderdale and serves the South Florida region...
and
Diario Las Americas also serve Miami.
The Miami Herald is Miami's primary newspaper with over a million readers and is headquartered in Downtown in Herald Plaza. Several other student newspapers from the local universities, such as
Florida International UniversityFlorida International University, commonly referred to as FIU, is a public research university located in Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus at University Park...
's
The BeaconThe Beacon is the student-run newspaper of Florida International University in Miami, Florida and has a circulation of 6,000. The Beacon is published thrice weekly in a compact format during the Fall and Spring semesters and once a week on Wednesday during the Summer...
, the
University of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 in the city of Coral Gables, Florida within Miami-Dade County...
's
The Miami HurricaneThe Miami Hurricane, founded in 1929, is the official student newspaper at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, in the United States. It is published twice weekly by a staff of mostly undergraduate students...
, Miami-Dade College's
The Metropolis,
Barry UniversityBarry University is a private Catholic university, which was founded in 1940 in Miami Shores, Florida, a suburb northeast of Downtown Miami. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. Barry offers business, nursing, health sciences, teacher education, and liberal arts programs...
's
The Buccaneer, amongst others. Many neighborhoods and neighboring areas also have their own local newspapers such as the
Coral Gables Tribune,
Biscayne Bay Tribune, and the
Palmetto Bay News.
A number of magazines circulate throughout the greater Miami area, including
Miami Monthly, Southeast Florida's only city/regional;
Ocean Drive, a hot-spot social scene glossy, and
South Florida Business Leader.
Miami is also the headquarters and main production city of many of the world's largest
television networkA television network is a distribution network for television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many television stations. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of broadcast networks. Many early...
s, broadcasting companies and production facilities, such as
TelemundoTelemundo is a Spanish-language American television network. Angel Ramos launched the brand with a TV station in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1954 -- and it evolved into the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world...
,
TeleFuturaTeleFutura is a U.S./Mexican Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:...
,
Mega TVMega TV was a analogue cable television broadcaster, which launched Malaysia's first ever subscription-based TV service on 1995. It was incorporated on 18 October 1994 and was operated by TV3...
,
UnivisionUnivision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest Latin American audience, largely due to repurposed telenovelas and other Mexican programs produced by Grupo Televisa...
, RCTV International and
Sunbeam TelevisionSunbeam Television Corporation is a broadcasting company based in Miami, Florida, and owns three television stations in the United States.-History:...
.
Miami is the twelfth largest radio market and the seventeenth largest television market in the United States. Television stations serving the Miami area include:
WAMIWAMI-DT is the TeleFutura Network-owned station for the Miami / Fort Lauderdale market. This station is currently owned by Univision and transmits Spanish language programming on channel 69. - Channel 69, WCIX translator channel :...
(
TelefuturaTeleFutura is a U.S./Mexican Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:...
), WBFS (My Network TV),
WSFLWSFL-TV, , is the CW-affiliated television station for South Florida that is licensed to Miami. Its transmitter is located in Miramar. Owned by the Tribune Company, the station shares studios with co-owned newspaper the Sun-Sentinel on East Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. WSFL can be seen...
(
The CWThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
),
WFORWFOR-TV, , is the CBS owned-and-operated station in Miami, Florida. WFOR shares its studio facilities with sister station WBFS-TV in Doral, Florida; west of Miami...
(
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
), WHFT (
TBNThe Trinity Broadcasting Network is the United States' largest Christian television network. Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, it also has studio facilities located in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New York...
),
WLTVWLTV-DT is a Univision owned and operated station serving Spanish-speaking viewers in South Florida. The station is located in Doral, where Univision's production facilities are also located. The transmitter is located in Miami Gardens...
(
UnivisionUnivision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest Latin American audience, largely due to repurposed telenovelas and other Mexican programs produced by Grupo Televisa...
),
WPLGWPLG is an ABC network affiliate serving the entire Miami, Florida area. WPLG is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company.-WPST-TV:...
(
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
),
WPXMWPXM-TV 35, is the local affiliate for the Ion Television network in the South Florida area . Formerly known as Pax TV and i, Ion is the smallest of the seven national commercial TV networks in the United States....
(ION),
WSCVWSCV Telemundo 51 is the Telemundo O&O that serves the Miami - Fort Lauderdale area and licensed to Fort Lauderdale. The transmitter is located in Miramar. The station also serves as the de facto Telemundo affiliate for the West Palm Beach market. The station is owned by NBC Universal along with...
(
TelemundoTelemundo is a Spanish-language American television network. Angel Ramos launched the brand with a TV station in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1954 -- and it evolved into the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world...
),
WSVNWSVN, channel 7, is the Fox-affiliated television station for South Florida, licensed to Miami. The station is owned by Sunbeam Television. WSVN's studios are located on 79th Street Causeway in North Bay Village, and its transmitter is located in North Miami-Dade County...
(
FOXThe Fox Broadcasting Company , commonly referred to as Fox , is an American television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, from 2004 to 2009 Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic...
),
WTVJWTVJ is the NBC owned-and-operated television station for South Florida that is licensed to Miami. Its digital transmitter is located near LandShark Stadium in north Miami-Dade County. Owned by NBC Universal, the station is sister to South Florida's Telemundo owned-and-operated station, WSCV. The...
(
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
),
WPBTWPBT is a PBS affiliate public television station located in North Miami, Florida, that serves the South Florida region. The station is owned and operated by the Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc., a private nonprofit multi-media organization that serves the communities of...
(PBS), and
WLRNWLRN-TV is a PBS member station broadcasting on channel 17 in Miami, Florida.WLRN-TV signed on the air as WSEC-TV in 1962 as a second educational non-profit television station, licensed to the Dade County School Board, and affiliated with National Educational Television .During the early years of...
(also PBS).
Sports
Miami is home to many major professional sports teams. The
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
, the NFL team,
Miami HeatThe Miami Heat are a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena...
, the NBA team,
Florida MarlinsThe Florida Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, the MLB team, and the
Florida PanthersThe Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the South Florida metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.-Franchise...
, Miami's NHL team. As well as having all four major professional teams, Miami is home to many other sports teams and activities such as
Miami FCMiami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the USL First Division , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
,
Miami TropicsThe Miami Tropics are a team in the Premier Basketball League that began to play in 2007 in Miami, Florida. The team is owned by the Imperiali Organization, which also owns the Palm Beach Imperials. They originally played their inaugural season in the American Basketball Association, but moved to...
, for soccer the
Sony Ericsson OpenThe Sony Ericsson Open is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Florida. The event is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour. The tournament is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
for professional
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
, numerous
greyhound racingGreyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
tracks, marinas, Jai-Alai venues, and
golfGolf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area...
courses.
The
Miami HeatThe Miami Heat are a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena...
is the only major professional sports team that plays its games within Miami's city limits at the American Airlines Arena. The team recently won the
2006 NBA FinalsThe 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005-06 National Basketball Association season. The Miami Heat won the championship in 6 games over the Dallas Mavericks, winning the final game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and becoming the third team to win a championship after...
, winning the series 4-2 over the
Dallas MavericksThe Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, USA. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association ....
. The
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
and the
Florida MarlinsThe Florida Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
both play their games in Miami Gardens. The Orange Bowl, a member of the
Bowl Championship SeriesThe Bowl Championship Series is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision an opportunity to compete in a "national championship game"...
, hosts their college football championship games at LandShark Stadium. The stadium has also hosted the
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League, the premier association of professional American football. In most years, the Super Bowl is the most-watched American television broadcast. Many popular singers and musicians have performed during the event’s pre-game and...
; the Miami metro area has hosted the game a total of nine times (four Super Bowls in Dolphin Stadium, including
Super Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
and five at the
Miami Orange BowlThe Miami Orange Bowl was a stadium in the City of Miami, west of Downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team and the temporary home of the Florida International University Golden Panthers for the 2007 football...
), tying New Orleans for the most games.
Miami FC, Florida's only professional soccer team, plays at
Tropical Park StadiumTropical Park Stadium is a 7,000-seat stadium located in Olympia Heights, Florida, a CDP near Miami, Florida. The stadium is located in Tropical Park and was the home field of Miami FC of the United Soccer Leagues...
. Miami signed world-famed soccer player
RomarioRomário de Souza Faria , better known simply as Romário, is a Brazilian football center forward who helped the Brazil national team win the 1994 FIFA World Cup and is one of the most prolific strikers in the world....
in March 2006 to a one year deal. The
Florida PanthersThe Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the South Florida metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.-Franchise...
NHLThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
team plays in neighboring Broward County, Florida at the
BankAtlantic CenterThe BankAtlantic Center is an indoor arena located in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, near the popular Sawgrass Mills Mall. The arena is easily accessible from the Sawgrass Expressway at the Oakland Park Boulevard exit...
in the city of
SunriseSunrise is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. Originally called "Sunrise Golf Village," the name did not sit well with the retirees whom developers wanted to attract, so a change was made to "Sunrise." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 85,779. As of 2004, the...
. Miami is also home to Paso Fino horses, where competitions are held at Tropical Park Equestrian Center.
Miami is also the home of many college sports teams. The two largest are the
Florida International UniversityFlorida International University, commonly referred to as FIU, is a public research university located in Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus at University Park...
Golden PanthersThe FIU Golden Panthers is the name of the athletic teams of Florida International University, a public university located in Miami, Florida. The Golden Panthers compete in NCAA Division I athletics, and in the Sun Belt Conference...
whose
football teamThe FIU Golden Panthers is the football team that represents Florida International University in Miami, Florida. The FIU Golden Panthers are a mid-major NCAA FBS college football team led by Mario Cristobal and play at the on-campus FIU Stadium.-History:...
plays at
FIU StadiumFIU Stadium is the stadium for the FIU Golden Panthers football team, and is located in Miami, Florida. The facility opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for many years as a university recreation field and by local high school football teams...
and the
University of Miami HurricanesThe Miami Hurricanes football program, sometimes referred to as "The U", represents the University of Miami in interscholastic college football competition. The team competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program began in 1926...
, whose football team formerly played at the
Miami Orange BowlThe Miami Orange Bowl was a stadium in the City of Miami, west of Downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team and the temporary home of the Florida International University Golden Panthers for the 2007 football...
, but moved to LandShark Stadium starting with the 2008 season.
A number of defunct teams were located in Miami, including the
Miami FloridiansMiami Floridians, later in their history known simply as The Floridians, were a professional basketball franchise in the original, now-defunct American Basketball Association. The Miami Floridians played in the ABA from 1968 through 1970 when they became simply The Floridians...
(ABA),
Miami MatadorsThe Miami Matadors were an ice hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League. They played in Miami, Florida, USA at the Miami Arena for just one season before moving.It was a bittersweet end to a great idea...
(
ECHLThe ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada, generally regarded as a tier below the American Hockey League...
),
Miami ManateesThe Miami Manatees were a minor league ice hockey team in the World Hockey Association 2. The Manatees originally played their home games at Miami Arena; however, owner David Waronker had an out clause in the teams lease that stated that if the team's attendance average was under 1,500 after 20 of...
(WHA2), Miami Gatos (
NASLNorth American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
), Miami Screaming Eagles (
WHAThe World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
),
Miami SeahawksThe Miami Seahawks, were an original member of the All-America Football Conference, a league that formed in 1946 and merged into the NFL in 1950. The Seahawks went 3-11 in 1946. They were originally coached by Jack Meagher, who quit on October 22, after the Seahawks had won just one of their...
(
AAFCThe All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL’s most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation’s best players, produced one of pro football’s greatest...
),
Miami SolThe Miami Sol was a women's basketball team which joined the Women's National Basketball Association in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena. The team folded after the 2002 season because of financial problems. They were the former sister team to the Miami Heat...
(
WNBAThe Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of thirteen teams. The league was founded in 1996 as the women's counterpart to the NBA...
),
Miami TorosThe Miami Gatos were a soccer team based out of Miami that played in the North American Soccer League. The club was previously known as the Washington Darts. After the 1972 season, the team was renamed the Miami Toros...
(
NASLNorth American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
),
Miami TropicsThe Miami Tropics are a team in the Premier Basketball League that began to play in 2007 in Miami, Florida. The team is owned by the Imperiali Organization, which also owns the Palm Beach Imperials. They originally played their inaugural season in the American Basketball Association, but moved to...
(
SFLThe Spring Football League was a professional American football that existed for only part of one mini-season in 2000. Founded by several ex-NFL players such as Eric Dickerson, Drew Pearson, Bo Jackson, and Tony Dorsett, the SFL planned to use the four game mini-season to test cities, fans,...
),
Miami TropicsThe Miami Tropics are a team in the Premier Basketball League that began to play in 2007 in Miami, Florida. The team is owned by the Imperiali Organization, which also owns the Palm Beach Imperials. They originally played their inaugural season in the American Basketball Association, but moved to...
(ABA), and the
Miami Hooters-Sacramento Attack :The Sacramento Attack was an Arena Football League team that competed under that name in the 1992 AFL season only.-Miami Hooters :...
(
Arena Football LeagueThe Arena Football League was founded in 1987 as an indoor American football by Jim Foster. It was played indoors on a smaller field than American football, resulting in a faster-paced and higher-scoring game...
). The
Miami FusionMiami Fusion F.C. was a professional soccer club located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that participated in Major League Soccer from 1998 to 2001. The club played in Lockhart Stadium, which was a former high school stadium converted into a soccer-specific stadium...
, a defunct
Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by United States Soccer Federation . The league comprises 15 teams, 14 in the U.S. and one in Canada...
team played at
Lockhart StadiumLockhart Stadium, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a stadium that serves as the home of the Florida Atlantic University football team. The stadium is also currently used by Fort Lauderdale High School, and Dillard High School for home high school football games...
in nearby Broward County.
Miami professional sports teams
| Club |
Sport |
League |
Venue |
League Championships |
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
|
FootballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
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National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
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LandShark Stadium |
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League, the premier association of professional American football. In most years, the Super Bowl is the most-watched American television broadcast. Many popular singers and musicians have performed during the event’s pre-game and...
(2)
- VII
Super Bowl VII was an American football game played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1972 regular season...
1972 - defeated Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington, D.C. area. The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, which is in Prince George's County, Maryland. The team's headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn, Virginia, a community...
, 14-7
- VIII
Super Bowl VIII was a professional American football game played on January 13, 1974 at Rice Stadium. in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 1973 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Miami Dolphins defeated the National Football...
1973 - defeated Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional football team based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings compete in the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . Prior to divisional realignment in 2002, they had been a member of the Central Division, also...
, 24-7 |
Florida PanthersThe Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the South Florida metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.-Franchise...
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HockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
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National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
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BankAtlantic CenterThe BankAtlantic Center is an indoor arena located in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, near the popular Sawgrass Mills Mall. The arena is easily accessible from the Sawgrass Expressway at the Oakland Park Boulevard exit...
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none |
Miami HeatThe Miami Heat are a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena...
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BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
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National Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league, composed of thirty teams in North America . It is an active member of USA Basketball , which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States...
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American Airlines Arena |
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each June. The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
(1)
2006The 2005 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2004-05 National Basketball Association season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference took on the Detroit Pistons of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage...
- defeated Dallas MavericksThe Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, USA. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association ....
, series 4-2 |
Florida MarlinsThe Florida Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
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BaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
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Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
; NLThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league...
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LandShark Stadium |
World SeriesThe World Series has been the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada since 1903, concluding the postseason of Major League Baseball...
(2)
1997The 1997 World Series featured the Cleveland Indians, who were playing in their second World Series in three years. Their opponents were the Florida Marlins, who had set a record by reaching the Series in only their fifth season. The Marlins were underdogs, but they capped a stunning season by...
- defeated Cleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field . The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, series 4-3
2003The 2003 World Series marked the 99th baseball World Series event. The Florida Marlins defeated the New York Yankees in six games, 4–2.-Background:...
- defeated New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division...
, series 4-2 |
Miami FCMiami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the USL First Division , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
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Soccer |
United Soccer League First DivisionThe United Soccer Leagues First Division is a professional men's soccer league in North America. It is the second tier of soccer in the United States and Canada league pyramid behind Major League Soccer. It is managed by the United Soccer Leagues...
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Lockhart StadiumLockhart Stadium, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a stadium that serves as the home of the Florida Atlantic University football team. The stadium is also currently used by Fort Lauderdale High School, and Dillard High School for home high school football games...
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none |
Miami college sports teams
| College / Athletics |
Football |
Football
venue |
Basketball |
Basketball
venue |
Conference |
National Championships
(Most Recent) |
FIUFlorida International University, commonly referred to as FIU, is a public research university located in Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus at University Park...
Golden PanthersThe FIU Golden Panthers is the name of the athletic teams of Florida International University, a public university located in Miami, Florida. The Golden Panthers compete in NCAA Division I athletics, and in the Sun Belt Conference...
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FIU footballThe FIU Golden Panthers is the football team that represents Florida International University in Miami, Florida. The FIU Golden Panthers are a mid-major NCAA FBS college football team led by Mario Cristobal and play at the on-campus FIU Stadium.-History:...
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FIU StadiumFIU Stadium is the stadium for the FIU Golden Panthers football team, and is located in Miami, Florida. The facility opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for many years as a university recreation field and by local high school football teams...
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FIU basketball |
U.S. Century Bank Arena |
Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition...
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4 (1984 - Men's Soccer) |
MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 in the city of Coral Gables, Florida within Miami-Dade County...
HurricanesThe Miami Hurricanes are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . Their traditional athletic rivals include the Seminoles of Florida State University and the Gators of the University of Florida...
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Miami footballThe Miami Hurricanes football program, sometimes referred to as "The U", represents the University of Miami in interscholastic college football competition. The team competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program began in 1926...
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LandShark Stadium |
Miami basketball |
BankUnited Center The BankUnited Center is a 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The venue hosts concerts, family shows, trade shows, lecture series, university events and sporting events, including all University of Miami men's and women's basketball...
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Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953, the ACC's twelve member universities compete in twenty sports in the Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
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30 (2001 - FootballThe Miami Hurricanes football program, sometimes referred to as "The U", represents the University of Miami in interscholastic college football competition. The team competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program began in 1926...
& BaseballThe Miami Hurricanes baseball team is the college baseball program that represents the University of Miami.Since 1973, the program has been one of college baseball's elite, winning four national championships and advancing to the NCAA regionals a record 37 consecutive years.Along with the...
) |
| Barry Barry University is a private Catholic university, which was founded in 1940 in Miami Shores, Florida, a suburb northeast of Downtown Miami. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. Barry offers business, nursing, health sciences, teacher education, and liberal arts programs...
Buccaneers |
- |
- |
Barry basketball |
Health & Sports Center |
Sunshine State Conference The Sunshine State Conference was originally formed in 1975 as an NCAA Division II men's basketball conference. It has since expanded to sponsor championships in 14 sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, men's and women's golf, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball,...
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7 (2007 - Men's Golf) |
NSUNova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its' main campus in the town of Davie...
SharksThe Nova Southeastern Sharks are the athletic teams representing Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida The currently compete in the Sunshine State Conference...
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- |
- |
NSU basketball The NSU Sharks Men's Basketball team represents Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. They currently compete in the Sunshine State Conference.-History:The 2007-08 Nova Southeastern University men’s basketball...
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Don Taft UC Arena Nova Southeastern University’s 366,000 square-foot Don Taft University Center is a critical piece in the infrastructure of the university. It was constructed over a period of 2 years. The inaugural event hosted comedian Jamie Kennedy on August 23rd, 2006. It provides a focal point for campus life...
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Sunshine State Conference The Sunshine State Conference was originally formed in 1975 as an NCAA Division II men's basketball conference. It has since expanded to sponsor championships in 14 sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, men's and women's golf, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball,...
|
11 (2009 - Women's Golf The NSU Sharks Women's Golf team represents Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. They currently compete in the Sunshine State Conference.-History:...
& Women's RowingThe NSU Sharks Women's Crew team represents Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. They currently compete in the Sunshine State Conference.-History:...
) |
Economy
Miami is one of the country's most important
financial centerFinancial Center is a high-rise building located in the downtown area of Des Moines, Iowa. Completed in 1973 and standing at 345 ft , it was the tallest building in the city and state until the completion of the Ruan Center in 1975, and is currently the fourth tallest.The building consists mainly...
s. It is a major center of commerce, finances, corporate headquarters, and boasts a strong international business community. According to the ranking of world cities undertaken by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network (GaWC) and based on the level of presence of global corporate service organizations, Miami is considered a "beta
world cityA global city is a city deemed to be an important node point in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a...
".
Several large companies are headquartered in or around Miami, including but not limited to:
AlienwareAlienware is an American computer hardware company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dell, Inc. It mainly assembles third party components into desktops with custom enclosures for high-performance gaming. These products also support graphically intense applications such as video editing, simulation,...
,
ArquitectonicaArquitectonica is an avant-garde architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and planning corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States with international offices in 9 other cities...
,
Arrow AirArrow Air is an American cargo airline based in Miami, Florida, USA. It operates over 90 weekly scheduled cargo flights, and has a strong charter business. Its main base is Miami International Airport.-California Origins:...
,
BacardiBacardi is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums, including Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries...
,
BenihanaBenihana can refer to:*Benihana, Benihana's Hibachi Restaurant*Benihana * Benihana, the Japanese word for safflower...
,
Brightstar CorporationBrightstar Corporation, founded in 1997, is a U.S. based privately held corporation that provides logistical services and supply chain management within the wireless telecommunications industry...
,
Burger KingBurger King , often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The first restaurant was opened in Miami, Florida in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton, and has since used several...
,
Celebrity CruisesCelebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...
, Carnival Corporation,
Carnival Cruise LinesCarnival Cruise Lines is a cruise line operating a large number of cruise ships. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, it is now a branded division within Carnival Corporation & plc, a publicly traded company which owns a number of different cruise brands.Carnival was a...
,
CompUSACompUSA is a retailer and reseller of consumer electronics, technology products and computer services. CompUSA serves consumer retail, small-to-medium businesses, corporate, government, and education customers...
,
Crispin Porter + BoguskyCrispin Porter + Bogusky, a member of publicly-traded MDC Partners , is an advertising agency that currently employs around 700 people.The agency is headquartered in Miami, Florida, with a growing "co-headquarters" in Boulder, Colorado and additional offices in Santa Monica and London...
,
Espírito Santo Financial GroupThe Espírito Santo Financial Group is an international group of companies based in Portugal. The flagship of ESFG is the Banco Espírito Santo, a full-service bank based in Lisbon. The bank has subsidiaries within and outside of the Portuguese-speaking business world...
, Fizber.com,
Greenberg TraurigGreenberg Traurig LLP is an international law firm with approximately 1,800 attorneys and governmental professionals in 32 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Its founding office is in Miami, Florida with its largest office in New York City. In the U.K., the firm operates as Greenberg...
,
Interval InternationalInterval International is a publicly traded company and former subsidiary of the corporation IAC/InterActiveCorp and is headquartered in Miami, Florida, USA. The CEO is Craig Nash.-Background:...
, Lennar, Norwegian Cruise Lines,
Perry Ellis InternationalPerry Ellis International is an international marketer of clothing, offering a diverse portfolio of brands through multiple distribution channels; focusing mostly on sportswear and casual clothing for niche markets...
, RCTV International, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines,
Ryder SystemsRyder System, Inc. , or Ryder, is an American-based provider of transportation and supply chain management solutions with global operations. Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management and dedicated contracted carriage...
,
Seabourn Cruise LineSeabourn Cruise Line is an ultra luxury cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida. The line operates all around the world, from short seven day Caribbean cruises to exotic 100+ day cruises around the world...
,
Telefónica USATelefónica, S.A., is a Spanish telecommunication company. Operating globally, it is one of the largest fixed-line and mobile telecommunications companies in the world: 3rd in terms of number of clients only behind China Mobile and Vodafone, and in the top five in market value...
,
TeleFuturaTeleFutura is a U.S./Mexican Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:...
,
TelemundoTelemundo is a Spanish-language American television network. Angel Ramos launched the brand with a TV station in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1954 -- and it evolved into the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world...
,
UnivisionUnivision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest Latin American audience, largely due to repurposed telenovelas and other Mexican programs produced by Grupo Televisa...
,
U.S. Century BankU.S. Century Bank is a community bank in the U.S. state of Florida, locally owned and headquartered in Miami. It has approximately $1.808 billion in total assets, nearly $180 million in equity capital, and a branch network that includes 25 locations throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties...
, and
World Fuel ServicesWorld Fuel Services is a Fortune 500 company that is based in Miami, Florida. It provides marketing and financing of aviation, marine and ground transportation fuel products and related services to commercial and corporate aircraft, petroleum distributors and ships at more than 2,500 locations...
. Because of its proximity to Latin America, Miami serves as the headquarters of Latin American operations for more than 1400 multinational corporations, including
AIGAIG is American International Group, a major American insurance corporation.AIG may also refer to:*And-inverter graph, a concept in computer theory*Answers in Genesis, a creationist organization in the U.S.*Arta Industrial Group in Iran...
,
American Airlines
,
CiscoCisco Systems, Inc. is a multinational corporation with more than 65,000 employees and annual revenue of US$36.10 billion as of 2009. Headquartered in San Jose, California, it designs and sells networking and communications technology and services....
,
DisneyThe Walt Disney Company , often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products...
,
ExxonExxon is a brand of motor fuel and related products sold by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard.- History :...
,
FedExFedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States. The name "FedEx" is a syllabic abbreviation of the name of the company's original air division, Federal Express, which was used from 1978 until 2000.-History:FedEx Corporation was...
,
Kraft FoodsKraft Foods, Inc. is the largest food and beverage company headquartered in the United States and the second largest in the world ....
,
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices...
,
OracleOracle Corporation specializes in developing and marketing enterprise software products — particularly database management systems. Through organic growth and a number of high-profile acquisitions, Oracle enlarged its share of the software market...
, SBC Communications,
Sonyis a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding ¥ 7.730.0 trillion, or $78.88 billion U.S. . Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game...
, and Visa International.
Miami International AirportMiami International Airport , also known as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the Miami Metropolitan Area. The airport is located eight miles northwest of the central business district of Miami, in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States...
and the Port of Miami are among the nation's busiest ports of entry, especially for cargo from South America and the Caribbean. Additionally, Downtown has the largest concentration of international banks in the country located mostly in
BrickellBrickell is an urban neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States. Along with Downtown, Brickell is Miami and South Florida's major financial district. Brickell is also a dense, high-rise residential neighborhood with many upscale, luxury condominium and apartment towers...
, Miami's financial district. Miami was also the host city of the 2003
Free Trade Area of the AmericasThe Free Trade Area of the Americas was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas but Cuba. In the last round of negotiations, trade ministers from 34 nations met in Miami, Florida, United States, in November 2003 to discuss the proposal...
negotiations, and is one of the leading candidates to become the trading bloc's headquarters.
Tourism is also an important industry in Miami. The beaches, conventions, festivals and events draw over 12 million visitors annually from across the country and around the world, spending $17.1 billion. The historical
Art DecoArt Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film...
district in
South BeachSouth Beach is a neighborhood of the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. This area was the first section of Miami Beach...
, is widely regarded as one of the most glamorous in the world for its world-famous nightclubs, beaches, historical buildings, and shopping. However, it is important to note that Miami Beach is a separate city from the City of Miami.
Miami is the home to the
National Hurricane CenterThe National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of National Weather Service's Tropical Prediction Center responsible for tracking and predicting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.When tropical...
and the headquarters of the
United States Southern CommandThe United States Southern Command , located in Miami, Florida, is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation for Central and South America, the Caribbean The United...
, responsible for military operations in Central and South America. In addition to these roles, Miami is also an industrial center, especially for stone quarrying and warehousing.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2004, Miami had the third highest incidence of family incomes below the federal
povertyPoverty is the condition of lacking basic human needs such as nutrition, clean water, health care, clothing, and shelter because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution...
line in the United States, making it the third poorest city in the USA, behind only
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
(ranked #1) and
El Paso, TexasEl Paso is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and part of the American Southwest. According to the United States Census Bureau's 2006 population estimates, the city had a population of 606,913. It is the sixth-largest city in Texas and the 22nd-largest city in...
(ranked #2.) Miami is also one of the very few cities where its local government went bankrupt, in 2001.
In 2005, the Miami area witnessed its largest
real estateReal estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location.
"Real estate" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin...
boom
since the 1920sThe Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble, which burst in 1925, leaving behind entire new cities and the remains of failed development projects such as Isola di Lolando in north Biscayne Bay. The preceding land boom shaped Florida's future for decades and created...
.
MidtownMidtown Miami is a neighborhood in the City of Miami, Florida, United States. It is north of Downtown and south of the Design District. It is roughly divided by NE 20th Street to the south, I-195 to the north, I-95 to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east. Wynwood and Edgewater are sub-districts...
, having well over a hundred approved construction projects, is an example of this. As of 2007, however, the housing market has crashed and more than 23,000 condos are for sale and/or foreclosed. The Miami area ranks 8th in the nation in foreclosures. Miami is also one of the least affordable places to live, with the median percentage of housing costs as a percentage of income was 42.8%; the national average was 27%. Miami ranks twelfth among least affordable cities for home
ownership.
Demographics
| Miami population |
| Year | City
proper | Metro
area |
|---|
| 1900 |
1,681 |
N/A |
| 1910 |
5,471 |
N/A |
| 1920 |
29,549 |
66,542 |
| 1930 |
110,637 |
214,830 |
| 1940 |
172,172 |
387,522 |
| 1950 |
249,276 |
693,705 |
| 1960 |
291,688 |
1,497,099 |
| 1970 |
334,859 |
2,236,645 |
| 1980 |
346,865 |
3,220,844 |
| 1990 |
358,548 |
4,056,100 |
| 2000 |
362,470 |
5,007,564 |
| 2007 |
424,662 |
5,413,212 |
Miami is the 43rd most populous city in the U.S. The
Miami metropolitan areaSouth Florida, or more officially the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Area, encompasses a three-county area of the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The metropolitan area covers the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. The three counties are the three most...
, which includes
Miami-DadeMiami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the county population was 2,387,170 in 2007, making it the most populous county in Florida and the ninth most populous county in the United States...
,
BrowardBroward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population is 1,623,018; this makes it the second most populated county in the state. According to 2007 U.S. Census estimates, its population has increased to 1,759,591...
and
Palm BeachPalm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in area. As of 2007, the rapidly-growing county's estimated population was 1,351,236, making it the third most populous in the state and the twenty ninth most populous in the United States...
counties, had a combined population of more than 5.4 million people, ranked fourth-largest in the United States, (behind Chicago, Illinois), and is the largest
metropolitan areaA metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence, or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central cities and their zone of influence...
in the
Southeastern United StatesThe US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs...
. As of 2008, the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
estimates that the Miami
Urban AgglomerationThe question of determining the world's largest cities does not allow a single, simple answer. It depends on which definitions of "city" and "size" are used, and how those definitions are applied. Complex political/cultural/social situations, sometimes controversial or disputed, further confuse...
is the fourth-largest in the United States, and the 44th-largest in the world. As of the census of 2000, there were 362,470 people, 134,198 households, and 83,336 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 10,160.9/mi² (3,923.5/km²). There were 148,388 housing units at an average density of 4,159.7/mi² (1,606.2/km²).
The racial makeup of the city proper is as follows:
- White
White American is an umbrella term officially employed by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget and other U.S...
: 66.6% (Non-Hispanic White 11.8%)
- Hispanic or Latino
Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans of origins in Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain - "Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban" - as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or...
of any race: 65.8%
- Black
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
(many of whom are from the Caribbean) or African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
: 22.3%
- Some other races: 5.4%
- Two or more races: 4.7%
- Asian
{Infobox Ethnic group|group = Asian American|image =Graduation Rate! align="CENTER" | Bachelor's Degree
or More|-| align="LEFT" | Asian Indians| align="RIGHT" | 90.2%| align="RIGHT" | 67.9%|-| align="LEFT" | Filipinos| align="RIGHT" | 90.8%...
: 0.7%
- Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
: 0.04%
- Native American
Native Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
: 0.2%
As of 2000, in terms of national origin and/or ethnic origin, 34.1% of the populace was
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
n, while 5.6% of the city's population was
NicaraguaNicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
n, 5.5% of the population was
HaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Creole- and French-speaking Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago...
an, 3.3% of the population was
HonduranHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
, 1.7% of all residents were
DominicanThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries...
, and 1.6% of the population was
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
n. In 2004, the
United Nations Development ProgramThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
(UNDP) ranked Miami first in terms of percentage of residents born outside of the country it is located in (59%), followed by
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
(50%).
There were 134,198 households out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 18.7% have a female head of household with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.25. The age distribution was 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,483, and the median income for a family was $27,225. Males had a median income of $24,090 versus $20,115 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $15,128. About 23.5% of families and 28.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.2% of those under age 18 and 29.3% of those age 65 or over.
Miami's explosive population growth in recent years has been driven by internal migration from other parts of the country as well as by
immigrationAmerican immigration refers to the movement of non-residents to the United States...
. Miami is regarded as more of a
multicultural mosaicMulticulturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures, for practical reasons and/or for the sake of diversity and applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations...
, than it is a
melting potThe melting pot is an analogy for the way in which heterogeneous societies become more homogeneous, in which the ingredients in the pot are combined so as to develop a multi-ethnic society...
, with residents still maintaining much of, or some of their cultural traits. The overall culture of Miami is heavily influenced by its large population of ethnic
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
ns and cultures from Caribbeans from islands such as
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
,
Trinidad and TobagoThe Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the...
,
The BahamasThe Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 rocks. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, Hispaniola and the Caribbean Sea, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United...
, and
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
; many of whom spoke
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
or
Haitian CreoleHaitian Creole language , often called simply Creole or Kreyòl , is a language spoken in Haiti by about eight million people, which is nearly the entire population, and via emigration, by about one million speakers residing in the Bahamas, Cuba, Canada, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, French...
.
Today, the Miami area has a sizable community of citizens, undocumented populations, and permanent residents, of
ArgentinesArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
,
BahamiansThis is a list of Bahamians, people from the Bahamas or of Bahamian descent.*Tony McKay "Exuma the Obeah Man" Musician, Performer, Artist;*Sir Sidney Poitier, Actor and Ambassador.*Shakara Ledard, Super Model....
, Brazilians,
CanadiansCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
,
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
ans,
ChineseThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People who reside in and hold citizenship of the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China . This definition stems from a legal perspective...
,
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
ns,
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
ns,
DominicansThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries...
,
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...
ans,
FrenchFrench people can refer to:* The legal residents and citizens of France, regardless of ancestry. For a legal discussion, see French nationality law.* People whose ancestors lived in France or the area that later became France....
, Germans,
GreeksThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
,
GuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its size is just under 110,000 km² with an estimated population...
ns,
GuayaneseGuyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean.Guyana was discovered in 1498 by the Europeans,Guyana's past is punctuated by battles fought and won,...
,
HaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Creole- and French-speaking Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago...
ans,
HonduransHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
,
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
ns, Indians,
ItaliansThe Italian people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common Italian culture, descent, and speaking the Italian language as a mother tongue...
,
MexicansThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
,
NicaraguaNicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
ns,
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
vians,
RussiansThe Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Salvadoran,
SpanishSpanish people or Spaniards constitute the nationality and ethnic group of natives of Spain, a European country in the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. The Spanish nationality is in essence made up of regional nationalities, reflecting the complex history of Spain...
,
Trinidadians and TobagoniansThe Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the...
,
TurksThe Turkish people , also known as the "Turks" are defined mainly as citizens of the Republic of Turkey. An early historic text provided the definition of being a Turk as "any individual within the Republic of Turkey; whatever his/her faith or racial/ethnic background; who speaks Turkish, grows up...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
ns, and
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
ns, as well as a sizable
Puerto RicanPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
population throughout the metropolitan area. While commonly thought of as mainly a city of
HispanicHispanic is a term that historically denoted a relationship to the ancient Hispania . During the modern era, it took on a more limited meaning, relating to the contemporary nation of Spain....
and Caribbean immigrants, the Miami area is home to large
FrenchFrench people can refer to:* The legal residents and citizens of France, regardless of ancestry. For a legal discussion, see French nationality law.* People whose ancestors lived in France or the area that later became France....
,
French CanadianFrench Canadian refers to a nation or ethnic group of French descent that originated in Canada during the period of French colonization beginning in the 17th century. They constitute the main French-speaking population of Canada...
,
GermanGerman Americans are Americans of German descent. They form the largest self-reported ancestry group in the United States, outnumbering the Irish and English. They account for 50 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population...
,
ItalianAn Italian American is an American of Italian ancestry, and/or may also refer to someone possessing Italian/American dual citizenship. Italian Americans are the fourth largest European ethnic group in the United States.-History:...
, and
RussianRussian Americans are Americans whose ancestors were born in Russia. Non-ethnic Russians in this group could be Jews, Ukrainians, Armenians, or any other ethnicity who were born and grew up in Russia.-Demographics:...
communities. The communities have grown to a prominent place in Miami and its suburbs, creating ethnic enclave neighborhoods such as Little Haiti, Little Havana, Little Managua,
Little BrazilNorth Bay Village is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 6,733. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,819.-Geography:North Bay Village is located at ....
,
Little MoscowSunny Isles Beach is a city located on a barrier island in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The City is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Intracoastal Waterway on the west. The population was 15,315 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the...
, and Little San Juan.
Languages
As of 2000, speakers of
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
as their
first languageA first language is the language a human being learns from birth...
accounted for 66.75% of residents, while English was spoken by 25.45%,
Haitian CreoleHaitian Creole language , often called simply Creole or Kreyòl , is a language spoken in Haiti by about eight million people, which is nearly the entire population, and via emigration, by about one million speakers residing in the Bahamas, Cuba, Canada, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, French...
by 5.20%, and
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
speakers comprised 0.76% of the population.
Other languages that were spoken throughout the city include Portuguese at 0.41%,
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
at 0.18%,
ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
at 0.16%,
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
at 0.15%,
ChineseChinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
at 0.11%, and
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
at 0.08% of the population. Miami also has one of the largest percentage populations in the U.S. that have residents who speak
first languageA first language is the language a human being learns from birth...
s other than English at home (74.54%).
Government
The government of the City of Miami, Florida, uses the mayor-city commissioner system. The city commission consists of five commissioners, are elected from single member districts. The city commission constitutes the governing body with powers to pass ordinances adopt regulations and exercise all powers conferred upon the city in the city charter.The mayor is elected at large and appoints a city manager. The City of Miami is governed by Mayor
Manny DiazManuel Alberto Diaz is the current mayor of Miami, Florida.Mayor Diaz and his mother, Elisa, left Cuba in 1961. He graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in 1973. He scored the first touchdown in Belen Jesuit football history, and was named "Mr. Belen" in his graduating class...
and 5 City commissioners which oversee the five districts in the City. It holds regular meetings in the
City HallA city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a city or town's administration and usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and their employees...
of Miami located in
3500 Pan American Drive Miami, Florida 33133 in the neighborhood of Coconut Grove.
City council
- Manuel A. Diaz - Mayor
"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
of the City of Miami, first elected in 2001 and re-elected to a second term in 2006.
- Angel Gonzalez - City of Miami Commissioner, District 1
- Marc Sarnoff - City of Miami Commissioner, District 2
- Joe M. Sanchez - City of Miami Commissioner, District 3
- Tomas P. Regalado - City of Miami Commissioner, District 4
- Michelle Spence-Jones - City of Miami Commissioner, District 5
City management
- Pedro G. Hernandez - City Manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Called the chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
- Julie O. Bru - City Attorney
A city attorney can be an elected or appointed position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the city or municipality....
- Priscilla Thompson - City Clerk
A city clerk is a clerk for a municipality. It is among the oldest public servant positions..In ancient Greece city secretaries who read official documents publicly and at the opening of a meeting read public curses...
Public schools
Public schools in Miami are governed by
Miami-Dade County Public SchoolsMiami-Dade County Public Schools is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the fourth largest in the United States, with a student enrollment of 379,155 as of May 18, 2009...
, which is the largest school district in Florida and the fourth-largest in the United States. As of September 2008 it has a student enrollment of 385,655 and over 392 schools and centers. The district is also the largest minority public school system in the country, with 60% of its students being of Hispanic origin, 28%
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
, 10% White (non-Hispanic) and 2% non-white of other minorities. Miami is home to some of the nation's best high schools, such as
Design and Architecture High SchoolDesign and Architecture Senior High School is a magnet secondary school in the heart of the Design District in Miami, Florida. US News & World Report currently ranks DASH as the 5th best high school in the nation as of 2009....
, ranked the nation's best
magnet schoolIn education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
,
MAST AcademyMaritime and Science Technology Academy, commonly referred to as MAST Academy is a public high school in Miami, Florida. MAST Academy is a magnet school under the governance of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Its principal is Thomas C. Fisher II, appointed in September 2006.The academic focus of...
,
Coral Reef High SchoolCoral Reef Senior High School is a secondary school located at 10101 S.W. 152nd Street in Miami, Florida; its principal is currently Mrs. Adrianne F. Leal. Coral Reef is locally known as "Miami's Mega Magnet School" since it offers six different magnet programs.According to Newsweek's List of the...
, ranked 20th-best public high school in the U.S.,
Miami Palmetto High SchoolMiami Palmetto Senior High School is a secondary school located at 7460 S.W. 118th Street in Pinecrest, Florida, USA, a Miami suburb; its principal is Howard Weiner. The school is on 23 acres in southwest Miami-Dade County, Florida, and is part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district...
, and the
New World School of the ArtsNew World School of the Arts is a conservatory in Miami, Florida with programs in visual arts, dance, theatre, musical theatre, instrumental music, and vocal music. The school's main building is located at 25 NE 2nd Street, Miami, and holds other classes on the Miami-Dade College Wolfson...
. M-DCPS is also one of a few public school districts in the United States to offer optional
bilingual educationBilingual education involves teaching most subjects in school through two different languages - in the United States, instruction occurs in English and languages such as Spanish or Chinese, with varying amounts of each language used in accordance with the program model. The following are several...
.
Private schools
Miami is home to several prestigious Roman Catholic, Jewish and non-denominational private schools. The Archdiocese of Miami operates the city's Catholic private schools, which include:
Our Lady of Lourdes AcademyOur Lady of Lourdes Academy is a Roman Catholic, all-girls high school in Miami, Florida founded in 1963.It is run by the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters. The current principal is Sister M. Sheila Foy IHM Lourdes was named one of the Top 50 Catholic High Schools in the USA by the . The school has...
, St. Hugh Catholic School, St. Agatha Catholic School,
St. Theresa SchoolSt. Theresa School is a private Catholic school located at 2701 Indian Mound Trail, Coral Gables, Florida. It is the parish school for the Church of the Little Flower.-History:...
,
La Salle High SchoolLa Salle High School is the name of several educational institutions affiliated with the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as the Lasallian Brothers, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by French Priest Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle:* Lasallian...
,
Monsignor Edward Pace High SchoolMonsignor Edward Pace High School is a Catholic secondary school in Miami Gardens, Florida.It was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2002 and one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the country in 2004 and 2005 by the Catholic High School Honor Roll. Pace is member of the National Catholic...
,
Carrollton School of the Sacred HeartCarrollton School of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic college preparatory day school for girls founded in 1961 in the neighborhood of Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida...
,
Christopher Columbus High SchoolChristopher Columbus High School is a Catholic, college preparatory, all-male high school set on a campus in Miami, Florida. It was established in 1958 by the Marist Brothers who also form part of school administration and faculty. With just over 100 teachers and 1,400 students, the student...
,
Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High SchoolArchbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Miami, Florida. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.-Background:...
,
St. Brendan High SchoolSt. Brendan High School is a co-educational private Roman Catholic high school in Westchester, Florida, a southwestern suburb of Miami. The school is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.- History :...
, amongst numerous other elementary and high schools. Some of the most well-known non-denominational private schools in Miami are
Ransom EvergladesRansom Everglades is an independent, co-educational day school serving grades six to twelve in Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida. It formed with the merger in 1974 of the Everglades School for Girls and the Ransom School for Boys...
,
Gulliver Preparatory SchoolGulliver Schools is a group of private co-educational schools. Its management offices are in Coral Gables, Florida. Its campuses are across Miami-Dade County.-Campuses:Campuses operated by Gulliver schools include:...
, and
Miami Country Day SchoolMiami Country Day School is a private, non-denominational, co-ed JK–12 college preparatory school near Miami Shores, just north of the city of Miami, Florida. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.-Academics:...
, which are traditionally known as some of the country's best schools. Other schools in the outlying areas include
Belen Jesuit Preparatory SchoolBelen Jesuit Preparatory School is a Roman Catholic preparatory school in Miami, Florida. It was established in Cuba by the Jesuits in 1854, but moved to the United States after the communist government of Fidel Castro, himself an alumnus, took power . The principal is Fr. Willie Garcia-Tunon, S.J...
and
Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day SchoolThe Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day Schools is a private, Jewish, co-ed pK–12 school near Aventura, Florida just north of the city of Miami. It is located adjacent to the Michael-Ann Russel Jewish Community Center. It is currently the second largest Jewish Day school in the country.-About the...
.
Colleges and universities
(List includes institutions in and around Miami.)
- Barry University
Barry University is a private Catholic university, which was founded in 1940 in Miami Shores, Florida, a suburb northeast of Downtown Miami. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. Barry offers business, nursing, health sciences, teacher education, and liberal arts programs...
(private)
- Carlos Albizu University
Carlos Albizu University is a private non-profit university offering undergraduate and graduate studies in psychology, business, and education. It has two campuses: one in San Juan, Puerto Rico , and the other in Doral, Florida, near Miami...
(private)
- Florida International University
Florida International University, commonly referred to as FIU, is a public research university located in Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus at University Park...
(public, largest university in South Florida)
- Florida Memorial University
Florida Memorial University is a private coeducational four-year university in Miami Gardens, Florida. One of the 39 member institutions of the United Negro College Fund, and a historically Black, Baptist-related institution which is ranked second in the Florida and ninth in the United States for...
(private)
- Johnson and Wales University (private)
- Keiser University (private)
- Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College, or simply Miami Dade or MDC, is a public four year college with eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers located throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida in the United States. Miami Dade College is the largest member institution of the Florida College System...
(public, largest institution of higher learning in the U.S.)
- Miami International University of Art & Design
Miami International University of Art & Design – is one of The Art Institutes, a system of more than 40 educational institutions located throughout North America, providing education in design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts....
(private)
- Nova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its' main campus in the town of Davie...
(private)
- St. Thomas University
St. Thomas University is a private Roman Catholic university in the Miami suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida.-History:The University traces its roots to the Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva, founded in 1946 in Havana, Cuba, named after Saint Thomas of Villanova, by American...
(private)
- Talmudic University (private)
- University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 in the city of Coral Gables, Florida within Miami-Dade County...
(private, located in Coral GablesCoral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is known as the home of the University of Miami.The population was 42,249 at the 2000 census...
)
The city ranks second-to-last in people over 18 with a high school diploma, with 47% of the population not having that degree.
Airports
Miami International AirportMiami International Airport , also known as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the Miami Metropolitan Area. The airport is located eight miles northwest of the central business district of Miami, in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States...
, located in an
unincorporated areaIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality. To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city or town with its own government. Thus, an unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in the county, serves as the primary international airport of the Miami Area. One of the busiest international airports in the world, Miami International Airport caters to over 35 million passengers a year. Identifiable locally, as well as several worldwide authorities, as MIA or KMIA, the airport is a major hub and the single largest international gateway for
American Airlines
, the world's largest passenger air carrier. Miami International is the United States' third largest international port of entry for foreign air passengers (behind New York's
John F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in Queens County, New York in southeastern New York City about 12 miles from Lower Manhattan...
and
Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving Los Angeles, California, the second-most populated metropolitan area of the United States. It is often referred to by its airport code LAX, with the letters usually pronounced individually...
), and is the seventh largest such gateway in the world. The airport's extensive international route network includes non-stop flights to over seventy international cities in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Alternatively, nearby
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International AirportFort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport is an international commercial airport located in Dania Beach, three miles southwest of the central business district of Fort Lauderdale, a city in Broward County, Florida, United States...
also serves commercial traffic in the Miami area.
Opa-Locka AirportOpa-locka Airport , also known as Opa-locka Executive Airport, is a general aviation airport and joint civil-military airfield located in Opa-locka and 10 miles north of the central business district of Miami, in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The airport has a control tower which is...
in
Opa-LockaOpa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the mid decade census, the population was 15,376 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau....
and Kendall-Tamiami Airport in an unincorporated area serve general aviation traffic in the Miami area.
Port of Miami
Miami is home to one of the largest ports in the United States, the Port of Miami. It is the largest cruise ship port in the world. The port is often called the "Cruise Capital of the World" and the "Cargo Gateway of the Americas". It has retained its status as the number one cruise/passenger port in the world for well over a decade accommodating the largest cruise ships and the major cruise lines. In 2007, the port served 3,787,410 passengers. Additionally, the port is one of the nation's busiest cargo ports, importing 7.8 million tons of cargo in 2007. Among North American ports, it ranks second only to the
Port of South LouisianaThe Port of South Louisiana is the largest volume shipping port in the Western Hemisphere and 9th largest in the world.
in New Orleans in terms of cargo tonnage imported/exported from Latin America. The port is on and has 7 passenger terminals. China is the port's number one import country, and
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
is the number one export country. Miami has the world's largest amount of cruise line headquarters, home to:
Carnival Cruise LinesCarnival Cruise Lines is a cruise line operating a large number of cruise ships. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, it is now a branded division within Carnival Corporation & plc, a publicly traded company which owns a number of different cruise brands.Carnival was a...
,
Celebrity CruisesCelebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...
,
Costa CruisesCosta Crociere S.p.A. is an Italian cruise line with 14 ships, including the Costa Pacifica and the Costa Luminosa. It is part of Carnival Corporation....
,
Crystal CruisesCrystal Cruise Lines, most commonly seen as Crystal Cruises, is a luxury cruise ship line founded in 1988 and notable for its two medium-sized, high-end ships...
,
Norwegian Cruise LineNorwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships, headquartered in Miami, Florida. It began operations in 1966 under the name Norwegian Caribbean Line. The company is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means that there are no set times or seating arrangements for meals,...
,
Oceania CruisesOceania Cruises is a United States-based shipping company that operates three luxury cruise ships on world-wide itenaries. It is currently the world’s largest upscale cruise line, offering good-quality food and itineraries at a cheap price when compared to other upscale cruise lines...
,
Royal Caribbean InternationalRoyal Caribbean International is a Miami, Florida -based cruise line brand owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., with 21 ships in service and two under construction. All ships since 1991 have names ending in "of the Seas."-Company and brand history:...
, and
Windjammer Barefoot CruisesWindjammer Barefoot Cruises was a leisure cruise line based in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1947, the company scheduled one and two week cruises in the Caribbean and Central America, using a fleet of sailing ships. The ships were former yachts and commercial vessels that were refurbished as cruise...
.
Public transportation
Public transportation in Miami is operated by
Miami-Dade TransitMiami-Dade Transit is the public transit authority in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 12th largest transit system in the U.S...
and
SFRTAThe South Florida Regional Transportation Authority is a tri-county federal public transit authority operated in Pompano Beach, Florida. The organization was created on July 1, 2003 by the Florida Legislature and enacted by the Florida Department of Transportation...
, and includes commuter rail (
Tri-RailTri-Rail is a Regional rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It is run by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. The 70.9 mile system has 18 stations along the South Florida coast...
), heavy-rail
rapid transitA rapid transit, metro, subway, underground, or elevated railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade separated from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically either in underground tunnels or elevated above street level...
(
MetrorailMetrorail, or commonly known as The Metro, is the principal rapid transit system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, serving the immediate Miami metropolitan area....
), an elevated
people moverA people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.-Terminology:The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more...
(
MetromoverMetromover is a free people mover train system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves Downtown Miami and Brickell from Omni to Brickell and connects with Metrorail at Government Center and Brickell stations. It originally began service to the Downtown...
), and buses (Metrobus). Miami has Florida's highest transit ridership as about 17% of Miami's population uses transit on a daily basis.
Miami's heavy-rail rapid transit system,
MetrorailMetrorail, or commonly known as The Metro, is the principal rapid transit system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, serving the immediate Miami metropolitan area....
, is an elevated system comprising 22 stations on a 22-mile (36-km)-long line. Metrorail runs from the western suburbs of
HialeahHialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2006, the population estimate by the U. S. Census Bureau had the city's population reduced to 209,971, making it the sixth largest city in the state...
and
Medley{Infobox Settlement|official_name = Town of Medley, Florida|other_name |settlement_type = Town|motto =|image_skyline =|imagesize =|image_caption =|image_flag =...
through the Civic Center,
DowntownDowntown Miami is the central business district of South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Miami, Florida. Brickell Avenue/Biscayne Boulevard is the main north-south road in downtown, and Flagler Street is the main east-west road in the Central Business District. As of 2009, there are approximately...
, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and ends in the southern suburb of
PinecrestPinecrest is a Miami suburban village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,055 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population to be at 19,432...
; construction on a direct rapid transit connection to
Miami International AirportMiami International Airport , also known as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the Miami Metropolitan Area. The airport is located eight miles northwest of the central business district of Miami, in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States...
began in 2009 with expected passenger service beginning in 2012. A free, elevated
people moverA people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.-Terminology:The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more...
,
MetromoverMetromover is a free people mover train system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves Downtown Miami and Brickell from Omni to Brickell and connects with Metrorail at Government Center and Brickell stations. It originally began service to the Downtown...
, operates 21 stations on three different lines in
DowntownDowntown Miami is the central business district of South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Miami, Florida. Brickell Avenue/Biscayne Boulevard is the main north-south road in downtown, and Flagler Street is the main east-west road in the Central Business District. As of 2009, there are approximately...
, with a station at roughly every two blocks of Downtown and
BrickellBrickell is an urban neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States. Along with Downtown, Brickell is Miami and South Florida's major financial district. Brickell is also a dense, high-rise residential neighborhood with many upscale, luxury condominium and apartment towers...
. Several expansion projects are being funded by a transit development sales tax surcharge throughout Miami-Dade County.
Tri-RailTri-Rail is a Regional rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It is run by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. The 70.9 mile system has 18 stations along the South Florida coast...
, a commuter rail system operated by the
South Florida Regional Transportation AuthorityThe South Florida Regional Transportation Authority is a tri-county federal public transit authority operated in Pompano Beach, Florida. The organization was created on July 1, 2003 by the Florida Legislature and enacted by the Florida Department of Transportation...
, runs from
Miami International AirportMiami International Airport , also known as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the Miami Metropolitan Area. The airport is located eight miles northwest of the central business district of Miami, in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States...
northward to
West Palm BeachWest Palm Beach, also known as West Palm, is the most populous city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida. West Palm's economy is currently ranked #4 in the Milken Institute Best Performing 296 U.S. Cities index...
, making eighteen stops throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
Construction is currently underway on the
Miami Intermodal CenterMiami Intermodal Center is a planned transportation hub under construction by the Florida Department of Transportation in Miami, Florida, in the United States. It will offer centralized transfer between Metrorail, Amtrak, Tri-Rail, buses, taxicabs, and rental cars...
and Miami Central Station, a massive transportation hub servicing Metrorail,
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
,
Tri-RailTri-Rail is a Regional rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It is run by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. The 70.9 mile system has 18 stations along the South Florida coast...
, Metrobus,
taxisA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire, with a driver, for a single passenger, or small group of passengers, typically for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
, rental cars, MIA People Mover, private automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians adjacent to Miami International Airport. Completion of the Miami Intermodal Center is expected to be completed by 2010, and will serve over 150,000 commuters and travelers in the Miami area. Phase I of Miami Central Station is scheduled to be completed in June 2010, and Phase II in 2011.
Two new light rail systems, Baylink and the Miami Streetcar, have been proposed and are currently in the planning stage. BayLink would connect
DowntownDowntown Miami is the central business district of South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Miami, Florida. Brickell Avenue/Biscayne Boulevard is the main north-south road in downtown, and Flagler Street is the main east-west road in the Central Business District. As of 2009, there are approximately...
with
South BeachSouth Beach is a neighborhood of the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. This area was the first section of Miami Beach...
, and the Miami Streetcar would connect Downtown with
MidtownMidtown Miami is a neighborhood in the City of Miami, Florida, United States. It is north of Downtown and south of the Design District. It is roughly divided by NE 20th Street to the south, I-195 to the north, I-95 to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east. Wynwood and Edgewater are sub-districts...
.
Road and rail
Miami is the southern terminus of
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
's Atlantic Coast services, with its final station located in the suburb of Hialeah.
Miami-Dade County is served by four Interstate Highways (I-75,
I-95Interstate 95 , the main Interstate Highway on the east coast of the United States, serves the Atlantic coast of Florida. It begins at a partial interchange with U.S. Highway 1 just south of downtown Miami, and heads north past Daytona Beach and Jacksonville to the Georgia state line at the St...
,
I-195Interstate 195 is a 4.91 mile spur expressway connecting Interstate 95 in the west with Miami Beach in the east, crossing Biscayne Bay by traveling over the Julia Tuttle Causeway...
,
I-395Interstate 395 connects Interstate 95 in the west with the MacArthur Causeway in the east in the Miami area via the Midtown Interchange. I-395 measures 1.114 miles in length. It carries the hidden Florida Department of Transportation designation of SR 836. All of Interstate 395 is elevated...
) and several U.S. Highways including U.S. Route 1, U.S. Route 27, U.S. Route 41, and U.S. Route 441.
For information on the street grid, see Miami-Dade County, Florida#Street grid.
Some of the major Florida State Roads (and their common names) serving the county are:
- SR 112
State Road 112 is an east-west state highway connecting Miami International Airport in Miami to Miami Beach in the U.S. state of Florida. Between the airport and Interstate 95, it is locally known as the Airport Expressway...
(Airport Expressway): Interstate 95Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, paralleling the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Miami. It is one of the...
to MIAMiami International Airport , also known as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the Miami Metropolitan Area. The airport is located eight miles northwest of the central business district of Miami, in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States...
- SR 821 (The HEFT
Heft and similar can mean:*Robert G. Heft, a designer of the 50-star and 51-star versions of the USA flag*HEFT, the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike*Hefting, a British English term for teaching sheep to stay on a set area of land...
or Homestead Extension of the Florida Turnpike): SR 91/Miami GardensMiami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive...
to U.S. Route 1/Florida CityThe City of Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 5,413,212 in 2007. The population was 7,843 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by...
)
- SR 826
State Road 826, also known as the Palmetto Expressway, is a bypass route around the greater Miami area, extending from U.S. Route 1 in Pinecrest, going through the inner Miami suburbs in a north-east semi-circle to the Golden Glades Interchange, reverting to a surface street to its terminus at...
(Palmetto Expressway): Golden Glades InterchangeThe Golden Glades Interchange, located in Miami Gardens and North Miami Beach, Florida, USA, is the confluence of five major roads serving eastern and southern Florida: U.S...
to U.S. Route 1/PinecrestPinecrest is a Miami suburban village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,055 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population to be at 19,432...
- SR 836
State Road 836, locally known as the Dolphin Expressway, is a 16-mile-long six-lane divided tollway currently extending from just north of the intersection of Southwest 137th Avenue and U.S. Route 41 in Tamiami, eastward past the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike and Miami International...
(Dolphin Expressway): Downtown to SW 137th Ave via MIAMiami International Airport , also known as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the Miami Metropolitan Area. The airport is located eight miles northwest of the central business district of Miami, in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States...
- SR 874
State Road 874, also known as the Don Shula Expressway, extends , connecting the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike and SR 826 in central Miami-Dade County, Florida. Despite its even number designation, the divided limited access toll road runs southwest-northeastand is signed south-north...
(Don Shula Expressway): 826/Bird Road to Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike/KendallKendall is a census-designated place and an unincorporated suburban Miami community in Miami-Dade County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 75,226....
- SR 878
State Road 878 , named the Snapper Creek Expressway, is a short east-west freeway south of Miami, Florida, United States. It provides a spur from State Road 874 east to U.S. Highway 1 , as well as local access in Kendall and South Miami...
(Snapper Creek Expressway): SR 874/KendallKendall is a census-designated place and an unincorporated suburban Miami community in Miami-Dade County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 75,226....
to U.S. Route 1/Pinecrest & South MiamiSouth Miami is a Miami suburban city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,741 at the 2000 census and as of 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,769.-History:...
- SR 924
State Road 924 is a 8.5-mile east-west highway connecting Interstate 75 and the Palmetto Expressway in Hialeah and SR 909 in North Miami...
(Gratigny Parkway) Miami LakesMiami Lakes is a Miami suburban incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 22,676 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
to Opa-lockaOpa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the mid decade census, the population was 15,376 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau....
In 2007, Miami was identified as having the rudest drivers in the United States, the second year in a row to have been cited, in a poll commissioned by automobile club AutoVantage. Miami is also consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States for pedestrians.
Bicycling
In recent years, the city government under Mayor Manny Diaz, has taken an ambitious stance in support of bicycling in Miami for both recreation and commuting. Every month, the city hosts "Bike Miami", where major streets in Downtown and Brickell are closed to automobiles, and left open for pedestrians and bicyclists. The event began in November 2008, and has doubled in popularity from 1,500 participants to about 3,000 in the October 2009 Bike Miami. This is the longest running such event in the U.S. In October 2009, the city also approved an extensive 20-year plan for
bikeBike may refer to:*Abbreviation for either bicycle or motorcycle*Bike Company*Bike, Ethiopia*Bike Magazine, a UK magazine about motorcycling*Bike , by Pink Floyd...
routes and paths around the city. The city has begun construction of bike
routeRoute may refer to:*GPS route, a series of one or more GPS waypoints*Road number*In computer networking: an entry in a router's Routing table*Route an area in County Antrim, Northern Ireland....
s as of late 2009, and ordinances requiring bike parking in all future construction is under consideration.
In popular culture
Many television shows have been set or are filmed in Miami. The controversial Emmy winning drama
Nip/TuckNip/Tuck is an American television drama series created by Ryan Murphy and broadcast on FX Networks. The show is set at the McNamara/Troy plastic surgery practice, and follows the professional and personal lives of its owners, Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy...
,
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
's
CSI: MiamiCSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
, and Showtime's
DexterDexter is an American television drama series that airs on the premium channel Showtime. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan , a covert serial killer governed by a strict moral code who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.The show is based on...
all take place in Miami.
The Jackie Gleason ShowThe Jackie Gleason Show was the name of a series of popular television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970.-Cavalcade of Stars:...
was taped in Miami Beach from 1964 to 1970. The NBC show
Good Morning, MiamiGood Morning, Miami is a sitcom which ran from 2002 to 2004 on NBC. Created by David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, the show focused on the personal and professional life of Jake, the executive producer of the lowest-rated morning show in the country, based in Miami.Though unsuccessful and unacclaimed,...
was fictionally based around the workings of a Miami television station. The popular sitcoms
The Golden GirlsThe Golden Girls is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a Miami, Florida home...
and
Empty Nest were based in Miami.
Miami ViceMiami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The show became noted for its heavy integration of music and visual effects to tell a story. The series starred Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in...
was also based and filmed in the Miami area. Keeping with its modern music tradition, the city has recently hosted the 2004 and 2005
MTV Video Music AwardsThe MTV Video Music Awards, also called the VMAs, were established at the end of the summer of 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year...
. Other music award shows to be hosted in Miami, are the Latin Grammys in 2003 and Lo Nuestro Awards in 2006. USA Network's hit show
Burn NoticeA burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons or purposes. This is essentially a directive for the recipient to disregard or "burn" all information derived from that...
is set and filmed on location in Miami and throughout South Florida.
In the mid-2000s, Miami started to become a popular backdrop for reality television shows. Reality programming set in the city include the
TLCTLC is an American cable TV network which carries a variety of informational and reality-based programming. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed...
show
Miami InkMiami Ink is an American reality show on TLC that followed the events that took place at a tattoo shop in Miami Beach, Florida. The show premiered in July 2005 and has just finished broadcasting its fifth season...
;
Discovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable TV channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It provides documentary programming focused primarily on popular science, technology, and history...
's
After Dark;
Animal PlanetAnimal Planet is an American satellite and cable television channel , that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications...
's
Miami Animal PoliceMiami Animal Police is a one-hour American documentary reality television series that premiered on January 5, 2004 on Animal Planet. It takes place in Miami, Florida and the surrounding Miami-Dade County, an area of more than...
;
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
's
8th & Ocean8th & Ocean is an American reality series that premiered on MTV on March 7, 2006. The series aired for ten episodes, ending its run on May 9, 2006.-Synopsis:...
,
Making MenudoMaking Menudo is a MTV series about getting young talented hopefuls to become part of the new Menudo band.The castmembers include J.C, Antony,Carlos, Christopher, Dennis, Eric, Hansel, Henry, JG, Jorge, Jose, Monti, Carlos "Pena", Thomas, Trevor and Emmanuel....
, the fourth season of
Making the BandMaking the Band is an ABC/MTV reality television series that exists in separate iterations, each iteration focusing on a specific music act. It spawned musical acts O-Town, Da Band, Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang...
,
Room RaidersRoom Raiders is a dating/reality series on MTV.-Premise:On the show, three men or women have their rooms inspected, or "raided" by another single man or woman...
;
The Real World: MiamiThe Real World: Miami is the fifth season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow and document their lives and interpersonal relationships. The season was...
, and
The X EffectThe X Effect is a reality show that began airing on MTV in March 2007. The concept is that pair of exes – an ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend – spend a weekend at a resort hotel, during which time they are given various romantic activities while the others covertly watch them...
;
VH1VH1 is an American cable television network based in New York City...
's
Hogan Knows BestHogan Knows Best was an American television show produced by Pink Sneakers Productions and centered around the family life of professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan . Often focusing on the Hogans' raising of their children, and on Hulk Hogan's attempts to manage and assist in his children's...
and its spin-off
Brooke Knows BestBrooke Knows Best is a VH1 reality series spin off from the hit VH1 reality program, Hogan Knows Best. The series premiered on July 13, 2008...
; TruTV's
Bounty Girls: MiamiBounty Girls: Miami was a Court TV show that features licensed female bail bond agents that track down and apprehend local fugitives. The women work for Sunshine State Bail Bonds. The show aired on the former Court TV in 2007, with only 9 episodes...
; A&EA&E is a cable and satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London. A&E stands for Arts & Entertainment, which, for many years, was in the channel's full title...
's The First 48The First 48 is an American reality television show based on homicide detective units in various cities across the United States. The show's premise is summarized in its title voiceover: "For homicide detectives, the clock starts ticking the moment they are called...
; E!'s Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami
, Bravo's Miami SocialMiami Social is a reality television program on the Bravo network. Miami Social chronicles the lives of seven friends as they live, work, and socialize in South Beach, Miami...
, and the third season of Bravo's Top ChefTop Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants...
.
The video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice City is a sandbox-style action-adventure computer and video game designed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
, which became one of the best selling video games in history, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City StoriesGrand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a sandbox-style action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
, take place in Vice CityVice City is a fictional city in the Grand Theft Auto series, based on Miami, Florida. Two versions of the city have appeared in different generations of the series:The Grand Theft Auto rendition is geographically very similar to Miami...
, a fictional city inspired by Miami, including some of the same architecture and geography. There are also characters in the game who speak Haitian Creole and SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
.
Miami has acted as the backdrop for many movies, including There's Something About MaryThere's Something About Mary is a 1998 romantic comedy film, directed by the Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter. Starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller, it is a combination of romantic comedy and gross-out film....
, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
, Wild ThingsWild Things is a 1998 erotic thriller film starring Matt Dillon, Kevin Bacon, Denise Richards, Neve Campbell and Bill Murray. It was directed by John McNaughton. In some countries the film was released as Sex Crimes...
, Marley & MeMarley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog is a New York Times bestselling autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan, published in 2005.-Plot:...
, Ace Ventura: Pet DetectiveAce Ventura: Pet Detective is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. It co-stars Courteney Cox, Tone Loc, and Sean Young among others. Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino also portrays himself in a major role...
, Out of Time
, Bad BoysBad Boys is a 1995 action comedy film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer, producers of Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop, and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith...
&
Bad Boys IIBad Boys II is a action-comedy film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. It is a sequel to the film Bad Boys.-Plot:...
, Transporter 2Transporter 2 is a 2005 French action film directed by Louis Leterrier and produced by Luc Besson. It is the sequel to 2002's The Transporter. It is itself followed by Transporter 3....
, The BirdcageThe Birdcage is a 1996 comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, and stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski. The script was written by Elaine May...
, The SubstituteThe Substitute is a 1996 action-crime-thriller film directed by Robert Mandel and starring Tom Berenger, Marc Anthony, Ernie Hudson, William Forsythe, Raymond Cruz, and Luis Guzmán.-Plot synopsis:...
, BlowBlow is a 2001 drama/biopic film about the American cocaine smuggler George Jung, directed by Ted Demme . David McKenna and Nick Cassavetes adapted Bruce Porter's 1993 book Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All for the screenplay...
, True LiesTrue Lies is a 1994 action comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku makes an early appearance in her acting career...
, Police Academy 5
, Reno 911!: MiamiReno 911!: Miami is a film based on Comedy Central's Reno 911! directed by cast-member Robert Ben Garant, who plays "Junior." It was released on February 23, 2007...
, Quick PickQuick Pick is a comedy film directed by Will Vazquez. The movie stars John Bryant as Eddie; Anna Moreno-Nava as Monica; Angelina Assereto as Sonia; Oscar A. Diaz as Chris; Andy Sottilare as Dr. Otto Von Delft; Rafael Diaz-Wagner as Rudy. Quick Pick made its world premiere in 2006 at the Chicago...
, Miami ViceMiami Vice is a 2006 American crime drama film about two Miami police detectives, Crockett and Tubbs, who go undercover to fight drug trafficking operations. The film is an adaptation of the 1980s TV series of the same name, written, produced, and directed by Michael Mann...
(based on the 1980s television series of the same name), Red EyeRed Eye is a 2005 thriller film directed by Wes Craven and starring Rachel McAdams as a hotel manager ensnared in an assassination plot by a terrorist while aboard a red eye flight to Miami. The film score was composed and conducted by Marco Beltrami. This is Cillian Murphy's second role of 2005...
, The BodyguardThe Bodyguard is a 1992 romantic-thriller film starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. In the film, Costner stars as a former Secret Service Agent turned bodyguard who is hired to protect Houston's character, a music star, from an unknown stalker...
, Any Given SundayAny Given Sunday is a 1999 film directed by Oliver Stone featuring an ensemble cast, consisting of Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx, James Woods, LL Cool J, Matthew Modine, John C...
, Cocaine CowboysCocaine Cowboys is a 2006 documentary film directed by Billy Corben and produced by Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben through their Miami-based media studio rakontur. The film explores the rise of cocaine and resulting crime epidemic that swept the American city of Miami, Florida in the 1970s and...
, ScarfaceScarface is a 1983 epic crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana. Based on Howard Hawks' original 1932 film of the same name, the film tells the story of a fictional Cuban refugee who comes to Florida in 1980 as a result of the...
, Miami BluesMiami Blues is a 1990 film based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. It stars Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by George Armitage.- Plot :...
, and the James BondJames Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The character has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr...
films GoldfingerGoldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title character. The film was...
, ThunderballThunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series after Dr. No , From Russia with Love and Goldfinger , and the fourth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original...
,and Casino RoyaleCasino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond series; it was directed by Martin Campbell and the first to star Daniel Craig as MI6 agent James Bond. Based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, it was adapted by screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis...
.
Miami is a center for Latin television and film production. As a result, many Spanish-language programs are filmed in the many television production studios, predominantly in HialeahHialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2006, the population estimate by the U. S. Census Bureau had the city's population reduced to 209,971, making it the sixth largest city in the state...
and DoralDoral is a city located in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is west of Miami International Airport, and considered a suburb of Miami. The City of Doral takes its name from the famous golf and spa resort located within its municipal boundaries...
. This includes gameshows, variety shows, news programs, and telenovelas. Arguably, the most famous Miami-filmed programs are Sábado GiganteSábado Gigante is a Spanish-language variety television show; it is Univision's longest running program, and the longest running variety TV show in the world . Sábado Gigante is an eclectic and frenetic mix of variety show and game show with celebrity guests, ranging from singers, to movie stars,...
, a Saturday night variety show seen throughout the United States, South America and Europe, and the daytime talk shows CristinaCristina Saralegui is a Cuban American journalist, actress and talk show host, well-known for hosting the Spanish-language eponymous show Cristina.-Early life and journalism career:...
and El Gordo y la FlacaEl Gordo y la Flaca is a Spanish language television talk show which parodies Laurel & Hardy, the 1930's comedy act. It first aired in 1998 and is hosted by Raúl De Molina aka El Gordo and Lili Estefan aka La Flaca...
. Country singer, the late
Keith WhitleyJackie Keith Whitley , known professionally as Keith Whitley, was an American country music singer. Whitley's brief career in mainstream country music lasted from 1984 till his death in 1989, but he continues to influence an entire generation of singers and songwriters...
(1955-1989), sang a song called, "Miami, My Amy", obviously about a special woman from Miami, one of his biggest hits to this day.
Sister cities
Miami has twelve sister cities:
BogotáBogotá – officially named Bogotá, D.C. , formerly called Santa Fe de Bogotá – is the capital city of Colombia, as well as the most populous city in the country, with 6,776,009 inhabitants...
,
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
(since 1971)
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital, and largest city, of Argentina, currently the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the eastern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
,
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
(since 1979) Kagoshima,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(since 1990)
LimaLima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao...
,
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
(since 1977)
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
(since 1997)
Port-au-PrincePort-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti.The city of Port-au-Prince faces the Gulf of Gonâve, at . The bay on which the city lies, which acts as a natural harbor, has sustained economic activity since the civilizations of the Arawaks...
,
HaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Creole- and French-speaking Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago...
(since 1991)
Qingdao' , best known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city in eastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west and Rizhao to the southwest. Lying across the Shandong Peninsula while looking out to the Yellow Sea,...
,
ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
(since 2005)
SantiagoSantiago , is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the centre of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m AMSL...
,
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
(since 1986)
SalvadorSalvador is a city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia...
,
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
(since 2006)
Santo DomingoSanto Domingo, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, estimated at 2,253,437 in 2006. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
,
Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries...
(since 1987)
VarnaVarna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in Northern Bulgaria, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, and 77th-largest in the European Union, with a population of 355,450 .Commonly referred to as the marine capital of Bulgaria, Varna is a...
,
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
See also
- Miami Police Department
The Miami Police Department or MPD, often referred to as the City of Miami Police, is the chief police department of the U.S. city of Miami, Florida. Their jurisdiction lies within the actual city limits of Miami, but have mutual aid agreements with neighboring police departments, most importantly...
- List of tallest buildings in Miami
- List of people from Miami
- Miami port tunnel
The Miami port tunnel is a planned $1 billion 3/4 mile long tunnel that has triggered debate in Miami, Florida. On December 12, 2008 the Credit Crunch and the resulting credit crunch triggered insurmountable problems in financing the tunnel, and the main contractor Babcock & Brown and the State of...
External links