Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a city in
Miami-Dade County,
Florida,
United States. The city was incorporated on March 26, 1915.
As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 87,933. As of 2004, the population recorded by the
U.S. Census Bureau is 89,104.
[1]Miami Beach is located at (25.813025, -80.134065).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.5
km² (18.7
mi²). 18.2 km² (7.0 mi²) of it is land and 30.2 km² (11.7 mi²) of it (62.37%) is water.
 |
The historical Art Deco District at South Beach during the night. |
In 1979 Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Art Deco District is the largest collection of
Art Deco architecture in the world and is comprised of hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures erected between 1923 and 1943. Mediterranean, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco are all represented in the District. The Historic District is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the East, Lenox Court on the West, 6th Street on the South and Dade Boulevard along the Collins Canal to the North. The movement to preserve the Art Deco District's architectural heritage was led by former interior designer Barbara Capitman, who now has a street in the District named in her honor.
South Beach (also known as
SoBe) is one of the more popular areas of Miami Beach.
Topless sunbathing is tolerated on the beaches in this area. Before the TV show
Miami Vice helped make the area popular, SoBe was rundown, with vacant buildings and a high crime rate. Today, it is considered one of the richest commercial areas on the beach, yet poverty and crime still remain in some places surrounding the area.
[MSNBC: South Beach: Life imitates art, quite vicely www.msnbc.com]Lincoln Road is a
nationally known spot for great outdoor
dining,
bike riding, and shopping.
Miami Beach is one of the top destinations in the United States for
gay tourism.
Miami Beach environs a home to a number of growing
Orthodox Jewish communities with a network of well-established and growing
synagogues and
yeshivas. It is also a magnet for thousands of Jewish families, retirees, and particularly snowbirds when the cold winter sets in to the north. They range from the Followers to the
Modern Orthodox to the
Haredi and
Hasidic - including many
rebbes who vacation there during the North American winter. There are a number of
kosher restaurants and even
kollels for post-graduate
Talmudic scholars.
 |
An example of a "condo canyon" in the distance. |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 87,933 people, 46,194 households, and 18,339 families residing in the city. The
population density was 4,829.5/km² (12,502.1/mi²). There were 59,723 housing units at an average density of 3,280.1/km² (8,491.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.74%
White, 4.03%
African American, 0.23%
Native American, 1.37%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 4.05% from
other races, and 3.53% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 53.45% of the population.
There were 46,194 households out of which 14.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.4% were
married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.3% were non-families. 48.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was sixty-five years of age or older. The average household size was 1.87 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the city the population was spread out with 13.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 38.2% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were sixty-five years of age or older. The median age was thirty-nine years. For every 100 females there were 105.0 males. For every 100 females age eighteen and over, there were 105.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,322, and the median income for a family was $33,440. Males had a median income of $33,964 versus $27,094 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $27,853. About 17.0% of families and 21.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 25.2% of those under age 18 and 24.5% of those age sixty-five or over.
Tertiary education in Miami Beach includes a branch of the
National School of Technology. Schools include Treasure Island Elementary, North Beach Elementary, Bay Harbor Elementary, South Point Elementary, Biscayne Elementary, Nautilus Middle School (which is the only middle school for the Miami Beach area) and Miami Beach Senior High School (which is the only high school for the Miami Beach area).
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The corner of Washington Avenue and Lincoln Road is often considered the "heart" of Miami Beach. |
*Star, Palm & Hibiscus Islands
*South Pointe
*Flamingo/Lummus
*West Avenue
*
Venetian Islands, including
Belle Isle*City Center
*Bayshore
*Nautilus
*Orchard Park
*La Gorce
*Oceanfront
*North Shore
*Normandy Isles
*Normandy Shores
*Biscayne Point
*
Little Buenos Aires*
Little Tel Aviv/Midtown*
Lincoln Road*
South Beach*
Saxony Hotel (currently under restoration)
*
Miami Beach Botanical Garden*
Flagler Monument Island*
Miami Beach Police Department*
Miami Modern Architecture*
John S. Collins*
Carl G. Fisher*
Collins Bridge*
Rosie the Elephant*
City of Miami Beach*
Miami Design Preservation League â€" Non-profit Organization for the preservation of Miami Beach Architectural History
*
Photographs of Miami Beach From the State Library & Archives of Florida
