Remember when South Florida looked like this? See the streets, clubs, hotels, stores
South Florida sure has changed through the years.
Your grandparents wouldn’t recognize the place. And maybe not even a friend who’s been away for a decade or two.
The Miami skyline continues to sprout. Old landmarks have disappeared.
Let’s take a tour through earlier times.
Do you remember the way it looked then?
Downtown Miami
Department stores. Shoe shops. Pedestrians clutching shopping bags. Downtown, specifically Flagler Street, was once the main street of commerce in Miami. Take a look
Brickell
See those fancy towers? Private estates and office buildings from the 1950s and ‘60s used to be there. In the 1980s, the skyline changed even more with the construction of signature buildings seen on the TV show “Miami Vice.” Take a look
Hollywood
The Greyhound bus station is long gone. So are the movie theaters, some beloved restaurants and stores, a landmark hotel, although a new residential building features a replica facade. Take a look
Fort Lauderdale
The Las Olas area of the city had different businesses and restaurants. Take a look
Hialeah
As Miami and Miami Beach blossomed in the 1920s into “America’s winter playground,” Hialeah grew up as the working person’s town. Take a look
Miami Lakes
The farms were replaced with homes and shopping, and lured Don Shula and several Miami Dolphins players. Take a look
North Beach
The three movie theaters are gone. A famous deli where Larry King broadcast from a booth is gone. Even the hotel where the Beatles made their American debut is gone. North Beach surged in popularity after World War II. Apartment buildings, houses and a golf course popped up in the `1940s and ‘50s. Take a look
South Beach
What was South Beach like in the 1980s, after the heydey of the 1940s and ‘50s but before the renaissance in the 1990s? Take a look
Aventura
The Northeast Miami-Dade area began as a quiet condo community in the 1970s, filled with mostly retired people. The most exciting thing in town back then was a strip shopping center anchored by Publix. Take a look
Kendall
When it opened on Oct. 1, 1962, on Kendall Drive off U.S. 1, Dadeland was dubbed ‘Deadland’ because North Kendall Drive was called called the road to nowhere. Built as an open-air strip center, Dadeland started with 62 merchants, including Burdines as its only anchor. Take a look
Key West
Duval Street once looked like your typical downtown street, with hardware, clothing and shoe stores. Then tourism became the economy’s bedrock and the street changed from those quieter times. Take a look
Nightclubs
Miami likes to party. For decades, nightspots have stretched across South Florida, offering entertainment, dancing, music and drinks. Take a look
Sports stadiums
We have seen sports stadiums and arenas come and go in South Florida. Take a look
Airport
Some people call Miami International Airport a city. And other things, too. But it wasn’t always a maze of concourses and parking garages. Take a look
Hotels
The Americana. The Dupont Plaza. The Everglades. These are some of the grand hotels that helped put Miami on the map. Take a look
Malls
Some malls and stores are gone, except in our memories. Others have been renovated and expanded. What did those South Florida malls look like in the early days? Take a look
Grocery stores
What did Publix look like in the days before Pub Subs and BOGOS? Take a look
