Image courtesy of Miami-History.com
In the late 1800s, industrialist Henry Flagler opened Miami’s first hotel on 12th Street- what is now known as Flagler Street. This hotel contributed to 12th becoming the City of Miami’s first main street. Beyond the hotel, you could find the original courthouse, dry goods shops and specialty stores, and the very first Burdines department store.
In 1921, 12th St. was renamed Flagler Street and became the North-South dividing line on the City of Miami’s grid-based street system. The Roaring Twenties cemented Flagler Street’s role as the vibrant hub of Miami, while a land boom more than doubled the city’s population and gave rise to iconic nearby communities, such as Coral Gables, Miami Shores, and Hialeah.
Image courtesy of Miami-History.com
By the 1930s, Miami and the rest of the U.S. had fallen into the Great Depression. Miami’s allure as a warm-weather paradise allowed it to fare better than many cities. Flagler Street continued to thrive and the city’s first modern skyscraper, the Historic Alfred I. DuPont Building, was erected in 1938. Tourism took off with the fledgling aviation industry. Pan American and Eastern Airlines headquartered here and opened routes that connected Miami to the world.
The end of World War II brought an unprecedented epoch of prosperity to Miami. From the 1950s through the late 1960s, Flagler Street was the most prestigious business address and the most stylish retail street in Miami. Burdines was famous for its pink and aqua décor, rooftop Ferris wheel, and elegant tearoom. Stores stayed open at night, and crowds thronged the dozens of theaters built on the ground floors of office buildings, including the 1500-seat Olympia Theater.
Image courtesy of Miami-History.com
In the 1970s, combined with residents moving to the suburbs, downtown retail districts across America gave way to suburban malls. Downtown Miami became largely sustained by an influx of Cuban refugees, who opened and patronized businesses on Flagler Street. The late Tony Alonso, a former Miami DDA board member, was the cornerstone of a movement to bring Flagler Street back to its former glory. At his urging, business owners, property owners, residents, and other stakeholders created the Flagler Street Task Force under the auspices of the Miami DDA. The original group of Downtown stakeholders first met in June 2011.
In 2014, in a show of solidarity, property owners agreed to self-taxation to provide seed money for an ambitious revitalization project. A year later, due to lobbying efforts on behalf of the Miami DDA, Miami-Dade County approved funding of $6 million through an Economic Development Fund. The following year, the City of Miami dedicated an additional $6 million to bring the project total to $13 million.
The project will upgrade the half-mile stretch of Flagler Street from Biscayne Boulevard to the Miami-Dade County Courthouse, following a proven model of redevelopment already demonstrated by Lincoln Road, Ocean Drive, and Sunset Drive in Miami-Dade County, and other great main streets around the world. A pedestrian-friendly, landscaped streetscape will reclaim the street’s legacy as the vibrant retail and business core of Miami. The deteriorated sidewalks will be replaced with broad, accessible, landscaped pedestrian walks that encourage cafés and nightlife, and a unique system will enable sections of the street to be blocked off for events and festivals.
Construction began on the first section, from NW 1st Ave to NW Miami Ct. in 2016. By 2017, the first phase, up to S. Miami Ave was complete. However, the City and stakeholders were not satisfied with the contractor, so the project was put on hold and a new contractor was procured. In the meantime, Mana Miami and the newly formed Flagler District BID explored upgrading the project, materials and utilities, and re-envisioning the corridor as a curbless, festival street. After lobbying efforts, both the City and the County made additional investments totaling $13 million, to bring the total project budget to $27 million.
In revitalizing and improving Flagler Street, the project will fulfill the expectations of over 92,000 downtown residents, 250,000 workers, and visitors who desire the advantages of a dynamic urban center. As such, the Flagler Street Task Force project is more than a return to the street’s past glory. It will make history in its own right by giving rise to a dynamic downtown worthy of a great city.
Image courtesy of Mana Miami