There were several public observation decks on top of the concourses at MIA, with pay (one dime) turnstiles at the base of the concourses. As kids we always squeezed around the turnstile arms or hopped over them. The Concourse 4 (now Concourse E) observation deck disappeared in the late 1970's when the concourse was rebuilt and enlarged.

The air traffic control tower is #8 in Miami's history (with early towers at Miami Municipal Airport and Master's Field in the count - see the photos). The FAA vacated Tower #8 in 1985 when they moved to Tower #9 on the west side of MIA. Pan Am ramp controllers then occupied Tower #8 until December 4, 1991, when Pan Am died. We then moved some of the Aviation Department gate controllers into this tower at the end of January 1992 after a quick remodeling of the tower cab and they were joined by two American Airlines apron controllers. This tower was renamed to the "E-Tower" since we already had gate controllers in the "B-Tower" which was Eastern's former ramp tower on top of Concourse B.

For more information on the older towers in Miami: http://www.faa.gov/ats/atct/miatct/tower.HTM