1920 to 1929 Miami Area Historical Photos Gallery - click on image to view Photo Gallery by Don Boyd at pbase.com

1920 to 1929 Miami Area Historical Photos Gallery - click on image to view

Most of these photos are from the Florida State Archives and some are from contributors and from postcards. Please also visit the "Downtown" Gallery for more images from this time period: https://pbase.com/donboyd/memories_downtown

For those of you who are new to computing and/or surfing the internet, this is just one page of many pages of photos on this site. The home page for our Old Hialeah/Old Miami galleries is at https://pbase.com/donboyd/memories and all the oldie galleries spin off from that page. You can also click on the yellow colored >>Memories of Old Hialeah, Old Miami and Old South Florida Photo Galleries << at top of any page to get back to the main oldies page to search other galleries.

Hopefully you will enjoy seeing the many old images on this page and in the many other historical photo galleries on this website. Perhaps the images and comments have brought back many fond memories of good times for you in the past and have helped you jog your memory of places and people you may have forgotten.

If you have enjoyed this site, as many people say they do, please consider making a financial contribution so I can continue building the site and spending my time working on photos for the enjoyment of many instead of spending my time making money from other endeavors like most other people do. Thank you for your consideration.

1920 - Aerial view of downtown Miami with new McAllister Hotel, before Bayfront Park was filled in	1920 - 1st Annual Palm Fete - The Bathing Suit Parade at Miami Beach	1920 - Gulfstream Apartments on Miami Beach, St. Francis Hospital on Allison Island, LaGorce Island & Normandy Isle to the right	1920 - Carl Fisher in his speedboat "We-We"	1920 - East end of County Causeway at south Miami Beach
1920 - Hardie's and Smith's Casinos on Miami Beach	1920 - Mangrove Forest Destruction on Miami Beach	1920 - Miami Beach, Florida	1920 - Spanish Village on Espanola Way, Miami Beach, Florida	1920 - aerial view of the new causeway to Miami Beach, later the County Causeway and then MacArthur Causeway
1920 - County Causeway, Terminal Island, Star Island and Miami Beach	1920 - County Causeway, Terminal Island, Miami Beach and Fisher Island (comments below)	1920 - Alton Beach Windmill on Miami Beach	1920 - County Causeway looking west from Miami Beach	1920 - Biscayne Bay Yacht Club at Cocoanut Grove
1920's - Camp Biscayne in Cocoanut Grove	1920's - The Lodge at Camp Biscayne in Cocoanut Grove	1920's - top to bottom: the Mastic Cottage, the Baywood Cottage and the Live Oak Cottage at Camp Biscayne in Cocoanut Grove	1920's - Ralph Munroe's boat house at 3485 Main Highway, Cocoanut Grove	1920's - postcard image of Star Island
1920's? - Henry Flagler's Steamboat S.S. MIAMI docked at Miami	Early 1920's - Coast Guard Biscayne Bay Station (formerly Biscayne House of Refuge -now North Shore Open Space Park) Miami Beach	1921 - the Florida Power & Light substation and fuel tanks along the County Causeway between Miami and Miami Beach, Florida	1921 - along the County Causeway from Miami to Miami Beach, Florida	1921 - the east end of County Causeway at Miami Beach, Florida
1921 - the east end of County Causeway at south Miami Beach	1921 - the east end of County Causeway at Miami Beach, Florida	1921 - Winter Bathing at Smiths Casino on Miami Beach	1921 - William Jennings Bryan's Presbyterian Tourist Bible Class in Miami	1921 - Bathers on Miami Beach
1921 - the Flamingo Hotel under construction on Miami Beach	1921 - Hardie's Bathing Casino on Miami Beach	1921 - Swimmers at Smith's Casino	1921 - Miami Beach Congregational Church (now the Miami Beach Community Church)	1921 - Fishing pier in the ocean at the foot of Lincoln Road
1921 - Power plant on Miami Beach	1921 - The west end (Miami side) of the County Causeway	1922 - Beauty prize winner standing by an Oldsmobile on Miami Beach	1923 - Country Club Prado Boulevard in Coral Gables	Early 1920s? - A crowd in Miami's first park by the bay in downtown Miami
Early 1920's - Aerial view of Miami River, Downtown Miami, and Biscayne Bay shoreline	1920's - the County Causeway from Miami to Miami Beach	1920's? - NE 14th Street looking east towards Biscayne Bay, Miami	1920's - Carl Fisher's Casino on Miami Beach	1920's - the Royal Palm Hotel on the Miami River at Biscayne Bay, Miami
1920's - the Royal Palm Hotel on the Miami River at Biscayne Bay, Miami	1920's - mid winter hay making on Dr. John G. DuPuis' White Belt Dairy Farm, Miami (comments below)	1924 - S. B. Grey's check for $50 to Miami City Hospital for birth of his son Burl Grey	1924 - article about first aerial mapping of Miami with Andrew Heermance as pilot of the Curtiss aircraft	1925 - Central Business District in downtown Miami
1925 - Biscayne Bay and City of Miami skyline	1925 - the Southern Bell Telephone Book for Miami, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove and Coral Gables	1925 - the Sunny Isles Casino	1925 - map of old Miami and surrounding environs in 1925 and projected growth by 1935	1925 - map of old Miami and surrounding environs in 1925, north of Flagler Street, and projected growth by 1935
1925 - map of old Miami and surrounding environs in 1925, south of Flagler Street, and projected growth by 1935	1925 - map of old Miami and surrounding environs in 1925, Fulford to Buena Vista, and projected growth by 1935	1925 - map of old Miami and surrounding environs, east of Miami Avenue, in 1925 and projected growth by 1935	1925 - Map of south end of Miami Beach, Port of Miami, Venetian Islands, Biscayne Bay	1925 - Coral Gables incorporated as a city with William Jennings Bryan addressing crowd
1925 - a tent city built to house workers constructing buildings in the new city of Coral Gables	Press information for the preceding two photos about the incorporation of Coral Gables	1926 - Miami's new drydock, a result of the Hurricane of 1926	1926 - Downtown Miami after the hurricane	1926 - Baker's Haulover bridge after the Hurricane of 1926
1926 - Miami Senior High School	1926 - poster for "Coral Gables Miami Riviera 40 miles of water front George E. Merrick"	1926 - looking down Flagler Street, downtown Miami	1926 - a view of downtown Miami looking northeast	1926 - a view of downtown Miami looking south-south-west from the Miami News Building on Biscayne Boulevard
1920's - The Roney Plaza Hotel on Miami Beach	1927 - First arrival of the Seaboard Air Line Railway Company's Orange Blossom Special locomotive	1927 - First arrival of the Seaboard Air Line Railway Company's Orange Blossom Special locomotive	1927 - Downtown Miami	1927 - Downtown Miami from the El Comodoro Hotel
1927 - Dade County Courthouse under construction in downtown Miami	1927 - Dade County Courthourse under construction	1927 - Downtown Miami from the El Comodoro Hotel	1927 - Ida M. Fisher High School on Miami Beach, named after the mother of Carl G. Fisher	1928 - Aerial of downtown Miami looking north
Mid 1920's - Dunn's Pier at 12th Street (now Flagler Street) and Biscayne Bay, Miami	Mid 1920's - Elser's Pier area at 12th Street (now Flagler Street) and Biscayne Bay, Miami	1920's - the Santa Clara School in Miami	1928 - the Florida East Coast Railway Buena Vista rail yard in Miami	1920's - Victoria Hospital at 925 NW 3rd Street, Miami

comment |

Alan Dinn		04-Dec-2020 21:41
Looking for a photo of the yawl ALLISONI used by the old Miami Aquarium.

Shirley		11-Nov-2018 08:48
I am so pleased to have found your website. My mother was born in Miami on July 19, 1926. Her father, mother and 10 year old sister along with his brother left Illinois to open a coffe shop on the beach (wish we had photos) but the hurricane destroyed it and they returned to Illinois. When mother was seven her dad was killed in a car accident. Mother is still living and only recently has she had serious health issues. I can't wait to show her your pictures.

Guest		27-Sep-2018 05:42
Whats the chance of a close-up photo of a 1930-40-50s Miami Policemans shoulder patch??

Guest		10-Aug-2018 00:00
does anyone have any information on the islands being built off the south Florida coast before the 1926 hurricane and that were destroyed by that hurricane? Thanks! My ggrandfather was one of the investors and I'm writing a family history. Kate miahbj@gmail.com

Don Boyd		30-Aug-2014 06:59
Karen, thank you for your comments. Dr. DuPuis was a physician according to a Miami News article that I recently found and will display on this site. I am really curious as to why Dr. John G. DuPuis Elementary in the Palm Springs section of Hialeah was changed to his name without the Dr. in front. The school system has named schools after educators who have doctorates in education and they call them "Dr. Joe Blow" whatever the school is, and it's really strange why the school system changed the name in Dr. DuPuis' honor because he donated the land for the school and Palm Springs Jr. High (now Palm Springs Middle). Don .

Karen		30-Aug-2014 04:09
Absolutely amazing photos, thank you so much! To respond to an earlier poster, I think Dr. DuPuis was indeed a physician... he also delivered many of the children in my father's family. (My dad was born in 1916.) There was also a midwife present at the births, according to the story we heard; she was a friend of my grandmother's. Many thanks for sharing these wonderful photos, Don. They give a great feeling of what the "town" was like then!

Don Boyd		27-Aug-2012 03:05
Gary, not yet but someday someone will send me some which I will be glad to post here. Don

Gary		26-Aug-2012 16:56
Any photos of the University of Miami in it's infancy??

Guest		04-Jun-2012 01:37
Does anyone know why there were Egyptian pharaoh statues along Biscayne blvd in the 1920's? I recently saw an old Miami newspaper and there were photos of people taking photographs on top of the statues. Thanks. Eddy

Guest		04-Jan-2012 17:41
My great - grandparents owned and operated a "Beer Garden" on Meridian and First Street back in the 1920s. My grandfather owned and ran March Plumbing on 1st and Jefferson, right across the street. My mother was born there in the 1930s and stayed there until the late 1950s when she married and moved to Orlando where I was born. I LOVE these old photos. It's helping me gain understanding to the family I never knew. Thank You So Much!

Betty (Lawrence) Jolley		27-Jul-2010 18:10
Dr. John DuPuis delivered my father in Miami in 1920. He came to spend the night until the birth took place (at home) the following morning. The doctor was also supposed to deliver my aunt but he didn't make it in time and my grandfather had to do it. Does anyone know if Dr. DuPuis was a physician or a veternarian? I know he owned the White Belt Dairy. Betty (Lawrence) Jolley

Sharon		01-Jun-2010 23:17
I'm working on a children's book set in Miami in the 1920s. Does anyone know which public elementary school children living in the area of Avenue H and Tenth Street (today's Northeast 2nd Ave and Eighth Street) would have attended? Thanks for your help.

Don Boyd		13-Apr-2010 16:12
Nita P: welcome and thank you for posting your memories and comments. Please feel free to post more comments and memories anywhere on the site that you think is appropriate because visitors to the site love reading comments left by others. Thanks! Don .

Nita P		12-Apr-2010 21:01
Our Dad's Auto Garage was at the edge of the bridge on the Miami Beach side and he was the last person to leave the causeway when the 1926 hurricane was inbound. Bill & Audrey operated Pioneer Garage in several locations; both stayed to the end of their lives. My sis & bro & self born Jackson Hosp, 1930,1933,& 39, and all R.E.Lee Jr High on 5th ave, and Miami Sr High grads. This forum is a great gift to natives and i am incredibly homesick for the blessings of freedoms which made Miami great. People came to Miami to make a new and a better life. Everyone was a friend. My 1st job was babysitting for Guests at the old McAllister Hotel. We could tell you some wild stories; Airshows,"hydroplane" races, great Teachers, fierce hurricanes. Thanks again. N.Pressley

Paolo Peggi (aka Bracciodiferro)		02-Dec-2009 19:27
I love the photos in this gallery,very nice. My favorite:VOTE! Ciao, Paolo

CA		23-Oct-2009 19:08
Easy way to find old Miami maps. The Sanborn Insurance Company made detailed maps of Miami every couple of years or so. The main Miami-Dade Public Library in downtown has the maps on microfiche. They also have the Miami directories from early years on micofiche. These were essentially early versions of the yellow pages. Keep in mind that the directories from the teens and 20s and maybe 30s are segregated in listings for whites and blacks.

Guest		26-Jun-2009 14:37
I was placed in the Marion, or Miriam, or Mary Ann Black Boarding school by my Mother in the fall of 1929. I need to know what street it was on and if anyone can advise me where I might get a Map of Miami streets in 1929 or even 1930.

Guest		01-Nov-2008 14:14
Ida M Fisher high school? Was it on the same location that the elementary school is at now? let me know. thanks in advance.

smartfox37		30-Oct-2008 19:11
Hi everyone, I do metal detecting as a hobby and would like to know of places on Miami Beach where I could detect to find old coins. I like to detect the beach for jewlery at times and have been getting into grass detecting as well. Can anyone please give me information on what areas on Miami Beach that are public I could go to where a lot of people used to hang out back in the 1900's. Thank you in advance. Yes I did go to Fineberg Fisher, Nautilus, and Miami Beach Senior High School. I was class of 1993.

Brian		29-Oct-2008 16:34
I'm researching for a book that's about the history of Miami Beach, 1925-1931. I'm looking to speak with people who were living in the city at that time. I just have questions about what the city, people, etc. were like at that time. Thanks in advance for anyone that takes the time to respond.

Don Boyd		27-Sep-2008 16:11
Shannon: thank you for your comments and memories, and thanks to the other posters for taking the time to post their memories too. Don

Guest		24-Sep-2008 20:04
Thanks so much for what you are doing with this website. Believe it or not, I found out about it from a friend at church in Asheville, NC!!!! My mother came to Miami in 1926, when she was 5 years old. My grandfather helped build many of the Miami Beach hotels. My mother's grandmother had a boarding house in downtown Miami. I remember a family story about her having the opportunity to invest some money in Real Estate. She had a choice between mangroves on Miami Beach or an orange grove in Naranja. Well, you can guess she picked the orange grove and lost everything when a frost hit!!! I was born at Jackson Memorial Hospital in 1944 and graduated from Gables High in 1962. My mother had two sisters and I was wondering if anyone out there went to Edison High and remember the Baron sisters, Lorraine, Margaret or Leona? Thanks again, Shannon (O'Dea) Hudson-Flecther, N.C. (shamp891@bellsouth.net)

Patty		02-May-2008 00:33
We moved to Miami Beach when I was 5 & my brother was 3 we lived on Commerce St close to Joe"s Stone Crab. We fished off the pier & can remember getting into trouble jumping off the pier the life guards would chase us all off . All of the pictures bring back a lot of great memories . My dad worked on the south beach as a beach patrol & my mom worked at the ocean drive restaurant the 5th street gym was above it where a few famous fighters came from. The hotels were beautiful when I got older I worked in some of the hotel coffee shops. Schools were great not over crowded like they are now,no bullies I wish my children & grandchildren had a chance to enjoy schools like that. How things have changed. Thanks for the pleasure of viewing your picture wish I had some of them..

Guest		01-Apr-2008 02:42
I was born in Mt. Sinai Hospital in 1954. Went to South Beach Elementary, Fisher Jr. High, and Beach High. There couldn't have been a better place to grow up, back when the Beach was a small town and everyone knew everyone. I love looking at old pics that bring back so many wonderful memories. The Beach will always be beloved to me and my family.

robertbowman		15-Mar-2008 04:58
I'm also an alum of Beach High 74'. I also attended south beach elementary school as well as Fisher Jr. high.I worked at Joe's for a total of about 15 years. First watching the cars(before I had a license), then valet, then Doorman. The dog track was in full swing then and we competed for parking spots. Sometimes we ran 2 or 3 blocks away to retreive cars. We met all the celebrities of the day. Everyone who was anyone came to Joe's. Jesse Weiss who was Joes son used to sit out front with us and smoke his cigars and curse (under his breath)at the customers who would say that they knew Joe.Back then they only had tuxedo clad waiters who mostly worked the season on the Beach and the traveled to the Catskills to work. What a great place south beach was to grow up in.

Guest		14-Mar-2008 02:32
Don--I certainly enjoyed looking at your pictorial scrapbook of old Coast Guard photos. I did recognize many of those in the photos.Yes,I did forget to mention my Coast Guard time. Thank you for remembering me. Take care.---Irv"Red"Heller

Don Boyd		13-Mar-2008 00:15
Red, I remember you. You forgot to mention your lengthy service in the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve, on Miami Beach (Causeway Island) for many years, where you served with distinction. We were never in the same unit but I ran into you a few times. You might want to check out my CG/CGR gallery of photos at: http://www.pbase.com/donboyd/friends_uscg Best regards, Don

Irving"red'Heller		12-Mar-2008 19:57
I moved to Miami Beach in 1936 . I went to South Beach Elementary,Ida M. Fisher Jr. High and graduated Miami Beach Sr. High in 1951. I was a team member of the Beach High football team that tied Miami Sr.High 7 to 7 inthe Orange Bowl in 1950. Other than my 4 year enlistment in the US Air Force during the Korean war,I remained living in the Miami area.In 2001,I retired from the Miami-Dade Police Dept. as an Assistant Director of the largest police agency in theSoutheastern United States. I consider my upbringing in Miami Beach,my school teachers,my high school friends as giving me the greatest memories of wonderful times that I had while growing up in a small knit community during the late 30's,40's and early 50's.The biggest thrill of my career came about in November of 2007 when I was inducted into the Miami Beach Senior High School Hall of Fame.Again,my memories of my early years living in Miami beach will always live with me.Thank you-----Irv"Red'Heller

Don Boyd		25-Feb-2008 17:48
Thank you Joan for writing in with your memories, we appreciate it. If you have that 1957 Homecoming Princess photo we would love to put it up on the website. Don

Joan E. Childs		25-Feb-2008 17:20
I grew up in South Beach before it became the Southern Rivera of the US. I remember being six years old, sittingon the curbise across from Joe's Stone Crabs, wondering what Stone Crabs were, thinking they were crabs made from stone. I was a frequent uninvited guest at the Plaza Theatre where I watched as many movies as the ushers allowed and climbed the Jedis until high school graduation. A student of South Beach Elementary, Ida M. Fisher and a graduate of Beach High where I earned the honor of Homecoming Princess class' of 57, I learned that this was the most unique time and place to grow up. Our 50th reunion served as a reminder of those wonderful innocent years! Joan E. Gilbert Childs

L.A. Curtis		04-Feb-2008 22:47
I was born in Jackson Memorial Hospital in 1925 and attended Miami Senior High School until my family moved in 1941. I have many fond memories of growing up in Miami.

Guest		29-Jan-2008 01:58
Love the Miami Beach pics. My mother graduated from Ida M. Fisher HS in 1932. She grew up on South Beach during the booming 30's, experienced the '26 hurricane. Her father had a barber shop there for decades.

Guest		01-Oct-2007 01:01
My father,the late Dr. E.Thomas Kinsey, had a clinic at 320 N.W. 7th Ave.He was one of the earlier doctors in Miami, and was on the honorary staff at Jackson Memorial Hospital when it was the building now known as " The Alamo" . My daughter was born there in 1944. Does anyone remember the "Bluebird Drive In" at the foot of the county sauseway? It served ( to your car!) a huge platter of fried lobster tails with all the 'trimmins' for .75 cents! I was the silly teenager at Miami High who drove the little yellow and red 'Bantam" sports car. The football players loved picking it up and moving it around from my original parking spot in front of "Markey's'" sweetshop on the corner from the school. Remember Friday nights at The Orange Bowl Drive in"? We all parked there for curb service and to see who else in the 'in crowd' of high school were there. Remember the 'Break Dances" on Wednesday nights? What a great time to grow up in a ONCE beautiful and paradisical city! It hurts to see what a mess it is now. It is just another 'metropolis' without soul or character. Too bad.

Katherine Smith		24-Jun-2007 02:58
I truly enjoyed looking at these pictures. I was born in Miami 1960 I spend many summers along the beach hotels with my family in the 1960's and trips to the florida keys I started to travel at the age of 3 from Miami International as my father worked with Pan American Airlines. I have fond memories of Miami from collecting seashells on the beach to school field trips to local attractions which enriched my childhood. Thank you again.

Edward J. Japhe		06-Jun-2007 16:41
Your Galleries are excellent and really takes me back to my childhood to remember what I was so lucky to have been brought up within when Miami was really great prior to just after the end of WW II.

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