There was a time when bright neon lights were not a thing and skyscrapers didn’t line the skyline of Magic City. Take a look!
Historic Miami is an Instagram page entirely dedicated to sharing pictures of Miami’s past. Look at these magical pictures from Historic Miami’s profile and discover what it was like to live in Miami when traffic was not the stuff of nightmares and the Freedom Tower was the tallest building on Biscayne Boulevard!
There was a time (1918 to be precise) when Fisher Island was totally deserted and had absolutely nothing on it…
And the trolley ran across Downtown using overhead wires!
Miami transitioned from a village to a city in the blink of an eye, it never reached the status of town, it just skipped it, that’s why they called it the “Magic City”! This is the McAllister Hotel, Miami’s first high rise next to the bay. It used to seat on the corner of East Flagler St (known then as 12th Street) and the Boulevard (now Biscayne Boulevard) right by the sea!
And this is what it looked like from the air circa 1917!
The Freedom Tower was completed back in 1925 and used to be the Miami News HQs. Now it’s owned by Miami Dade College and is home to a Contemporary Art Museum. You may be used to seeing it surrounded by tall buildings, but it was once one of the tallest buildings on the new Biscayne Boulevard.
Ocean Drive used to be a bit less crowded in the early 20s…
And so was the Miami skyline!
The year 1967 was when the star of all our traffic-related nightmares was born. This is East I-365 under construction.
And a few years later it still looked like a peaceful, drivable highway. Aaah the good ol’ times!
And last but not least, here’s what Miami Beach looked like back in 1925, before it became the home of some of the hottest spots in town!
Feature image: @historic_miami