Historic Preservation StoryMaps & Studies

Historic Preservation in Miami-Dade County is regulated by Chapter 16A of the County Code, which specifies that Miami-Dade County maintains jurisdiction in all areas of the county, unincorporated and incorporated, unless a municipality opts to enact their own historic preservation jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions outlined in the County Code.

This StoryMap was developed in conjunction with the creation of the Miami-Dade Historic Resource Guide as part of a forward-thinking effort to raise awareness and support expanded access to information and resources focused on our collective historic preservation goals to foster resilience and equity in our communities.

This StoryMap provides an overview of the most prominent architectural styles and construction methods historically used in Miami-Dade County. It navigates through each of the major stylistic developments of Miami-Dade County’s architectural history. Each style is contextualized through examples of locally-designated historic buildings that represent the style’s defining characteristics.

Miami-Dade’s tropical climate and fertile soil proved very attractive to ambitious homesteaders intending to settle the United States’ last “frontier.” It continues to prove attractive to agriculturalists today, as it is the only region in the continental United States with subtropical growing conditions.

The history of agriculture and farm labor is long and diverse; this StoryMap presents some of these fascinating stories to underscore the significant impact agriculture has historically had on the physical and economic landscape of Miami-Dade County.

The Roaring Twenties and the accompanying Florida Land Boom was a breakthrough period in Miami-Dade County’s history that was marked by rapid growth and development. During this time, the real estate market became increasingly competitive, and themed developments soon emerged each boasting their own distinct formations and aesthetic styles. The goal of these themed developments was to stand out to prospective buyers with their picturesque and coordinated architecture, streetscapes, and landscaping while allowing real estate developers to define unique placemaking in America’s tropical frontier.

This StoryMap tours some of the themed developments that emerged in Miami-Dade County during the 1920s Florida land boom.

Public housing, at the intersection of living arrangements, social and racial issues, and evolving geography of poverty and race in Miami, played a critical role in postwar discussion of the urban core.

This StoryMap was developed in conjunction with the writing of From Metropolis to Global City: Architecture and Planning in Miami-Dade County (1941-1989). This project was sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Historical Resources and the State of Florida.

As during its glorious prewar boom, Miami, and particularly Miami Beach, were postwar hotspots for the design, invention, and permutation of hospitality architecture. The postwar era brought a new challenge in the form of mass tourism. The first element of the new tourism, size, arrived just before World War II, as the financial strictures of the Great Depression eased, and tower construction boomed. Hotels were seen almost as mini-skyscrapers.

This StoryMap was developed in conjunction with the writing of From Metropolis to Global City: Architecture and Planning in Miami-Dade County (1941-1989). This project was sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Historical Resources and the State of Florida.

In 2017, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners directed the Office of Historic Preservation to conduct a survey of Cold War resources in Miami-Dade County. A study was completed in 2019. 

The Cold War storymap is currently in development and will be available soon. In the meantime, you can learn more about the Cold War in South Florida through the National Park Service’s Historic Resource Study.

In 2018, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners directed creation of a study of the impacts of historic preservation on the County. The resulting study evaluated the contributions of historic preservation to the economy, culture, character and environment of Miami-Dade County. The study was completed by PlaceEconomics. 

In 2019, the Office of Historic Preservation completed an assessment of County-designated historic sites and their vulnerability to flooding and sea level rise. By analyzing the state of vulnerability, the Miami-Dade County Office of Historic Preservation is laying the foundation for an actionable policy of climate change adaptation and mitigation for its treasured and diverse built landscape. As a founding member of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact and Resilient305, Miami-Dade County is well-positioned to lead coastal communities towards a future in which climate resilience is an automatic facet of any policy conversation. This study was undertaken within that context to provide the Office of Historic Preservation with the data and insight needed to approach resilience planning for Miami-Dade County’s historic landscape.