No other city in the United States is like Miami. Since its foundation, barely 108 years ago, Miami has gone through times of turmoil and triumph. However, its increasingly diverse population has been able to turn a tourist oriented city into a glowing, cosmopolitan, international metropolis.

From the beginning, Miami’s rich sub-tropical abundance, its sun, sand and beautiful beaches have attracted seekers and dreamers. The Tequesta Indians found this land more than 10,000 years ago and had it all for themselves until the Spanish “rediscovered"  it again in the 16th century.

In the 19th century, wreckers from the Bahamas came to South Florida and the keys to hunt for the remains of an international array of ships that crashed into the Great Florida Reef. At about the same time, the Seminole Indians, along with a group of runaway slaves came to Florida.

In 1891, a plucky widow named Julia Tuttle moved to Florida and purchased 640 acres of land on the north bank of the Miami River. Tuttle later talked wealthy railroad builder Henry Flagler into extending his railroad into Miami, building a luxury hotel and laying out a new town. These developments resulted in the birth of a new city. The City of Miami was incorporated on July 28, 1896.

As a result of these developments, thousands of new comers arrived in Florida. Even then, Miami had a very diverse population; people with a variety of cultures, from every part of the world flocked to this new city. Miami’s first mayor was an Irish Catholic. Most of the early merchants were Jewish. African Americans and Black Bahamians made up one-third of the City’s incorporators.

Despite vast developments Miami fell into a deep depression three years earlier than the rest of the nation. In 1926 a terrible hurricane struck Miami. As a result 100 people lost their lives and thousands of homes were destroyed. Miami, however never stayed down for long. Its resilient spirit brought it out of the 1930’s depression ahead of the rest of the nation. This happened in part due to the aviation industry. During the depression, Pan American Airways began the era of modern aviation with “Flying Clippers” from Miami Dinner Key. Even then, Pan Am advertised Miami as the “Gateway to the Americas”. Today, the Pan-am terminal is the home to City of Miami officials: City hall.

Countless men and women who trained in Miami during World War II hurried back to South Florida after the war creating another period of phenomenal growth. Despite all of this development, Black Miamians were still waiting for their own dreams to come true. Segregation of the races was prescribed by both law and custom as the order of the day. Even the color of the beaches was clearly defined during this period as separated.

As a result of this segregation, Overtown developed a unique identity and a sense of pride in its people. After decades of civil battle, school segregation was finally defeated in the 1970’s. So teachers, administrators and staff of all public schools were integrated.

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959, Miami’s history took an unexpected turn. In a single decade, more than a half million Cubans fled to South Florida. In 1980, Miami experienced its worst immigration wave during the Mariel boatlift. In about four months, 125,000 refugees arrived in Miami. As they stayed and prospered, they helped transform Miami into a true connecter to Latin America.

During the 1980’s, our city experienced days of racial tension. A wind of rage, hate and fear blew over the city. At least 18 people died and more than a thousand were injured. Another sort of wind blew over Miami on August 24, 1992. Hurricane “Andrew” lashed South Florida leaving death and destruction behind. Once again Miami overcame the nightmare.

Three years later the City of Miami fell into the worst financial crisis of its history. To help the City survive, the state government created a supervisory board to watch over the municipal services. At the time of this fiscal catastrophe, major bond-rating services reduced Miami’s ratings to junk.

At the beginning of the 21st century, things started to change for the better. Since 2001, the credit ratings have been steadily increasing and now the city is at an all time high level standing with all three of its credit-rating firms.

A six-capital improvement program valued at more than 500 million dollars has been designed to bring sweeping infrastructure enhancement to every neighborhood in the City. The plan includes storm water sewer and drainage projects to mitigate flash floods during the rainy season.

More than ever before, our parks have become a vibrant place for families to enjoy together. The summer programs in addition to sports have many other options for kids with artistic talents.

Our Neighborhoods are more secure thanks to the “Quality of Life Task Force”, a combined effort of different municipal departments. This specialized team has been able to enforce the law and eradicate many illegal activities, as well as, remove thousands of abandoned and untagged vehicles from our streets.

Looking to the future, we have “Midtown Miami” a 1.2 Billion commercial and residential development to be built in the Wynwood area, close to Little Haiti, Overtown, Allapattah and the Design District. Miami Midtown will be the cornerstone for the creation of jobs and economic development in those areas.

History proves that the spirit of Miami’s dynamic, vibrant people always remains strong. Let’s be proud of our rich history and keep working towards a bright future.