Miami is te 10th largest city in the United States and is located in the heart of South Florida. Otherwise known as ‘Gateway to the Americas’ has a population of 5,500,000 million in just 35.68 square miles. It's suburbs stretch from the Florida Everglades to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east that also extends from Florida Bay north to Lake Okeechobee.
In 1566 Miami was claimed for Spain by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. A Spanish mission was constructed one year later in 1567. The ‘Mother of Miami’ Julia Tuttle was the women behind the city making it "the only major city in the United States conceived by a woman’. Julia was a local citrus grower and a wealthy Cleveland native and after the Great Freeze of 1894–1895, when only crops in Miami survived, Julia convinced Henry Flagler, a railroad tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railroad to the Miami. For this she got her name as mother of the city, which became so in 1896 with a population of just over 300.
In 1926 a hurricane destroyed much of the city and more than 3730 were killed in this natural disaster, but the city rebuild itself to its former glory. Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959 whihc led to an influx of Cuban exiles. This Cuban-American population defines Miami's residents, culture and politics today.
Miami has been thriving in recent years in business commerce and
infrastructure. The city has much Art Deco architectural buildings with a unique style of ‘tropical deco’ which is recognised worldwide. The Port of Miami is the now busiest cruise ship
passenger port in the world.
Many of the world biggest brands have
their headquarters in Miami Bacardi, Burger King, Perry Ellis
International, RCTV International, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Ryder
Systems and many more. Miami is also the base for over 1400
multinational headquarters for the Latin America divisions of American
Airlines, Disney, FedEx, Microsoft, Sony, Visa International, and
Wal-Mart to name a few.In the last ten years building has been
priority in the city with more than 50 skyscrapers being built rising
over 400 feet, making Miami’s skyline one to be envied like New York
and Chicago.
Miami shores are where most things happen for the
city of Miami. Biscayne Bay, which contains hundreds of natural and
artificial barrier islands. Two of the largest of these islands
are Miami Beach and South Beach. Miami’s climate is warm all year round
as a result of the Gulf Stream running northward just 15 miles (24 km)
off the coast.
Miami filled with all
elements of entertainment, music, fashion, film, theatre, museums and
performing arts centers. South Beach is a haven of Art Deco and
culture. Recently the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts was
opened and is the second-largest performing arts center in the United
States. The Grand Opera has its home here also.
Downtown Miami is the home to many museums such as the Bass Museum, Frost
Art Museum, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Jewish Museum of
Florida, Lowe Art Museum, Miami Art Museum, Miami Children's Museum,
Miami Science Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Vizcaya Museum and
Gardens, Wolfsonian-FIU Museum and the Miami Cultural Center. The
‘Olympics of Art’ exhibition held every December is the world’s largest
art exhibition and brings thousands of visitors each year to admire.
Miami
is home to some of the world’s top modeling agents and city embraces
fashion and shopping at ever turn. Miami Fashion Week and the Mercedes-Benz Fashion
Week are major fashion events in the year and are held Miami held at
the Wynwood Art District.
Miami became well known worldwide through many television programs such as Nip/Tuck, CBS's CSI: Miami, Dexter, The Golden Girls, Miami Vice and reality show Miami Ink. The video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which became one of the best selling video games in history was set in Miami along with movies such as There's Something About Mary, Marley & Me, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Bad Boys, The Birdcage, Blow, True Lies, Police Academy 5, The Bodyguard, and the James Bond films Goldfinger, Thunderball, Casino Royale.