Overtown
Encyclopedia
Overtown is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida
, United States
, just northwest of Downtown Miami
. Originally called Colored Town during the Jim Crow era
of the late 19th through the mid-20th century, the area was once the preeminent and is the historic center for commerce in the black American
community in Miami and South Florida
.
Now roughly bound by North 20th Street to the north, North Fifth Street to the south, the Miami River
and Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) to the west, and the Florida East Coast Railway
(FEC) and West First Avenue to the east. Local residents often go by the demonym
"Towners."
A part of the historic heart of Miami, it was designated as a "colored
" neighborhood after the creation and incorporation
of Miami in 1896. The incorporation of Miami as a city occurred at the insistence of Standard Oil
and FEC railroad tycoon Henry Flagler, whose mostly black American railroad construction workers settled near what became Downtown Miami, just north of Flagler's Royal Palm Hotel
on the Miami River
. Owing to a substantive African American population, 168 of the 362 men who voted for the creation of the city of Miami were counted as "colored," but the separate but equal
segregation laws of the Deep South
dictated the city to a designate the portion of the city, in this case, north and west of FEC railroad tracks, as "Colored Town."
The second-oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of the Miami area after Coconut Grove, the area thrived as a center for commerce, primarily along Northwest Second Avenue. Home to the Lyric Theatre (completed in 1913) and other businesses, West Second Avenue served as the main street
of the black community during an era which, up until the Civil Rights Act of 1964
, barred African American residents from entering middle
and upper income
white
areas like Miami Beach
and Coral Gables
without "passes." During the Florida land boom of the 1920s
, Overtown was home to one of the first black millionaires in the American South
, D. A. Dorsey
(who once owned Fisher Island
), and the original Booker T. Washington High School, then the first high school
educating black students south of Palm Beach
. Community organizing
and mobilization during the era, as such in actions of Reverend John Culmer
, who advocated for better living conditions for lower class blacks living in abject squalor during the 1920s, led to the completion of Liberty Square in 1937 in what is now-called Liberty City
. Northwest Second Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood, once-called the "Little Broadway
" of the South, by the 1940s
hosted hundreds of mostly black-owned businesses, ranging from libraries and social organizations to a hospital and popular nightclub
s.
Popular with blacks and whites alike, Overtown was a center for nightly entertainment in Miami, comparable to Miami Beach, at its height post-World War II
in the 1940s and 1950s. The area served as a place of rest and refuge for black mainstream entertainers such as Count Basie
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Cab Calloway
, Josephine Baker
, Billie Holiday
, and Nat King Cole
who were not allowed to lodge at prominent venues where they performed like the Fontainebleau and the Eden Roc, where Overtown hotels like the Mary Elizabeth Hotel furnished to their needs. Further, many prominent African American luminaries like W. E. B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston
, Joe Louis
and Jackie Robinson
lodged and entertained in the neighborhood.
The area experienced serious economic decline from the late 1950s. Issues ranging from urban renewal
to the construction of interstate highways like I-95 (then, the North-South Expressway) and the Dolphin Expressway in the 1960s, fragmented the-once thriving center with the resident population decimated by nearly 80 percent from roughly 50,000 to just over 10,000. The area became economically destitute and considered a "ghetto" as businesses closed and productivity stagnated in the neighborhood.
Development was spurred in the area again in the late 1980s
with the construction and completion of the Miami Arena
and transit-oriented development
surrounding the newly-opened Overtown station. Since the 1990s and 2000s, community garden
s have been created, in addition to renovations to the historic Lyric Theatre and revitalization and gentrification
efforts spurred both by the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County
.
, Mt. Zion Baptist Church
, and St. Agnes Episcopal. Other places of interest include the reconstructed and historically accurate Dorsey House
, the Old Black Police Precinct Museum, the Overtown Public Library (with its exterior walls adorned with paintings by Overtown's famous urban expressionist painter, Purvis Young
), and L. E. Thomas Building, home of the first black magistrate
in Miami.
at:}} Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre (NW Eighth Street and First Avenue)}} Culmer
(NW 11th Street and US 441
)
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, just northwest of Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...
. Originally called Colored Town during the Jim Crow era
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
of the late 19th through the mid-20th century, the area was once the preeminent and is the historic center for commerce in the black American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community in Miami and South Florida
South Florida metropolitan area
The South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S...
.
Now roughly bound by North 20th Street to the north, North Fifth Street to the south, the Miami River
Miami River (Florida)
The Miami River is a river in the United States state of Florida that drains out of the Everglades and runs through the Downtown and the city of Miami. The long river flows from the terminus of the Miami Canal at Miami International Airport to Biscayne Bay...
and Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) to the west, and the Florida East Coast Railway
Florida East Coast Railway
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad.Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a project of Standard Oil principal Henry Morrison...
(FEC) and West First Avenue to the east. Local residents often go by the demonym
Demonym
A demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...
"Towners."
History
Colored
Colored is a term once widely used in the United States to describe black people and Native Americans...
" neighborhood after the creation and incorporation
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
of Miami in 1896. The incorporation of Miami as a city occurred at the insistence of Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
and FEC railroad tycoon Henry Flagler, whose mostly black American railroad construction workers settled near what became Downtown Miami, just north of Flagler's Royal Palm Hotel
Royal Palm Hotel (Miami)
The Royal Palm Hotel was a large resort hotel built by well-known railroad magnate Henry Flagler in Miami, Florida. Opening its doors in 1897, the Royal Palm Hotel was one of the first area hotels in Miami. Five stories tall with a sixth-floor salon, the Royal Palm Hotel featured the city's first...
on the Miami River
Miami River (Florida)
The Miami River is a river in the United States state of Florida that drains out of the Everglades and runs through the Downtown and the city of Miami. The long river flows from the terminus of the Miami Canal at Miami International Airport to Biscayne Bay...
. Owing to a substantive African American population, 168 of the 362 men who voted for the creation of the city of Miami were counted as "colored," but the separate but equal
Separate but equal
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified systems of segregation. Under this doctrine, services, facilities and public accommodations were allowed to be separated by race, on the condition that the quality of each group's public facilities was to...
segregation laws of the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
dictated the city to a designate the portion of the city, in this case, north and west of FEC railroad tracks, as "Colored Town."
The second-oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of the Miami area after Coconut Grove, the area thrived as a center for commerce, primarily along Northwest Second Avenue. Home to the Lyric Theatre (completed in 1913) and other businesses, West Second Avenue served as the main street
Main Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
of the black community during an era which, up until the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
, barred African American residents from entering middle
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
and upper income
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
white
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
areas like Miami Beach
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
and Coral Gables
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
without "passes." During the Florida land boom of the 1920s
Florida land boom of the 1920s
The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble, which burst in 1925, leaving behind entire new cities and the remains of failed development projects such as Aladdin City in south Miami-Dade County and Isola di Lolando in north Biscayne Bay...
, Overtown was home to one of the first black millionaires in the American South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, D. A. Dorsey
Dana A. Dorsey
Dana Albert "D. A." Dorsey was a businessman, banker, and philanthropist who became one of the first African American millionaires in Florida and the American South.- Childhood, education :...
(who once owned Fisher Island
Fisher Island, Florida
Fisher Island is a neighborhood of metropolitan Miami, Florida, located on a barrier island of the same name. As of the 2000 census, Fisher Island had the highest per capita income of any place in the United States in 2000. The CDP had only 218 households and a total population of 467 persons...
), and the original Booker T. Washington High School, then the first high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
educating black students south of Palm Beach
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
. Community organizing
Community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...
and mobilization during the era, as such in actions of Reverend John Culmer
John Culmer
Father John Edwin Culmer was a minister and civil rights leader, most notable for his work in Miami, Florida, United States....
, who advocated for better living conditions for lower class blacks living in abject squalor during the 1920s, led to the completion of Liberty Square in 1937 in what is now-called Liberty City
Liberty City
Liberty City is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States. The area is roughly bound by NW 79th Street to the north, NW 27th Avenue to the west, the Airport Expressway to the south, and Interstate 95 to the east. The Miami neighborhood is home to one of the largest concentrations of black...
. Northwest Second Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood, once-called the "Little Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
" of the South, by the 1940s
1940s
File:1940s decade montage.png|Above title bar: events which happened during World War II : From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching "Omaha" Beach on "D-Day"; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of France; The Holocaust occurred during the war as Nazi Germany...
hosted hundreds of mostly black-owned businesses, ranging from libraries and social organizations to a hospital and popular nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s.
Popular with blacks and whites alike, Overtown was a center for nightly entertainment in Miami, comparable to Miami Beach, at its height post-World War II
Post-World War II economic expansion
The post–World War II economic expansion, also known as the postwar economic boom, the long boom, and the Golden Age of Capitalism, was a period of economic prosperity in the mid 20th century, which occurred mainly in western countries, followed the end of World War II in 1945, and lasted until the...
in the 1940s and 1950s. The area served as a place of rest and refuge for black mainstream entertainers such as Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
, Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, and Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
who were not allowed to lodge at prominent venues where they performed like the Fontainebleau and the Eden Roc, where Overtown hotels like the Mary Elizabeth Hotel furnished to their needs. Further, many prominent African American luminaries like W. E. B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance...
, Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
and Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
lodged and entertained in the neighborhood.
The area experienced serious economic decline from the late 1950s. Issues ranging from urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
to the construction of interstate highways like I-95 (then, the North-South Expressway) and the Dolphin Expressway in the 1960s, fragmented the-once thriving center with the resident population decimated by nearly 80 percent from roughly 50,000 to just over 10,000. The area became economically destitute and considered a "ghetto" as businesses closed and productivity stagnated in the neighborhood.
Development was spurred in the area again in the late 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
with the construction and completion of the Miami Arena
Miami Arena
The Miami Arena was an indoor arena in Miami, Florida.-History:Completed in 1988, at a cost of $52.5 million, its opening took business away from the Hollywood Sportatorium and eventually led to its demise...
and transit-oriented development
Transit-oriented development
A transit-oriented development is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership...
surrounding the newly-opened Overtown station. Since the 1990s and 2000s, community garden
Community gardening
A community garden is a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people.-Purpose:Community gardens provide fresh produce and plants as well as satisfying labor, neighborhood improvement, sense of community and connection to the environment...
s have been created, in addition to renovations to the historic Lyric Theatre and revitalization and gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
efforts spurred both by the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
.
Demographics
As of 2000, Overtown had a population of 10,029 residents, with 3,646 households, and 2,128 families residing in the city. The median household income was $13,211.99. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 19.90% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 74.77% Black or African American, 3.27% White (non-Hispanic), and 2.05% Other races (non-Hispanic).Landmarks
Overtown is home to several historic churches and landmarks, including the Lyric Theater (Miami), Greater Bethel AME ChurchGreater Bethel AME Church
The Greater Bethel AME Church is a historic church in Miami, Florida. It is located at 245 Northwest 8th Street. On April 17, 1992, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The church was built in 1927.-References and external links:...
, Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Mount Zion Baptist Church (Miami, Florida)
The Mount Zion Baptist Church is a historic church in Miami, Florida. It is located at 301 Northwest 9th Street. On December 29, 1988, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.-References and external links:* at * ** **...
, and St. Agnes Episcopal. Other places of interest include the reconstructed and historically accurate Dorsey House
D. A. Dorsey House
The D. A. Dorsey House is the historic home of D. A. Dorsey in Miami, Florida. It is located at 250 Northwest Ninth Street. On January 4, 1989, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.-References and external links:* at * at...
, the Old Black Police Precinct Museum, the Overtown Public Library (with its exterior walls adorned with paintings by Overtown's famous urban expressionist painter, Purvis Young
Purvis Young
Purvis Young was an American artist from the Overtown neighborhood of Miami, Florida. Young's work, often a blend of collage and painting, utilizes found objects and the experience of African Americans in the south...
), and L. E. Thomas Building, home of the first black magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
in Miami.
Transportation
Overtown is served by the Miami MetrorailMetrorail (Miami)
The Miami Metrorail, officially Metrorail and commonly called the Metro, is the heavy rail rapid transit system of Miami, Florida, United States, serving the Miami metropolitan area. The Metro is operated by Miami-Dade Transit, a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County...
at:}} Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre (NW Eighth Street and First Avenue)}} Culmer
Culmer (Metrorail station)
Culmer is a Metrorail station in Miami, Florida, just south of the Midtown Interchange.This station is located at the intersection of Northwest 11th Street and Seventh Avenue , opening to service December 17, 1984...
(NW 11th Street and US 441
U.S. Route 441 in Florida
U.S. Route 441 in Florida is a north–south United States Highway. It runs from Miami in South Florida northwest to the Georgia border north of the Lake City area....
)
Education
- Miami-Dade County Public SchoolsMiami-Dade County Public SchoolsMiami-Dade County Public Schools is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and the fourth largest in the United States, with a student enrollment of 380,006 as of July 5, 2010...
:- Booker T. Washington High SchoolBooker T. Washington High School (Miami)Booker T. Washington High School is a secondary school located at 1200 NW 6th Avenue in Miami, Florida, USA. Booker T. is located in the Overtown neighborhood, and serves families in the Overtown, Downtown, Park West, and Omni neighborhoods. Its principal is William Aristide.Booker T. Washington...
- Booker T. Washington High School