As of yesterday all Russian assets in the United States are frozen. I imagine many properties in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida are among the iciest! Here’s what I wrote about this beachfront town on January 21, 2020: Sunny Isles Beach – that’s Санни Айлс Бич (Sanni Ayles Bich) to the locals. Namely, the Russians. You […]
Native American Casinos. They have been my research focus this week. That is, when I’m not attending to my duties at Florida International University. Title image: Guitar Hotel. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Hollywood, Florida. It opened in October, 2019 to great fanfare. Hollywood is 18 miles north of downtown Miami. Native American Casinos: […]
If I were a beach person, Delray Beach, Florida would be on my list as a destination. I had an impromptu adventure there over the weekend. I went to meet up with a high school friend. Delray is between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Since Brightline in Miami has a very convenient train to […]
The title image is the view of Biscayne Bay from the second-floor porch of The Barnacle. The screen makes the view look like a postcard. It isn’t! The Barnacle is the oldest house in Miami-Dade County still in its original location. It once sat on 40 acres but now has only 5. However, those 5 […]
Title image: Cape Florida Lighthouse, Key Biscayne. Its active dates were 1828 to 1875. It became part of a state park in 1966. Key Biscayne: Going There Being in Miami since August and living in Coconut Grove, I’ve had many a Key Biscayne sighting. Here’s a view of it across Biscayne Bay as I saw […]
I thought coming up with a list of famous Miamians would be a snap. In fact, it was not. The difficulty arose from the complexity and dynamism of the city itself. More simply said: it’s not easy to figure out who counts as a Miamian. For the title image I finally chose Gloria Estefan. She […]
The Rubell Family Collection has recently moved into a new 100,000-square-foot-space in Allapattah. I visited it this past weekend. It was open to the public in connection with Miami’s Art Basel December 5 – 8. The title image is Gold Barbara (from the Jewish Jackie Series) 1992 by Deborah Kass. Art Basel began in Basel, […]
I have just learned why my recent visits to Little Haiti and Overtown were so underwhelming: climate gentrification. These past few months I have been exploring Miami and loving my temporary home. And getting to know this city well is the beauty of being in a touristy place as more than a tourist. The story […]
On Sunday I continued my exploration of Miami with a foray into Overtown. Overtown: A Historic African American Neighborhood The emphasis here is on ‘historic.’ Today Overtown looks like every other neighborhood in downtown Miami. Full of high rises and construction cranes. It was originally called Colored Town from the late 19th century through the […]
Thirteen miles west of downtown Miami is Doral. It has acquired the nickname Doralzuela. In recent years, the political and economic conditions have deteriorated in Venezuela. And many of that country’s citizens have migrated here. In case your memory of the greater Caribbean map has dimmed, here’s a refresher: Caracas is the capital. It is […]