Miami History

On June 8, 1911, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss was issued pilot license #1 from the Aero Club of America.

Because the licenses were issued in alphabetical order, Wilbur Wright received license #5 at the same time.

Curtiss trained pilots in South Florida during WWI, and was a founder of the cities of Miami Springs, Opa-locka and Hialeah.

The first photo is of Curtiss on July 4, 1908, and the second of Curtiss in 1917 at his flight school, courtesy of the Museum of Miami.

After posting a photo of the original chapel of the Church of the Holy Name, there were questions about the Gesu school.

Attached is a photograph of the Gesu Parish School, located at 130 NE Second Street immediately east of the church, taken in 1984 shortly before the building was razed.

Constructed in 1926, the school served generations of students and stood as one of downtown Miami’s oldest educational landmarks. The second photo is a clipping from the Miami Herald on November 4, 1926, as the buildings completion neared.

Although preservationists mounted an effort to save the historic structure, those attempts ultimately proved unsuccessful.

Demolition began in July 1984, bringing an end to the building’s nearly 58-year presence in the city. The third image is a clipping from the Miami Herald dated July 7, 1984, documenting the school's demolition.

On June 6, 1897, the Church of the Holy Name, Miami's first catholic church, celebrated its first Mass.

The church was later renamed Gesu Catholic Church and is located in downtown Miami.

On June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion of Europe took place on the beaches of Normandy, France. 400,000 Allied American, British and Canadian troops were involved.

Attached is the local coverage and a map of the invasion in the Miami Daily News and Miami Herald.

On June 4, 1943, Governor Spessard Holland signed into law the 'Married Women's Emancipation Bill' which provided rights to married women to sign contracts, sue or be sued, and hold power of attorney.

Prior to this law, married women had to defer to their husbands pertaining to contractual matters and property ownership.

Sheelah Murrell, a Miami resident who lived at 1500 Brickell Avenue, was instrumental in the passage of this legislation in 1943.

On Friday, June 3, 1904, Miami High School's first commencement took place. There was a total 3 graduates that day.

The first photo is the front page of the Miami Metropolis reporting on the high school’s graduation.

The second image is of the Grammar in High School building on today’s NE First Avenue in downtown Miami in 1904.

On June 3, 1886, George Edgar Merrick was born in Springdale, Pennsylvania.

Merrick was the founder and father of the city of Coral Gables, the University of Miami, and partnered with John McEntee Bowman to construct the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

The first photo is of George in the early 1910s. The second of him walking in front of the Coral Gables Colonnade in 1926. The third photo is of Merrick as Postmaster of Miami in 1940.

All photos courtesy of Florida State Archives. Photos digitally enhanced and colorized by Casey M. Piket.

On June 2, 1926, the first mass for Saint Patrick’s Church on Miami Beach was held in a refurbished polo stable provided by Carl Fisher.

Attached is a photo of the church that was dedicated on February 3, 1929. The date of the photo was March 19, 1933. Courtesy of Florida State Archives.

On May 31, 1983, the Miami City Commission voted in favor of providing local historic designation protection to Petit Douy located at 1500 Brickell Avenue.

It was one of the first structures in the city to be given this designation.

The first two photos are of the residence in the 1980s, courtesy of Museum of Miami.

The third photograph is of John and Sheila Murrell at the Surf Club in 1950. The couple constructed the residence in 1931.

The last photo is of the renovated Petit Douy which operates now as the Chateau ZZ restaurant, courtesy of Casey M. Piket.