Year 1870

Henry and Charles Lum purchase 165 acres on South Beach for 75 cents acre for the purpose of planting and harvesting coconuts.

Year 1886

Charles Lum builds the first home on Miami Beach at the site of the present Tides Hotel.

Year 1894

The coconut venture proves unprofitable for the Lums. They move off the Beach, leaving the plantation in control of John Collins.

Year 1896

John Collins arrives from New Jersey to survey his land on Miami Beach.

Year 1903

The Army Corps of Engineers dredge the first opening to the Atlantic Ocean, cutting through mangrove swamps at Government Cut. The project allows for a safer, more direct access to the port of Miami.

Year 1907

Collins extends his land to the north from 14th to 67th Street. He finds native plants which indicate fresh water on the island. His discovery leads him to plant avocados, fruits, and vegetables.

Year 1912

Miami businessmen, the Lummus Brothers, acquire 400 acres to the south of Collins, from 14th Street to Government Cut. They establish the Ocean Beach Reality Company. Their vision: to build a city fronting the ocean made up of modest single family residences. Construction begins on Collins Canal.

Year 1913

Carl Fisher arrives in Miami Beach. He too has a vision for the island--a city existing in an of itself - not as an adjunct to the established city of Miami across the bay. Fisher acquires the land between 14th and 19th Street; linking Lummus to the south and Collins to the north. Collins constructs the Collins Bridge. The bridge connects Miami and Miami Beach; and is awarded the title of being "the longest wagon bridge in the world". Joe's Stone Crab opens on Miami Beach.

Year 1914

The W.J. Brown Hotel, the first hotel on Miami Beach, open s for business. Collins Avenue opens on the Beach and is the first paved road suitable for automobiles. August 4, World War I begins.

Year 1915

On March 26, 1915, Collins Lummus, and Fisher consolidate their efforts and incorporate the Town of Miami Beach. J.N. Lummus rallies the thirty-three registered voters on the Island and is elected the first mayor of Miami Beach. Lummus sells his oceanfront property from 6th Street to 14th street to the city for $40,000. The land is dedicated as a public park and beach, to be named Lummus Park. Fisher clears Lincoln Road out of a mangrove swap with the help of Rosie the Elephant.

Year 1916

The Lummus brothers offer free lots to anyone who promise to build homes on their land. Fisher opens the Lincoln Hotel at the corner of Washington Avenue and Lincoln Road.

Year 1917

Miami Beach changes it's status from a town to a city.

Year 1918

Mac Arthur Causeway is completed connecting the mainland and 5th Street.

Year 1920

The Miami Beach land boom begins. Between 1920 and 1929 millionaires like Harvey Firestone, J.C. Penney, Harvey Stutz, Albert Champion, Frank Seiberling, and Rockwell LaGorce build mansions on the three-mile stretch of Collins Avenue know as "Millionaire's Row." Fisher opens the Roman Pools and Casino at 22nd Street and the Ocean. Fisher's trolley car system is completed linking the mainland and Miami Beach via the Mac Arthur Causeway. The cities main arteries--5th St., Alton Road, Collins Ave, Washington Ave, and Ocean Dr. are all suitable for automobile traffic. Fisher's Flamingo Hotel opens at 15th St. and the Bay. The Army Corps of Engineers begins construction of Star Island.

Year 1922

The Bayshore Golf Course is completed.

Year 1923

The Nautilus Hotels opens and the present site of Mount Sinai Hospital.

Year 1924

Fisher completes the LaGorce Golf Course, named after his friend, Rockwell LaGorce.

Year 1925

The Rooney Plaza Hotel is completed. Construction begins on Espanola Way.

Year 1926

A severe hurricane strikes South Florida. Extreme flooding catches the Beach community by surprise and causes substantial loss of life and property damage.

Year 1927

The Million Dollar Pier is constructed at the southern tip of Miami Beach. The Miami Beach Kennel Club opens at the southern tip of Miami beach. Construction begins on the second City Hall at Drexel and Washington Ave. in South Beach. Temple Beth David, the Beach's first Synagogue, opens at 3rd and Washington Ave.

Year 1929

Flamingo Park is acquired by the city and dedicated as a public facility.

Year 1930's

Miami Beach flourishes with a boom of art deco buildings.

Year 1930

Miami Beach Population: 6,500

Year 1935

Miami Beach Population: 13,350

Year 1940

Population: 28,000

Year 1941

December 7, Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor The Army Air Corps takes command over Miami Beach.

Year 1950

Miami Beach Population: 46,300

Year 1954

Fontainebleau Hotel opens on Miami Beach.

Year 1956

Eden Rock Hotel open on Miami Beach.

Year 1959

Fidel Castro takes over as leader of Cuba and the exodus of Cuban refugees to Miami begins.

Year 1960

Miami Beach Population: 63,200

Year 1961

The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba fails.

Year 1962

The Cuban missile crisis

Year 1966

The Jackie Gleason Show begins broadcasting from Miami Beach.

Year 1970

Miami Beach Population: 28,000

Year 1973

Miami Dolphins complete undefeated season and win the Super Bowl.

Year 1979

The Miami Beach Architectural District is listed in the United States national register as an historic landmark.

Year 1980

The Mariel boatlift brings 140,000 Cubans to Florida.

Year 1988

Lummus Park is listed in the United States national register as an historic landmark.

Year 1991

Greater Miami population grows to nearly 2 million.

Year 1992

Hurricane Andrew hits south Dade County causing $30 billion in damage.

Year 1997

Gionni Versace's is murdered on the steps of his Ocean Drive estate, Casa Casuarina.

Year 1998

Electrowave bus service begins operating on Miami Beach.

Year 2000

Miami Beach named #1 Urban Beach by Surfrider Foundation. January 18, 2001, Morris Lapidus dies in Miami Beach. Year 2002 MiamiBeach411.com goes online Year 2003 Population: 88,000 March 26, 2003, the City of Miami Beach celebrates it's 88th birthday .