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(Image source: Plusurbia)
The very existence of the Town of Silver Bluff is a little-known chapter in the history of Miami.
The town was short-lived, incorporated only from 1921 to 1925, and the area was sparsely populated until the late 1920s, at which time it already had been annexed into the city of Miami and began to assume the identities of the surrounding neighborhoods, such as Shenandoah and Coconut Grove.
The birth of the Town of Silver Bluff was sparked by civic pride. The southern area encompassed by the Town of Silver Bluff was at one time considered to be part of Coconut Grove, however when Coconut Grove formally incorporated as a city in 1919, the northern boundary was established at Trade Street, leaving many settlers along Bayshore Drive and Tigertail Road without an identity.
According to J.W. Carey, who lived at Trade Street and Bayshore Drive in the early 1900s, neighbors north of Coconut Grove decided to form the Town of Silver Bluff.
The Town of Silver Bluff was incorporated on Apr. 21, 1921. It was an inauspicious beginning. By the 1922 election, there were only 185 registered voters in the town. Official town business was still being held at the private real estate office of the town clerk, D.S. Dawson. The structure was a one-room, Mission-style box at the corner of Tigertail Road and Kirk Street. Taxes were collected by the Bank of Coconut Grove, and residents had to be reminded that they owed taxes to the little-known municipality.
In 1923, the town limits were extended by way of a charter from the Florida Legislature to include the area roughly defined by SW 16th Street to the north, SW 14th Avenue to the east, SW 37th Avenue to the west, and Bird Road to the south. In the same year, a town hall was constructed at 2901 Osceola Rd., today’s 2901 SW 22 Ave.
Some of the accomplishments of the town during its incorporation included issuance of a $200,000 improvement bond, the contracting of a street lighting system, paving of 12 miles of roadways, the construction of a municipal pier at the foot of Trade Street, a survey of the harbor and setting of channel beacons, and the construction of the town hall, which also included a police and fire station.
The town also reviewed and approved numerous plats for new subdivisions within its boundaries, including New Shenandoah, Silver Bluff Estates, and Kensington Park, among others, and negotiated contracts for infrastructure, such as streetcars that would connect the town to Downtown Miami and Coral Gables.
By January 1925, the future of the Town of Silver Bluff was looking very promising, as the area was being aggressively platted, subdivided, and developed, in particular in the areas of New Shenandoah and East Shenandoah, and most comprehensively, at the subdivision of Silver Bluff Estates.
A public elementary school site was selected and the architect A. Ten Eyck Brown was preparing plans for its construction. A robust commercial and industrial area was being platted in Silver Bluff Estates Section “C” to take advantage of the location alongside the FEC rail line and in proximity to Grapeland Boulevard, or SW 27th Avenue. A street railway was being planned along Grapeland Boulevard and another on Coral Way.
Substantial construction of residences already was complete on the south side of the FEC railway and closer to Biscayne Bay. Newly platted streets were being laid out, and new residences were under construction throughout the town.
Despite the momentum of development and public improvements in the Town of Silver Bluff in early 1925, they paled in comparison to the growth of the City of Miami during the same year. At the time, there was an unprecedented enthusiasm for Miami’s growth, and annexation of the surrounding areas was a topic of much debate.
The annexation laws in the State of Florida at the time only required a two-thirds affirmative vote of registered voters within all affected municipalities and unincorporated areas. As the City of Miami was significantly larger than the Town of Silver Bluff, the vote passed despite the overwhelming dissent of the town’s voters.
On Sept. 2, 1925 the Town of Silver Bluff was annexed successfully by the City of Miami. The day was momentous. Within a single day, the City of Miami increased in size from 13 square miles to 43 square miles. The annexation extended south and west of the Town of Silver Bluff to include all of Coconut Grove, and it extended north and west of the city to include Little River, Lemon City, Buena Vista, and Allapattah. At the time of its annexation, the taxable property within the Town of Silver Bluff limits was valued at $3,508,708.
The town hall, fire, and police station of the Town of Silver Bluff, located at 2901 SW 22 Ave., has continued to serve a civic purpose in the city of Miami to the present day. From 1925 to 1972, it was used as an elections polling site and a City of Miami Fire Station (Fire Station No. 7). In 1972 the structure was demolished and the land was put up for sale for private development.
The residents of the area opposed the sale of the public land, and the property was converted into a neighborhood park. Originally the park was named Silver Bluff Mini Park, and today it is known by that name and also by the name Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Park.
Megan McLaughlin is the director of preservation projects at Plusurbia. She is an AICP-certified planner and has over 15 years of experience in the fields of historic preservation, urban design, and urban planning. She is an experienced researcher and writer on the topics of historical urban development, architecture, and communities. Her passion is bringing attention to Florida’s unique history, and crafting planning and zoning strategies to protect the character of existing neighborhoods.
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