Miami The Magic City Images of

Whether you call it the Gateway to the Americas, the Capital of Latin America, or even the Magic City, Miami is a city that has enchanted millions for many years.

The city we know as Miami only came into existence in 1896, but evidence suggests people lived in the area for over 2000 years before Europeans ever set foot on the continent. The land was conquered by the Spanish in 1566, but Florida didn't become part of the United States until 1821. Miami holds the distinction of being the only major city founded by a woman - Julia Tuttle was a wealthy citrus grower who originally owned the land the city was built on. When a prolonged bout of cold weather known as the Great Freeze throttled crops further north, farmers arrived to the area in droves, and Tuttle convinced railroad tycoon Henry Flagler to extend his Florida East Coast Railway to the region, for which she became known as "the Mother of Miami." Miami has weathered yellow fever epidemics, the 1920s boom and bust, two World Wars, hurricanes, and numerous other economic ups and downs to become one of the world's great cities and the growth of South Florida.

Author Seth H. Bramson, whose family moved to the Miami area in 1946, is known nationally as the foremost authority on the history of transportation to, from, and within Florida. The company historian of the Florida East Coast Railway, Bramson's collection of Miami memorabilia and Floridiana is the largest such private collection in America. A faculty member at Barry University in Miami Shores and Florida International University in Miami, he is the author of seven books and more than 60 articles on Florida local and transportation history. This is his fourth book with Arcadia.