Remembering Old Miami

35 Years Ago Today...snow in Miami!

2012-01-18T04:47:00.000-08:00

From the Miami Herald...

BY LUISA YANEZ

This story was first published in The Miami Herald on Jan.19, 2007 to mark the 30th anniversary of the historic event.

Forecaster Ray Biedinger looked at the screen of his trusty weather radar in the wee hours of Jan. 19, 1977, and knew what he had to do.

The bitter cold front barreling south across the state during his midnight shift at the old National Weather Service office then in Coral Gables left him no choice but to hold his breath and issue one of Miami's most unusual forecasts:

"Cold with rain showers and the possibility of snow, " Biedinger wrote.

"If you notice, I didn't put snow first,” he said.

But he got it right.

Thirty-five ago today, snowflakes briefly dusted palm trees, windshields and people from Miami to West Palm Beach — a freak but brief winter wonderland and the only South Florida snowfall on record in the 20th century.

Shivering South Floridians, young and old, looked up into the sky in total amazement as flakes landed on their faces.

In those early-morning hours, snowflakes fell as far south as Homestead and daytime temperatures for the region dipped into the low 30s. But by 9:30 a.m., South Florida's big snow show was over, melted by the sun's rays.

The headline on The Miami News that afternoon screamed: "Snow in Miami!" The next day The Miami Herald's read: "The Day It Snowed in Miami."

The rare event remains a special memory for those who witnessed it. Hurricanes come and go, but snow in Miami? That's once in a lifetime.

"I remember it like it was yesterday, " said Matt Levinson, of Weston. He was 5 at the time and living in Southwest Miami-Dade.

"I remember standing on the front lawn of my house and as the snow was falling, I tried picking it up, but it melted as soon as it hit the ground, " said Levinson, now 35, who works in public relations.

Across town that morning, Leon Strickland of North Miami was at a rock-pit work site.

"At first, I didn't know what was falling from the sky, it was so light, " said Strickland, now 65 and retired. "You had to be wearing a navy blue jacket to really see clearly it was snow. But I'm here to tell you, it snowed that day."

His 10-year-old son saw it, too. Norm Strickland was in class with 600 other students at North Miami Elementary when the principal's voice came over the loudspeaker about 8:40 a.m.

"I remember he said: 'Children, we're going to do this in an orderly manner. We are all going to go outside because it's snowing, ' " said Strickland, 40, a pharmaceutical salesman who now lives in Huntington, W.Va., with this wife and two daughters.

"Well, forget order, " said Norm Strickland. "The principal couldn't have announced there was a nuclear bomb in the building and gotten us kids out of class faster.

"Everybody went crazy, " he said. "Total childhood glee is what I remember."

At Sabal Palm Elementary in North Miami Beach, 10-year-old Susan Schwartz was walking in a hallway when someone yelled, "Snow!"

"We all ran to the sidewalk. I don't remember the teacher even trying to stop us. We were catching the snow in our mouth, but it would melt, " Schwartz, 40, now an educator in the Broward County school system, said of her first snow experience.

Many South Floridians missed the brief snow event. So there were skeptics. Veteran radio disc jockey Rick Shaw tried to set them straight from his Broward County radio booth.

"I was working at WAXY-106. Someone said something about seeing snow coming down, " said the now-retired Shaw. "We ran back to a big window and, my gosh if it wasn't snowing in Fort Lauderdale! Being from St. Louis, I knew what snow looked like. I ran back into the studio and started playing Bing Crosby'sWhite Christmas."

He said listeners who didn't see or feel those fine granules were calling the station and asking why they were playing that song in the middle of January.

"Cause it's snowing outside!" Shaw told them. "It was quite a day."

Ferris Thompson, of South Miami, a district inspector for the Florida Department of Transportation, was driving to Fort Pierce on Interstate 95 that morning.

"I remember the snow flurries hitting my windshield; the farther north I got, the more snow I saw settling on the side of the road, " said Thompson, now 79 and retired.

The couple snapped a photograph that shows Joan sitting in the family car, the windshield half covered with snow. On the dashboard is that day's newspaper.

Back home the next day, Thompson and his wife, Joan, hoped for a repeat. They got up before dawn and went outside in their heavy coats, waiting for snow. It turned out Jan. 20 proved to be an even colder day, as temperatures dipped into the mid 20s, but no snow fell.

Snow fell on an eventful week in Miami-Dade — and the United States.

Newly elected President Jimmy Carter's inauguration was scheduled the following day; Miami-Dade commissioners had passed the controversial county ordinance banning discrimination against gays the day before, setting the stage for a bitter battle between singer Anita Bryant and homosexuals.

And on television, a highly anticipated mini-series was about to air. In Miami, Dorothy Jenkins Fields, 64, founder of the Black Archives and then a school librarian, said the snow is a blur to her. That's because the mini-series Roots, based on Alex Haley's book, was about to premiere.

"Yes, snow in Miami — I remember it but it didn't leave much of an impression on me because I was mesmerized with Roots. The snow came and went, but Roots stuck with me."

For forecaster Biedinger, the excitement of correctly forecasting snow was quickly forgotten at the weather bureau.

"We were very concerned about the South Dade farmers who were about to get hit by more cold nights, " he said.

The snow and the low temperatures put Florida's citrus and vegetable industry in a death grip. Both were nearly wiped out, and some 150,000 migrant workers lost their jobs in the state — including 80,000 in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. Then-Gov. Reubin Askew declared a state of emergency.

Officially, snow in Miami is not on the weather record books.

"It was an immeasurable amount that fell, so it's written down as “a trace” of snow, " said Biedinger, 66, now retired and living in Titusville.

Only once before, in 1899, had something resembling snow fallen over South Florida. And not this far south, only down to Fort Pierce.

Could snow fall here again?

Yes, say local weather forecasters.

"It would be rare, but the way I see it, it happened once, so it can happen again. If the same weather conditions line up, we could have the same scenario, " said Robert Molleda, a meteorologist and warning coordinator with the National Weather Service in West Miami-Dade.

Miami's snow fall during the Blizzard of 1977 was caused by a combination of two arctic cold fronts — one passed the region on Jan. 16 followed by a second faster-moving one in the middle of the night the day it snowed.

That second front chilled the region and moved so quickly that moisture — usually ahead of such fronts — instead lagged behind, setting the stage for the snow.

The precipitation formed in the clouds did not have enough time to melt before it reached the ground. If it had happened in the middle of the day, there probably would not have been snow, the weather service says today.

Biedinger said he's always considered his accurate prediction "a novelty thing."

"It was a kick to do it one time, maybe the only time in the history of Miami, " Biedinger said.

It also made Biedinger a celebrity in certain circles.

"For the rest of my career, " he said, "I was known in the weather office as the guy who predicted snow in Miami."

Bill Haast, a True Florida Pioneer

2011-07-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune...

NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

Published: Friday, June 17, 2011 at 6:34 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 2:07 p.m.

Bill Haast figured he had handled more than 3 million poisonous snakes over the years, and he had the hands to prove it.

An eastern diamondback rattlesnake left one hand looking like a claw. A Malayan pit viper mangled an index finger. A cottonmouth bit a finger, which instantly turned black, prompting his wife to snip off the fingertip with garden clippers.

Haast was bitten at least 173 times by poisonous snakes, about 20 times almost fatally. It was all in a day's work for probably the best-known snake handler in the country, a scientist-cum-showman who made enough money from milking toxic goo from slithery serpents to buy a cherry-red Rolls-Royce convertible.

A secret of his success was the immunity he had built up by injecting himself every day for more than 60 years with a mix of venoms from 32 snake species. He suspected the inoculations might have explained his extraordinarily good health, but he was reluctant to make that claim, he said, until he reached 100.

Haast, who was director of the Miami Serpentarium Laboratories, a snake-venom producer near Punta Gorda, Fla., died of natural causes Wednesday at his home in southwest Florida, his wife, Nancy, said. He was 100.

Haast's story was good enough in its day to land him in Walter Winchell's syndicated column, on "The Tonight Show" and, hardly surprising, in Ripley's Believe It or Not attractions. His original Miami Serpentarium, south of Miami on South Dixie Highway, attracted 50,000 tourists a year for four decades.

Outside was a 35-foot-high concrete statue of a giant cobra, forked tongue flicking menacingly. Inside, Haast, the self-proclaimed "Snakeman," entertained paying customers by using his hands to grab snakes below their heads and force their teeth into soft plastic. Venom would then drain into test tubes fastened to the plastic. He did this 100 or so times a day.

The serpentarium was more than just another roadside attraction. The price of a gram of freeze-dried venom from exotic snakes, requiring 100 or more extractions to accumulate, could exceed $5,000. The substance is an essential ingredient in making a serum to treat snakebite victims. It has also shown promise as a medicinal ingredient.

Haast and a Miami doctor treated more than 6,000 people with a snake-venom serum that they and their patients contended was effective against multiple sclerosis and arthritis. After the CBS News program "60 Minutes" did a report on the subject in December 1979, interest in the serum surged. But in 1980 the Food and Drug Administration banned the product as useless after saying that numerous deficiencies had been found in Haast's manufacturing process. Nevertheless, researchers have continued to work on drugs made from venom in the hope of using it to treat cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases.

Haast himself indisputably saved lives. He flew around the world to donate his antibody-rich blood to 21 different snakebite victims. Venezuela made him an honorary citizen after he went deep into the jungle to give a boy a pint of blood.

The favor was returned in 1989 when, according to The Associated Press, the White House used secret connections to spirit a rare serum out of Iran to treat Haast as he fought to recover from a bite by a Pakistani pit viper. (Different venoms require different antidotes.)

William E. Haast was born on Dec. 30, 1910, in Paterson, N.J. He caught his first garter snake at 7 at a nearby canal. His first serious snake bite came at age 12, when he was bitten by a timber rattlesnake at Boy Scout camp. The same year, a copperhead's bite put him in the hospital for a week. When young Bill brought his first poisonous snake home to the family apartment, his mother left home for three days, he said. She finally agreed to let him keep a snake or two in cages.

''The snake would bite the mouse," he said in an interview with The Miami Herald in 1984. "The mouse would die. I found it intriguing."

He bought his first exotic snake, a diamondback rattler, from a catalog. Noticing that it had come from Florida, he knew then, he said, that Florida was his destiny. After dropping out of school at 16, he joined a roadside snake show that made its way to Florida in the late 1920s.

The snake attraction soon failed during the Depression, so Haast went to work for a bootlegger in the Everglades, where he was pleased to find plenty of snakes. The bootlegger was arrested, and Haast found his way to an airline mechanics school.

Finding a job as a flight engineer with Pan American World Airways, he began traveling around the world. That gave him a chance to use his toolbox to smuggle snakes, including his first cobra.

Haast's dream of a first-class snake farm came true when he opened his Miami serpentarium in 1947. His near-fatal snakebites became legend in the news media, particularly after the total passed 100 in the mid-1960s.

His first wife, Ann, divorced him over his snake obsession. His second, Clarita, and third, Nancy, pitched in enthusiastically.

Besides his wife, the former Nancy Harrell, he is survived by two daughters, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Haast closed the serpentarium in 1984 after a 6-year-old boy fell into his crocodile pit and was fatally mauled. He moved his venom-gathering operation to Utah. Six years later, he returned to Florida and opened the facility in Punta Gorda, where he raised and milked snakes but did not resume his snake show.

For all the time he spent with snakes, Haast harbored no illusions that they liked him.

''You could have a snake for 30 years and the second you leave his cage door cracked, he's gone," he told Outside magazine in 1997. "And they'll never come to you unless you're holding a mouse in your teeth."

______________________________

Just 3 years ago...

Snake man is master of poison and cure

Bill Haast, 97, is lauded for pioneering work with snake venom

Bill Haast, center, is recognized by members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Unit for his work helping snake-bite victims. He received the key to the city.

Buy PhotoSTAFF PHOTO / ED PFUELLER

By Kate Spinner

Published: Friday, July 11, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 11, 2008 at 4:49 a.m.

CHARLOTTE COUNTY - Bill Haast's 97-year-old fingers, withered by scores of snake bites, are too weak to handle cobras and pit vipers anymore. But he still wakes up each morning to turn snake venom from across the globe into freeze-dried powder for medical laboratories.

Those same hands that for decades eased venom from the world's most poisonous snakes held the key to the city of Miami on Thursday.

The honor, bestowed by Miami's mayor, was delivered to Haast at his home east of Punta Gorda by members of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Unit. With 43 types of antivenin, a diverse enough supply to treat 90 percent of all bites, the unit's antivenin bank supplies the U.S. military and hospitals around the nation -- sometimes the world.

"Our unit wouldn't be around if it wasn't for him; he's the inspiration," said Al Cruz, the unit's founder, standing beneath the tall branches of a live oak that Haast had allowed to grow through his screened pool patio. "We're the only fire-based response team in the world."

The emergency services unit celebrated its 10th year recently at the Metro Zoo in Miami. Haast could not make the ceremony, so part of the ceremony came to him.

Haast maintained a similar bank in Miami when he ran the Serpentarium theme park, which closed in 1984. He briefly lived in Utah and returned to Florida to live in Charlotte County 18 years ago.

His contribution to antivenin science is unparalleled and earned him recognition throughout his life.

Early in Haast's career, he slogged the wilds of the Everglades collecting cottonmouths and rattlers. When he had enough, he opened the Serpentarium in Miami in 1946.

Soon, his quest for exotic snakes stretched around the world. He made special trips, bringing back such perilous species as cobras and saw-scaled vipers.

"Any time I saw an unusual snake I brought it back," Haast said, sitting on cushioned patio furniture. Behind him rose an 8-foot concrete cobra statue that once decorated the serpentarium.

Eventually, his collection became one of the most diverse venomous snakes on the planet. Crowds cheered as he collected venom from the snakes in dramatic displays.

Haast routinely injected himself with venom to build up resistance to the ill effects of the inevitable bites. It was an experiment, but having received his first venomous snake bite as a teenager, Haast was used to risks.

"I just have a curious nature," he said.

Horses had developed resistance to the poisons through the same process, and the blood of those horses was used to create life-saving antivenin.

For Haast, the weekly shots paid off, helping him to survive 172 venomous snake bites. His powerful blood also rescued 21 snake-bite victims.

In his heyday, he was flown around the world to hospitals where people bitten by rare snakes would have died without his blood.

His unique contribution to medicine earned him widespread recognition. In 1964, a book was written about him. He later received commendations from President Gerald Ford and Miami Mayor Stephen Clark.

Still recognized as a top authority on venomous snakes, Haast, who moved his snakes to a lab on his sprawling Charlotte County complex in 1990 (he no longer has snakes there), said he answers questions from callers every day.

Some questions, like the one a decade ago from Cruz, the venom unit founder, mean the difference between life and death.

Cruz called Haast after a man was bitten by a Black Mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes of Africa.

Although Haast did not have antivenin for that snake, he knew a collector who did and who provided the 15 vials of antivenin that saved the victim's life.

It was a close call, one that underscored the county's need for an antivenin bank, Cruz said. For inspiration and advice, he leaned on Haast.

"When he closed his doors there was a lapse and there were some fatalities related to exotic snake bites," said Chuck Seigert, of the Miami unit.

Miami is a hotbed for venomous snake bites because it is the entry point for almost any exotic snake, whether it is bound for a collector or a zoo in another state.

Since the county revived the antivenin bank in 1998, it has saved 1,000 snake-bite victims, Seigert said.

On Thursday, members of the rescue unit came to shake Haast's hand. Besides the mayor's key, they gave him a firefighter's helmet bearing the unit's name: Venom 1.

"He's like an icon to people that know him," Cruz said.

Older than Old!

2011-07-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

Speaking of "Old Miami"...nothing in Miami is older than THIS. Heck, nothing in this country is older than that!

I have never been there. I must go there. Soon.

Let's Visit the Deering Estate!

2011-07-20T11:07:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a free admission day to the old Charles Deering Estate. I hadn't been there in years so we decided to check it out.

Charles Deering's brother, James, built the magnificent Vizcaya further north on Biscayne Bay. This place is not nearly as ornate and extravagant as Vizcaya, but certainly has it's own charm.

Looking out the back door of the house, this is what you see...it sure must've been nice to wake up to that each day!

The house is not really furnished completely like Vizcaya is. It was virtually destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, so I imagine a lot of things were lost. Besides, I believe the place was still owned by the Deering family at that time, so who knows really what original things were still in the house.

Below is the dining room. I love the bookshelves!

This was the only painting hanging on the wall that I knew who the artist was.

The doors look like wood in the picture, but they are copper.

Right next door to the "Stone House" is the "Richmond Cottage". It appears to be used mainly as a place for the "resident artists" to hang their works. No furnishing inside, but it is still cute. I could definitely see myself living in that place!

My favorite room in the cottage.

The grounds of the estate are have yielded some very important archaeological artifacts. The Tequesta used to live there and many tools and fossils have been unearthed there.

Out back is the old carriage house.

All in all, I'd say we had a good day, but it would've been more interesting if we had gotten in on one of the guided tours. If you're ever in Miami and want to see something more than the beach, I recommend taking a drive down Old Cutler Road to the Deering Estate...it's just fun to imagine what it must have been like to live there a hundred years ago.

Thanks!

2011-07-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to thank the folks who have checked out this blog and left comments. It always makes me smile to think reading this has made someone else smile, too.

I know it's been ages since I've posted anything new, but I have been busy and all my blogs have kind of taken a backseat right now.

A reminder to all..if you have any pictures you'd like to share on here, let me know! You can send them to my email and I will gladly post them for all!

I found this fun site http://miamiherald.typepad.com/make_miami_history_now/ . Check it out!

Austin's Dive Shop

2010-09-16T16:54:00.001-07:00

This place has been here forever....

My Other Blog

2010-08-22T05:52:00.000-07:00

I have another blog, my "main" blog if you will...often many of the things I post there could also be posted here, so feel free to check it out: A Florida Journal

Robert is Here!

2010-08-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

Caught this in today's paper...............

***************************************
From the Miami Herald
Posted on Mon, Aug. 02, 2010

Redland's Robert Is Here fruit market celebrates 50 years

BY HOWARD COHEN

Heather Levy, on left, stocks up on unusual fruits to take to her family reunion in Utah with the help of owner Robert Moehling at Robert Is Here, Fruit Stand and Farm on Tuesday, July 27, 2010, in Florida City.

Fifty years ago, Playboy opened its first club, John F. Kennedy defeated Richard M. Nixon and Bob and Mary Moehling sent their little boy into the fields in deep South Miami-Dade to sell cucumbers culled from their farm.

Robert Moehling, now 57, is still there -- with his four grown children, and cucumbers are moving just fine, thanks to the family's brilliant scheme to get attention from passersby: a hand-scrawled sign near the boy reading ``Robert is here.''

Cukes are just one of the 50 fruits and vegetables -- along with homemade breads, pies and fruit smoothies -- the Moehlings grow and sell at their corner stand, Robert Is Here, near Florida City on the road heading to Everglades National Park.

The open-air market is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It has a much larger counter today -- along with a petting zoo with goats, donkeys and turkeys out back, and, on the weekends, musicians out front -- plus customers who come from the 50 states and beyond.

``It's old school, reminds me of my childhood,'' said David Wong, 40, of Kendall, on a recent afternoon with friends visiting from Vancouver.

Vladimir and Olga Voronovich moved to Homestead three years ago from Russia and soon discovered Robert's. The open-air oasis beats the brutal weather of Siberia, Vladimir says, as grandkids Monica, 4, and Sofia, 3, visit the petting zoo.

On any given weekend day, Moehling's milkshake concession sells up to 1,400 creamy treats, he says. Even on a Tuesday, when the world's at work, the stand sells about 500 shakes at $5.35 a pop.

``These are the best milkshakes in town,'' said Paul Messina, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue chief, of his strawberry-key lime blend.

Seven days a week, Robert is here, giving tips on the proper way to eat fruit you may never heard of.

That huge, green bumpy ball with spikes? A jackfruit, Moehling explains. The brown seed pod? Tamarind.

``That was my Soup Patch candy,'' Moehling tells Heather Levy as he cracks open the tamarind and instructs his customer on how to enjoy the tart fruit. Both dig in.

Levy, simultaneously celebrating her 50th, eats it up -- fruit and tales. She's here from her Key Largo home, with her mom, Faith Greaves, who is visiting from Reno. Every year their family has a reunion in Utah, and Levy is stocking up on mangoes, avocados and amenities for the festivities.

``I'm bringing fruit from Robert Is Here,'' she said. ``That's my contribution. They will freak out!''

Craig Clevenger drove in from Miami at the request of the chief of a Lakota Indian tribe who wants mangoes for a coming Sundance ritual in Austin, Texas. ``He asked specifically for Florida mangoes; they are going to a really special place,'' Clevenger said.

Charles Sauther has been coming to Robert Is Here since Robert was barely bigger than one of his jackfruit.

``Ever since Robert opened I've been stopping in here -- when it was a shed. I've watched the changes over the years. Four years ago I moved to the Panhandle, but when I come to the Keys I always stop in here for mangoes or avocados. There's nothing like a good mango or a good avocado, and you can't buy 'em in a grocery store; it's not the same,'' Sauther said.

Moehling offers the traditional, from tomatoes and mangoes, to the exotic, including guanabanas, mamey, monstera, carambolas and canestel (a k a egg fruit).

Those he grows himself. Caimito (a k a star apples,) dragon fruit, key lime and sapodillas are grown for him locally.

``What's significant about my 50th anniversary is I'm only 57 years old,'' Moehling said. ``I basically ran this when I was a little kid. My mom taught me that I had to do it on my own. As a little kid, I learned to add, what I needed to buy and what I could sell it for. It was teamwork.''

Those are lessons Moehling has shared with his own family.

``We started when we were all 11,'' eldest son Brandon Moehling said.

There are two sons, two daughters, ages 21 to 27.

``We had cribs here and high chairs and grew up around here,'' Brandon says, casting his gaze out from the front entrance that, on weekends, is lined with Deere tractors and a musician singing Jimmy Buffett, Eagles and Simon & Garfunkel.

``Our lines are long, thank goodness. We can't go faster, so we want to entertain them while they are here,'' Moehling says.

Brandon's responsible for two of the grandchildren -- Mason and Jackson. Another two are on the way. Both daughter Victoria and Heather, Brandon's wife, are due in January.

``A lot of businesses are not family anymore, but the whole family is still here working -- and making more kids to do it,'' Heather teases, as she pats her stomach. ``It's the next generation coming up. It means we've got to figure a way to do it for 50 more years.''

19200 SW 344th St., Redland 33034

By Request, Suniland Park

2010-07-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

ghostwriter33156 wanted to know about Suniland Park. I took the following information straight from the Village of Pinecrest's website:

An active ten acre park with multipurpose athletic fields (baseball and football), batting cages, a recreation center, basketball courts, a Wi-Fi Spot in the gazebo, and a tot lot.

In 1916, Miami-Dade County purchased a five acre parcel called Rock Pit #21 and, in 1938, added 3.5 acres and dedicated the land for park use. On September 8, 1962, the county officially agreed to develop the property with athletic facilities including baseball and football fields and basketball courts and the modern-day Suniland Park was established. In 1999, the facility was deeded by the county to the Village of Pinecrest. The park was completely redeveloped during 2002-2003. The $1.6 million improvements to the park included a new building and gazebo, enhancements to the basketball courts and fields, a new jogging/walking path, and lighting upgrades.

The address is 12855 US 1 (South Dixie Highway, Pincrest Parkway...).

Below are some bad shots I took on the way home this evening of the park.

Below are some pictures of the "Publix" side of Suniland Mall. Red Balloon (my most favorite store ever growing up) is looooong gone, as is the theater.

The Publix is now a Whole Foods, but I LOVE that they kept the original building front.

By Request - The Parrot Jungle!

2010-07-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

KD wanted to see some updated pictures of the old Parrot Jungle, nowadays known as "Pinecrest Gardens"....so this morning, I packed up my 6 year old and we headed over to spend some time there.

(PLEASE CLICK ON ALL PICTURES TO OPEN THEM UP FULL SIZE.

SOME OF THEM ARE NOT SHOWING UP RIGHT ON HERE)

You can see that for the most part, the entrance has remained the same, though some old timers may remember that this wasn't even the original entrance...we'll see pictures of that later.

All the big, old ficus trees still shade the parking lot.

I think it's amazing how the ficus roots have grown into such cool archways.

A few years back, they added this fun splash ground for kids. $3 for all day - you can't beat it!

So many amazing plants...all different shapes, sizes and colors. All that's missing are the parrots!

Well...the flamingos are missing, too.

There was a swan, some geese, ibis and ducks all chilling out in the old flamingo pond.

The petting zoo is empty.

Wonder what's up with that?

The paths still meander through a tropical jungle filled with different palms, cypress and birds of paradise...turtles sun themselves on rocks and koi splash around them.

There are alot of old, empty cages still along the path. I may be weird, but I kind of like that they've left them there...

They've also left an old parrot stand up. See it on the right? Looks like branches. (You may have to click on the picture to open it up larger to see it all)

Above was what used to be the original entrance to Parrot Jungle. Pinecrest has recently renovated it. It doesn't look exactly the same as it did, but sometimes ya gotta give 'em credit for doing what they did anyway!

And thus ended our visit.

Thanks, KD, for giving us an excuse to go back. I always enjoy coming here.

Remember, if any of you have any other site requests, let me know!

A Standing Offer

2010-07-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be nice to offer, for those of you who don't live here anymore, pictures of specific places you might remember or may be curious about. Maybe your old house, your school or a park you remember...just leave me your request in a comment here and I'll do my best to oblige!

Allen's Drug Store

2010-07-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

Corner of Red and Bird Roads...still there!

The Perfect Team

2010-07-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

A brief remembrance.... The 1972 Miami Dolphins- The Only Perfect Season!

The first airplane I ever went up in belonged to Dolphin's Center, Jim Langer. My brother-in-law actually taught him to fly. I remember one day, the phone rang and I answered it...I was probably about 8 or 9 years old. It was a nice man who wanted to speak to my brother-in-law (who happened to be there). I found out later that it was Jim Langer. I got SO excited! Couldn't believe that he had called OUR house and I had talked to him!

I sat next to Bob Griese once at a UM baseball game back in...oh...1983. I thought that was pretty cool. I've heard Mercury Morris used to shop at Sunset Corners (back when there was also a grocery store there, not just the liquor store). But the guy I wonder about is Garo! #1 !!!! Wonder what he's up to?

Anyway, so many great memories of that team...the way they brought Miami to it's feet...giving us something to really, REALLY be proud of and cheer about.

6 players from the '72 Dolphins team have been entered in Pro Football's Hall of Fame: Larry Csonka, Nick Buoniconti, Bob Griese, Jim Langer, Larry Little, and Paul Warfield. In 1997, Don Shula joined them.

There never has been, nor will there ever be, another team as great...as fun...and as perfect as those '72 Dolphins!

Do you have any memories of 1972? Any memories of any particular players? If so, please share them!

Here is a link to my main blog where I had talked about them before...Fun Monday- Miami Dolphins

Skating and Bowling

2010-06-21T05:10:00.000-07:00

Anyone remember the skating centers we had here in the 80's...Kendall Skating Center, Kendale Lakes Skating Center...I know there were more. but those were the ones I went to. If I remember correctly, Kendall SC was over there by the Falls (or where the Fall is now). Alot of fun times were spent there. I know there is at least one skating center out in the Sabal Chase area, but the thought of ever going there makes me ill. Same for the ice skating center - in the Hammocks. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Speaking of the Falls, I miss the way that place used to be. The original design of all the waterfalls, ponds and flowing "rivers" was so nice. Now...it's "meh". Overpriced stores, but at least it's still outdoors. I'd rather go there than Dadeland, Cutler Ridge (Yes, dammit. I said Cutler RIDGE!), or points north.

And what about all the bowling alleys we had! ALL of them are gone now except for Bird Bowl, and my passport is expired so I can't go there. Even Paula Carter's in Homestead has been gone for a while now. Imagine Homestead with no bowling alley. Bizarre. But there is a bowling alley, kind of, in South Miami...in Sunset Place. I've checked it out and it is very cool, but not the typical laid back place that I miss. And only a handful of lanes, if I remember correctly. Seems to be more a place to drink and socialize for the younger crowd.

My old bowling alleys were for drinking and socializing, too, but for everyone- young and old. And leagues. Whatever happened to leagues?

*sigh* I miss those old alleys....

Amelia Earhart Park

2010-05-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sure some of you have been to Amelia Earhart Park, on the borders of Hialeah and Opa Locka, but how many of you know how it got that name?

Back before it was a county park, it was the Miami Municial Airport. And on June 1st, 1937 at 5:55am, Amelia Earhart took off from there on what would be her last flight - her failed attempt to circumnavigate the globe.

Sadly, I'd bet my life that right this moment, not one person in that park, including employees, even know that.

A Video Blast From the Past

2008-08-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

The Grove Cinema

2008-06-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

In the mid-eighties, my friends I spent spent just about every Saturday night(and sometimes Fridays, too)in Coconut Grove at the Grove Cinema. We went to see "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". OMG, the times we had there! I remember the ticket seller was a South Miami PD dispatcher during the day. I always thought that was funny since those nights in the Grove were usually not too law-abiding!

I can't believe they tore down that old theater. It was classic. They woudl show the odder movies there, like "Das Boot" that none of the other theater wanted to show. How many theaters would actually let you squirt water guns, throw toast and toilet paper and act out the movie right up there in front of the screen? Only the Grove Cinema!

Since it'e demise, I have yet to find another place in Dade County that shows that movie. Sad because we really did have some fun times there. At Halloween, we'd dress up as our favorite character from the movie. I was Magenta, my friend Eva was Columbia and Amy was Janet. I went all out on my costume, buying the right shoes, an actual maid's costume (Thanks Mom for altering it for me!) and even a wig that I dyed red and frizzed out. It was great...

Does anybody else remember that?

More Memories...

2007-11-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

You grew up in Miami if you remember?

Land crabs in your front yard
The Eagles concert at the Miami Baseball Stadium
Western Sunset Bowl
Don Carter's was the ONLY thing on 137th & Kendall
When you could get a bucket of shrimp at Kentucky Fried Chicken
Miami??See it like a Native When there was a canal down the center
of
Miller Road â?The Dungeonâ? on Saturday morning T.V.
Bowl - O - Mat on US1
St. Timothy's annual carnival
The water tower in South Miami Heights
When Quail Roost Drive was nothing but avocado groves
Big Daddy's Lounge on US1 and Coral Reef Drive
When there wasn't a turnpike - we drove on it before it was opened
When Black Point was the old shack store and
there was nothing but shrimp boats there
A&W Drive-In - served birch beer and the waitresses came out on
roller skates
The air raid sirens in South Miami
Polar Palace on 36th Street
The old skinny rickety bridges to Key West
Mike's Drug Store in the South Miami Heights shopping center
Eureka Park's little orange pumpkin
Six year olds being able to walk to school on your own (I did - 5
blocks)
Gen & Wren's (it's the Shack now)
Hurricane Donna
The dump at the end of Eureka on Old Cutler Road
W. T. Grants and Grant City (where the Best Buy is now on US1 &
Marlin)
Hey, Culligan Man
The waterslide in Florida City
Zayres on US1 in â??Pinecrestâ? where the Home Depot is now
When Pinecrest was Sunniland
The Tigertail Lounge in the Grove - love that Bobby Dykes
When there was a Winn Dixie where Cocowalk is now
When Flannigans was the Loggerhead and it had
pool tables and didn't serve food
Royal Castle on US1 and Carribbean OR Galloway and Sunset?
When you didn't have to pay to launch your boat at Matheson
Hammock
Jai Lai on US1 behind the Bowl - O - Mat
Dixie Drive-In where the big Publix is now on US1
Neisner's in the old Cutler Ridge strip mall
had a picture booth, pay a quarter and get 4 pictures on a little
strip
Mr. & Mrs. Burr owned everything on the west
side of Burr Road and Mr. Mixon owned everything on the east side
Camp Choee on Colonial and 117th
Camp Mahachee by Matheson Hammock park
When there was no Mt. Trashmore
Beefsteak Charlie's on US1 across from Bowl - O - Mat
You could find shells in the water at Matheson Hammock wading beach
Ford Fairlane 500
Gooney golf at the Colonial Palms Course on US1 & 136th St
Patty Murray on WGTR
The Dupont Plaza Hotel on the Miami River
Monroe Station
My Mom & Dad met at Jimmy's Hurricane
Coral Gables was "the" high school
South Dade was the Rebels
24 Hours of Smugglers Blues
The bowling alley at the end of Cutler Ridge strip mall (where Sears
is now)
The little walk-in movie theater in the back of Cutler Ridge's
strip mall
Richard's Dept Store was the anchor at the Cutler Ridge
strip mall
Private camps in the everglades
Pole beans on Kendall Drive
The Coconut Grove Arts Festival was free and you
could actually buy something there
The Trail Theater on Douglas/8th St
Pizza Patio on Bird Road with its roller skating
waitresses and car-side service (remember the
metal trays that clamped on the side of carâ??s
window opening - windows that you cranked down);
The Huddle House (at the corner of SW 8th street
and 76th before 826 cut off the only way to turn down 76th,
The Coral Way Drive-In that was down the street
from the football stadium local high schools
played their games in (the area of Coral Way between 74th and 70th);
Concord Shopping Center and Movie Theater;
Food Fair, Quick Check, and Super-X;
The Sword and Marlin Club;
Anthony Abraham's home along with the
neighbors on either side of him in the Gables
putting up the most amazing Christmas decorations
When Kendall Drive was â??the road to nowhereâ?
Colonial Palms Golf Course on US 1 and SW 136th St
When I-95 didn't reach here
When Miami's Best Pizza was the original Little
Caesars
The Five & Dime Store at Coral Way and 27th Ave
When Les Violins was a hot spot
When the people on South Beach were older than the buildings
WCIX - Channel 6 - be a part of it all
Big Wilson
The original Holsom Bakery Christmas display in
South Miami - it always smelled so good there
Peter Frampton and Elvin Bishop at the Miami Baseball Stadium
Howard Schnellenberger was â??kingâ?
The Austrailian Pines that lined the trail on the way to Miccosoukee
The zoo at Crandon Park had kiddy rides there too
Larry Csonka and Jim Kick
Zayres, Diskay, Woolworth, and Woolco in
Westchester and what was then Midway Mall;
WFUN and WQAM were "the" stations to listen
to if your car only had an AM radio - If you
were lucky enough to have FM, you listened to Y-100;
Burger Castle in Westchester and Lums were the
places to go with your friends after school and football games;
Mr. Donut had the BEST doughnuts and eclairs;
Sambo's (in the Gables across form Sears),
Sweden House (on Dixie Highway), and The Flame (also on Dixie);
When Tamiami Park was Tamiami Airport and there
were cow pastures across the street from it;
The animated, talking cow in Dressels Dairy's
ice cream parlor along with Toby the Robot on Skipper Chuck.
The Serpentarium
The Copacabana Supper Club
James McDuffie and Neville Johnson
Johnnie Jones and gold plumbing
Boston Blacky
Pizza of UM
Lou Saban
Murf the Surf
K-102, I-95, and the original Zeta 4
Arthur Godfrey
A time when Frank Forte and Don Noe weren't on channel 10
Molly Turner and Alec Gibson
Arthur Godfrey Show from Miami Beach
When trains ran parallel to U.S. 1 (at ground level)
The roller skating rink at South Dixie and SW 27th Ave.
When the 836 toll was 10 cents
The Miami Marlins and the Ft. Lauderdale Yankees
When FIU was a "senior college" and the
school's nickname was the Sun Blazers?
The Miami Daily News
Miami Rowing Club
The Seminole Indian Village on NW 27th Ave. and 21st. near the Miami
River
K-land on Kendall Drive
The Ft. Lauderdale Strikers
Flipper in the open end-zone at the Orange Bowl
When Crown Liquors got shot up
Cocaine Cowboys
Tent City
Packer Pontiac
Hurricane David and that masking tape that's still on all your
windows
Grand Union
When the Norway was the largest cruise ship in the world
When the Rusty Pelican burned down ? again and again
Miami Dade Junior College
The Coffee House on Douglas Rd
The Lemon Twist
The Monk's Inn
The French Connection (restaurant)
Monty Trainer's Village Inn
Jordan Marsh
Peaches Records and Tapes
The Coca Cola Bottling company in the grove
Super Skating Centers and Tropical Skating Center
Air Florida and Eastern Airlines
Glen Rinker & Ralph Renick
Gator Kicks on Tamiami Trail
When there was a grocery store in Dadeland Mall
The Mariel Boatlift
When Ana Azcuy married Kid Curry
Heiny Wine "The wine that made Medley, Medley"
When the 94th Aero Squadron had good food
The Tropicaire Drive in Theater
When there was a Burdines at the Mayfair mall
Centrust
When SunTrust was Sun Bank
The Dadeland Twin Theater, The Riviera Theater, and Plitt Gables
Theater
The Coral Theater, The Gables Theater, The Coconut Grove PlayHouse
Gordons Docks
The Collusium Opera House 1928; Boxing -
Wrestling - Ice Skating - Roller Skating Rink (Bowling Center in the
60'??s)
Indy car races at Tamiami Park
The Hialeah race track with demolition derbys
When Shorty's burned down
When the Rickenbacker was a drawbridge - and cost 25 cents
Biscayne Dog Track
Campus Life Haunted House
When the Youth Fair was at K-Land on Kendall Drive
When the Mark IV was the best ride at the youth fair
All the Dairy Farms; (Where Miami International Airport sits Today).
Uncle Gordon reads the Sunday Funnies on the
radio (at the Freedom Tower Bldg Formerly the Miami Daily News
Bldg).
The Skipper Chuck Show and the Sunday Funnies
Miami Marine Stadium and Hydroplane races
Hugo the whale
Velvet Creme
Planet Ocean
Monkey Jungle
Club OZ
Tom Thumbs in the Grove
When the Mall of the Americas was Midway Mall
Rory Sparrow
Black Caesar's Forge
Grant's Five and Dime - Downtown
Rick Shaw
WIOD
The Big Wheel
Pizza Palace
Ice Palace Ice Skating Rink on NW 36 St.
Key West was a long, lonely trip,, and the Key Lime Pie was
?real
The trips down to the Rod and Reel Club at Jew Fish Creek on Key
Largo
The Red Diamond Italian Restaurant
The El Bolero Restaurant
When La Carreta only had one location
Dressels Dairy for Ice Cream and Pony rides on a
Sunday afternoon on Milam Dairy Road;
Sealtest Icecream parlor near Jimmys Hurricane on Bird rd.
Luskin's High Fidelity
Lyles Pharmacy
Lindsley Lumber (how about Renuart Lumber??)
A.J. Duhe
Victoria and Abbey Hospitals
Malibu Grand Prix
Jackson-Byrons; JByrons; Jacksons
The rides on top of downtown Burdines each holiday season.
McCrory's Five and Dime - Downtown
Roland Your Hatter in the Seybold Bldg.
Bayfront Auditorium with the Saturday Dances
Bayfront Park
5th Street Fishing Pier and Charter Boats -
Downtown (where Bayside sits today)
FunLand Park on NW 27th ave.
Krome Ave. was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy out in the sticks.
Seminole Indian huts out on Tamiami Trail that
did not have Parabolic antennas sticking out of the tops
Pan Am Seaplane Hangers (where real live
seaplanes took off many times a day) in the Grove on Bayshore
Mansene's Spaghetti House
The Studio Restaurant
The Yorkshire; The Hampshire
Leonard La Pena's Steak House
FIRE Station #1 across from the old Courthouse
The Old Miami train station just across the street from the police
dept.
Coral Gables Bus station
The Boys Club of Miami (before it became Co-Ed)
A & W birch beer joints
Royal Castle burger joints
The tennis courts at Coconut Grove park next to the basketball court
Florida Pharmacy in the Grove
The Light House on Key Biscayne was â??Red Brickâ?
Elliot Key - A simple picnic place w/ NO Seawall.
Fair Isle was just that,, an island
P. B. A. park on N. W. 14 St.
Miami Senior High before air conditioning
Biscayne Cafeteria in the Gables
M and M cafeteria on SW 27 Ave and 8 St
WQAM
King Arthur's Court off 36 Street
Big Daddy's
Midnight Drag Races on Kendalll Drive waaaaay out there towards
Krome Ave.
Allen's Drug Store at Red and Bird (still there!)
WINZ Radio
Miracle Theater in the Gables
Tropicaire Drive-In Theater
Bird Bowl
The original Scotty's Grocery in the Grove
where tomatoes and artichokes were the size of your hand;
When Westchester was out in the country...way outside of
Miami...
When there was NO FIU;
When Miami Coral Park Senior High School was predominantly Jewish;
When the UM Football Team were 0-10...always....
and their games in the Orange Bowl were played to empty stands;
Miles of strawberry fields on Kendall Drive after you passed 107th
Avenue;
No Town & Country Mall on Kendall Drive;
No "West Kendall" at all;
The Miami Police Station across the street from
the old courthouse in down town Miami,, close to Burdines
All the Banyan trees that lined South Dixie Hwy
The HAMLET bar on Main Hwy
The little drive-in place that sold whisky at South Dixie and 27th
Ave.
The Zoo at Crandon Park (and the park too)
Stiltsville was a seldom frequented place on the sand bars
Lejune drive in, where the Marriott is now.
Widow McCoy's in the Grove was the hotspot for live jazz;
The Grove Movie Theatre and the midnight
Rocky Horror shows every weekend;
All the funky shops on Grand Avenue before Cocowalk and Mayfair took
over;
When there was no traffic on the Palmetto
Expressway or there was NO Palmetto Expressway;
When the city of Sweetwater was just some
trailers and small farms and houses on the other side of the
canal?
and there was NO Fountainbleau development;
When there was NO Midway Mall, International Mall, or Dolphin Mall ;
Royal Ice Company on Douglas and US1
Great Value grocery store in Cutler Ridge, next to Dadâ??s Hardware
Breezeway Drive-In in Homestead
Shaw's Nursery on US1 and Killian Dr
Rhodes Brothers club on US1 & 136th
Luria's
Bird Bowl had a gas station
Tropical Park was a horse track
Police Athletic League dances at Bird Road and 72nd
When Coral Park High School was only 10th grade (1964)
We had channel 4 (CBS), 7 (NBC), 10 (ABC) and then 6 (WCIX)
Bird Bowl & the skating rink
Drink & Sink...all the skating & beer you can
drink for $5...do you know how hard it is to go
to the bathroom with skates on ??
The Playboy Clubs...disco dancing...the
"bunnies" had little cotton tails...
Orangeade, frozen pizzas & foot long hot dogs at Pizza Palace
FULL SERVICE AT GAS STATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL the woods we had to mud bog in
Taking the bus to shop in the Gables
All the worms on the sidewalks & in the hallways at school after a
big rain
Tadpoles in the puddles
Camping at Browns Farm
The Circus Restaurant on Bird Road
The Brasserie by the airport
The 1800 Club
The pizza place on 103rd street that showed
Little Rascal videos...& had the BEST pizza too!
Skiing at the Airport Lakes
The Sportatorium in the middle of nowhere (West
Broward County) where national rock bands came to perform
When Miami Beach restaurants and bars closed at
11 PM and there was no South Beach scene;
Earl Cashmoreâ??s Shell Station on the corner of Eureka and Franjo
Sunniland Theater where the Oriental Rug place is now
Tom McCann shoe store in the old Cutler Ridge strip mall
Tony Segreto was the sportscaster on the local NBC station (channel
7)
Greg Budell came out as a drug addict to Rick Shaw on the air
The haunted Biltmore Hotel
Camping on the levy on Tamiami Trail in the Everglades
Orange Julius in the malls
The Yumbrella in South Miami
The old zoo & train rides at Crandon
Sorrento's Italian Restaurant
Jody's Little Store on the corner of Quail Roost and US 1
Grant's AND Neisner's were at Cutler Ridge SHOPPING CENTER
When Miami Dade Jr. College - SOUTH opened in
various locations: Suniland Theater, Palmetto
Sr. High at night, Tennis at Continental Park, Archery at K-land
The day Shortyâ??s burned down! Oh...how many times DID Shortyâ??s
burn?
Burger King walk up with screened in patio area to eat in.
What was the name of the theater across from
UM? and the Chinese restaurant in the Gables, and STEVENS market...
Was the ice cream parlor on Miracle Mile Jahnâ??s?
Jackie Gleason ("and away we go")
The Hasta Restaurant
Girl Scout meetings in the South Miami Library on Sunset
Dairy Freeze on Sunset
Crusin' at Hot Shops
Riviera theater in front of UM
The Blue's Image--rock on!
Carnival at Epiphany
Austin's Dive Shop on Dixie Hwy. (still there yet)
Diving in the "lakes" off Miller
The herd of black and white belted cattle at the Palmetto and 153rd.
Snowden's (need we say more?)
Submarine races on the shores of Miller lake.
Robert's Western Wear and feed and grain at Dixie and Sunset
Foster's Department Store on Sunset with the open back doors, where I
waved as the train went by.
Floor fans, ceiling fans, swatting flies and PeeWees on ice.
Selling Crispie Cremes on Saturdays door to door.
South Dade "Rebels" in Confederate uniforms
Plinking with .22's off west Sunset in the canal.
Seeing Santa at the downtown Burdine's
Riding the bus from So. Miami to Coral Gables and downtown
Having lunch on the seawall at Immaculata while watching Coast Guard
seaplane fly in and out
Pony rides
Aero Country Club
Brown's Field (prior to Aero CC)
Old Tamiami Airport (now FIU)
You could only get to the Cape Florida lighthouse by boat
The old Crandon Park Zoo and kiddy rides
Virginia Beach was for blacks
Dairy Queen had "white" and "black" water fountains.
Frankies Pizza
Open-air Dadeland
Suniland was THE shopping center (along with K-mart)
Miracle Mile--was

South Miami

2007-08-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

Driving in to work this morning I started thinking about South Miami. Not the South Miami of today, but the one with the Holsum Bakery with it's Christmas display each year...the one with Robert's Western Wear and Connie Banko's Custom Bathing Suits. The first pair of Converse sneakers I bought came from Zip's on Sunset. They were so cool! Each panel of canvas was a different color. My friend, Eva, got the same pair. I wonder what ever happened to those hightops.....

Anyone remember when they first "redid" South Miami and put up "The Bakery Center"? What a bomb that was. I think I may have gone to it one time. Hated it. Not wild about Sunset Place now, but I can handle it. Seems like everything there is way overpriced. But I do love the movie theater!

Faded and Gone...

2007-06-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

I found this neat link to old tourist attractions in Florida. Most were not in Miami, but anyone living in Florida since the mid-eighties will at least recognize a few of them.

http://www.lostparks.com/index.html

I remember going to Circus World, Masterpiece Gardens, Fred Bear Museum and the wax museum in Miami. At least Bass Pro Shops bought up Fred Bear's stuff to put on display in their stores.

Parrot Jungle

2007-05-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of me and the grandson of the original owners of the Parrot Jungle.

I'm not the only one who remembers...

2007-05-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

My friend Dave sent me an email:
"I remember the Red Road & Sunset 5 & 10 buying model airplane kits,
model monster kits. Sunset drug store that had a soda fountain and
grill. We also used to go fishing in Snapper Creek by the dam near the
old Parrot Jungle and buy candy & sodas @ the little Parrot Jungle gift
shop on Red Road.

This might be before your time but there was a Jeffersons Dept store
where K-mart is now on 104th & US 1 near the old Black Angus. I can
remember the old AM rock radio stations WQAM 560( Rick Shaw) and WFUN
940 and even calling the Fun Phone with Don Wright.

Channel 7 had a TV program called The Dungeon that starred Charlie
Baxter as M.T. Graves (Unibrow bucktooth fiend inmate with a hook) who
would host a B&W horror film each week. We kids loved the comical
situations he got himself into and the Warden would always howl like a
wolf to signal a commercial.

There were 4 Royal Castles, we would go to while growing up. One on
87th
Ave & Bird, One on Coral Way and 70 ave near the old Central Stadium,
one on US 1 and 27th ave, and one that was less than block from my
grandparents on SW 13th Street and South Miami Avenue. After eating a
couple of those little hamburgers with onions and drinking ice cold
mug
of birch beer, walking to Simpson Park with my Dad and playing hide &
seek! Those were great times.

Going to Lums and eating an Ollie
burger! There used to be a bowling alley in South Miami, and one near
132nd & US 1. and of course Western Sunset Bowl. Great Fun! I remember
the Drive ins- going in my older brother's '62 corvair on friday or
saturday nights and watching Elvis movies because his girlfriend loved
Elvis. Remember the old movie theaters that had only one screen and
they
actually had curtains that would close and open for each movie. Riviera
Theater, Miracle, Caribe, Sunset.
Do you remember the old Grove Cinema that would play off-beat &
foreign
movies and of course Rocky Horror Picture Show! Drinking red zinger
tea
a
nd eating butter popcorn!"

Old Airstrips

2007-05-10T07:36:00.001-07:00

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/FL/Airfields_FL_Miami_N.htm

This is an link to some old airports/airstrips of the past.

When I was little, they used to have great airshows at Tamiami Airport, Homestead Airforce Base and even Opa Locka. Now all we have is the Air & Sea Show in Ft. Lauderdale. What the hell happened?

Correction!

2007-05-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

A few posts ago I said that Kermit Week's air museum was gone. It's not! WooHoo!!! Now I have another place to go to once of these weekends :)

A couple more

2007-03-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Black Angus on US1 and 104th. I still have a glass from there :)

Dime stores. None in particular, just dime stores in general...or "5 and dimes".

South Beach??? It was always just Miami Beach to me growing up!

I remember when they built the 878 fly-over that goes from the Don Shula to US1. I rode my bike on it. That extension separated my neighborhood from the one next door. There used to be a horse and a guinea hen farm at the end of my street. We'd walk down there all the time when I was little. Then they buit the 878. No more horse. No more guinea hens.

Do you remember the time before cable? Every house had an antenna on the roof (I still do!). The channels down here were 2 (pbs), 4 (cbs), 6 (wcix-local), 7 (nbc) and 10 (abc).
Every weekend on channel 6 they showed "Creature Features"...sometimes "Creature Feature-Double Feature"...old horror movies in B&W. I loved them!

The McDuffie Riots?

Skipper Chuck!!! (I was on it once) I watched him every morning on channel 6 while I ate my cereal before school. Peace, Love and Happiness!

Royal Castles? (There still is one on 27th Ave., close to downtown. It even looks like it still has the original paint job)

I tend to group my memories into "BA" or "AA"...Before Andrew or After Andrew. I wonder if anyone else does that? I see pictures I took of Old Cutler and say "Hey, that was Before Andrew. Look at the trees". Or others, "That was After Andrew. There aren't any trees."

Tamiami Airport

2007-03-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

Tamiami Airport used to be the end of the world. Boystown was right next door. Now it's called Camp Matecumbe and is owned by the Park & Rec Dept. Houses are built all around, warehouses and even a HUGE new Lexus dealership. It makes me sick. The agricultural fields are becoming fewer and fewer. Ugly cookie cutter houses. YUCK!

That's why I love driving around Coral Gables and older neighborhoods. The houses are all different! No stupid "homeowners associations" either. Real yards, too. I don't understand why any sane person would want to move into one of these new subdivisions. I just don't get it.

I miss Kermit Week's museum that used to be at the airport. He had a Fokker triplane that I was so in love with! Andrew did a number on theplace, though. Now he has Fantasy of Flight in Polk City. It's very, very nice and I highly recommend seeing it.

I learned to drive at Tamiami. My son now practices at Tropical Park. Tropical used to be a racetrack. I can barely remember that. But I do. There was a drive-in across the street on Bird. I went there a couple times in high school. Drive-ins are so fun. Oh, but they stand in the way of progress, right? Tear 'em all down and put up another strip mall. God knows we don't have enough of those!

Key Biscayne

2007-03-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

Remember Crandon Park Zoo? I used to beg my parents to take me there! Of course, the Seaquarium is still there. I used to know we were getting close when I'd see the shark in the cage as you approach the tollbooth. I think they changed it to dolphins or something now. Wusses...

My parents had friends who lived on Key Biscayne, and I remember to get to their house, we'd drive by Richard Nixon's place. It had a helipad out back...big white house. I've tried recently to find it again, but whoever owns it now must've done some major remodeling because I can't find it. When/if I do, I'll post the address here for anyone interested.

Further down from Crandon, at the end of the island, is Cape Florida. Hurricane Andrew did a number on that place! It used to be lined with big old Australian pines. Not native, but pretty, and the wind sounds cool blowing through their needles. They are all gone now, and though in it's more natural state, Cape Florida just isn't the same. Little shade, and very crowded! The lighthouse has been repainted back to it's original color - white. When I was growing up, it was natural red brick. You can still see what remains of Stiltsville when you look across the Bay...

What I'm remembering today

2007-03-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

Today I thought about Gold Triangle and the Dadeland Twin movie theater on Kendall, across from the mall.

Gold Triangle was a cool store I used to love going to with my Dad. They had a big wooden "boat" in the middle that's where all the fishing stuff was. I used to climb up and pretend to steer the boat using this big wooden ship's wheel they had. I also remember buying my first Beatles album there...

The Dadeland Twin was right next to Gold Triangle. A big pink building with *gasp* only 2 screens! I remember standing in line for hours to see Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark there. Fun times. They tore down both buildings to put in a parking lot and a crappy CompUSA. If you look, there are still signs up in front of that parking lot that say "Theater Parking Only". Faded, but still there. I need to take a picture and post it here.

Of course, there are lots of other stores I remember that are no longer around: Richard's at Cutler Ridge Mall, Zayre's, Jefferson's, Grant's, Jackson Byrons (later JByrons, then just Byrons), Food Fair in South Miami, Grand Union, and now Eckerd's! And restaurants like Lums on Kendall and US1, Black Angus @ 104th and US1. The Hampshire Inn on Sunset.

Bowling Alleys are becoming a thing of the past in Miami. Western Sunset Bowl was a big hang out place for me and my friends. Don Carters on Kendall is now gone, recently torn down. The Bowl-O-Mat at the end of Galloway at US1. The only place left to bowl now is Bird Bowl and it is a crowded mess.

Anyone remember The Falls when it was first built? All the water and the restaurant built over the water? That place has changed alot, too. There used to be a gym there called Bogey's Barn that, for some reason, we took a field trip to at night when I was in high school.

Well, enough for now. I'll post more things as I remember them. Hope other find this site and add their posts, too!