There is no doubt that South Florida’s beaches and weather are huge attractions. Everyone likes getting out of the cold, but residents and visitors alike also appreciate stimulating sizzle but not the Miami Vice kind.
During the 1980s, civic leaders in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties realized that investing in arts and cultural venues would remake their seasonal resort destinations into year-round, world-class metropolitan areas. And, they saw the value of building them in rundown neighborhoods that needed redevelopment and revitalization.
Local governments and residents saw the wisdom in that kind of thinking: Tourism is Florida’s number one industry; decomposing (and dangerous) downtowns were unsightly; and many local residents were transplants from the north and south and missed the cultural venues they enjoyed back home (Think influx of immigrants from the Caribbean as well as Central and South America).
With the communities’ blessings, public and private funding was secured and construction commenced. “Our region was known as a sleepy tourist destination,” says Mike Spring, director of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. “We were a young community without traditions. I grew up here; I had to hunt for cultural opportunities. But that changed as the ideas and aspirations changed, and we are quickly establishing ourselves as the newest dynamic cultural hub in the United States and in the world.”
He has reason to be proud. Continue reading here…
