Miami: A Young but Turbulent History
World War II
Less than a year after Pearl Harbor was attacked, a German U-boat torpedoed an American vessel off the coast of Miami Beach in plain view of carousing tourists who watched the ship burn and sink. That incident, along with more than 20 other similar incidents along the Florida coast that year, prompted the government to turn Miami into a military center.
Miami Beach’s Art Deco hotels were turned into military barracks for the duration of the war, and more than 600,000 service men trained in South Florida throughout the war, keeping Miami’s economy stable. When the war ended, hundreds of veterans remained in Miami, and thousands more moved to the Magic City from all over the country for a piece of postwar sunshine. And as Miami continued expanding westward in yet another development boom, a new style of hotels emerged five miles north of the Art Deco District. Miami, once again, became a tropical retreat for America’s middle class.
During the mid-1950s, post-modern architect Morris Lapidus left his mark on what became known as North Beach by building the Fontainebleau Resort and Eden Roc Hotel. The buildings, with their sweeping forms and eccentric details, were criticized by the architectural world for being gaudy. But they became the backdrop for another generation of jetsetters, gangsters and entertainers.
Meyer Lansky, known as the brain behind Murder Inc., one of Chicago’s most ruthless crime syndicates, was running several illegal gambling and prostitution operations on Miami Beach during this time. All were ignored by the local police. As long as the tourists were happy, so were the locals.
And how could the tourists not be happy? This was a time when Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bob Hope, Lena Horne, Milton Berle, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin were all performing regularly at these hotels.
By the 1960s, Miami Beach had become a frequent backdrop for television shows, boxing matches and movies. In 1964, a week after the Beatles introduced themselves to America on the Ed Sullivan Show in New York City, the British band flew down to Miami and performed live on the show a second time via satellite. More than 70 million Americans tuned in to see the band that was taking the country by storm.
Nine days later, a young boxer named Cassius Clay shocked the world by defeating heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in Miami Beach for the world title. Shortly after the fight, Clay announced he had joined the Nation of Islam and had changed his name to Muhammad Ali, considered by many to be the greatest boxer of all time.
But before all that happened, a revolution had been brewing 90 miles south of Florida that would forever change the face of Miami.