Miami history and landmarks: founding, districts and the National Register

Last checked Oct. 9, 2026. Sources: the Florida Department of State’s historical marker “Julia Tuttle: Mother of Miami” (erected 2020) and the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places listed properties file, listings through May 22, 2026. Addresses were matched to the city limits with the Census Bureau geocoder.

Miami became a city in 1896, the same year the railroad arrived on Biscayne Bay. Today 68 National Register of Historic Places listings stand inside the city limits, from downtown office towers and churches to Coconut Grove houses and the seaplane terminal that is now City Hall.

Visit

• Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: 3251 S. Miami Ave.; events and tickets at vizcaya.org
• The Museum of Miami (the county’s history museum): 305-375-1305, museumofmiami.org
• City of Miami Cemetery: 1800 NE Second Ave., listed on the National Register in 1989
• Historic Virginia Key Beach Park: 4020 Virginia Beach Drive, 305-960-4600

How Miami began

From the state historical marker for Julia Tuttle, “Mother of Miami,” erected in 2020:

• Tuttle came from Cleveland, Ohio, in 1891 and bought 644 acres that included Fort Dallas.
• After the freezes of 1894 and 1895, she sent orange blossoms and oranges to the railroad builder Henry Flagler to persuade him to bring his Florida East Coast Railway south to Biscayne Bay. In return she gave him land for a terminal, a hotel and future city blocks.
• “It is the dream of my life to see this wilderness turned into a prosperous country,” she said.
• The first train arrived April 13, 1896, and the city was incorporated July 28, 1896.
• Tuttle died at 49 on Sept. 14, 1898.

Historic districts

The National Park Service lists seven districts inside the city:

• Downtown Miami Historic District (2005), roughly bounded by Miami Court, Third Street, Third Avenue and Second Street.
• Lummus Park Historic District (2006), roughly bounded by NW Second Street, NW Third Court, NW Fourth Street and NW North River Drive.
• South River Drive Historic District (1987), six buildings on SW First and Second streets and SW South River Drive.
• Bay Shore Historic District (1992), between NE 55th and NE 60th streets, Biscayne Boulevard and the bay.
• Grove Park Historic District (2023), off NW 17th Avenue near SR 836.
• Vizcaya, the James Deering estate (1970, expanded 1978).

Landmarks of national significance

Four Miami listings are also National Historic Landmarks, the federal government’s highest designation:

• Vizcaya, 3251 S. Miami Ave. (landmark 1994)
• The Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd. (landmark 2008); the Park Service file lists its significance as Hispanic heritage, architecture, communications and social history.
• The Miami Circle at Brickell Point, 401 Brickell Ave. (landmark 2009)
• The Marjory Stoneman Douglas House, 3744 Stewart Ave., Coconut Grove (landmark 2015)

Every National Register listing in the city

These 68 listings have addresses that fall inside the City of Miami. The year is when each was added to the register.

Five more listings with Miami addresses could not be placed inside the city by the geocoder or have a restricted address: Virginia Key Beach Park (2002), the Miami Marine Stadium on the Rickenbacker Causeway (2018), Halissee Hall at 1700 NW 10th Ave. (1974) and the Kampong in Coconut Grove (1984, address restricted). The Venetian Causeway (1989) links Miami with Miami Beach. Other listings with a Miami mailing address, such as the Hampton House Motel (2022) and Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery (2018), are in unincorporated Brownsville, outside the city limits.

Black history landmarks

The Park Service file lists Black history among the reasons for significance of the D. A. Dorsey House (1989), the Ace Theatre in Coconut Grove (2016), the Miami Black Police Precinct and Courthouse (2020), Masjid al-Ansar (2026) and Virginia Key Beach Park (2002). The beach, once “colored-only,” passed from the county to the city in 1982, its trust says.

What this means for you

• Downtown’s Flagler Street is lined with register buildings: the Dade County Courthouse, the Olympia Theater, the Alfred I. DuPont Building and the Walgreen Drug Store.
• Coconut Grove’s Main Highway holds The Barnacle, the Ransom School “Pagoda,” El Jardin and the Coconut Grove Playhouse.
• City Hall itself, the former Pan American seaplane terminal, is on the register.

Related: parks and trails, things to do this month and Miami population and growth.

Frequently asked questions

When was Miami founded?

The City of Miami was incorporated on July 28, 1896, a few months after the first Florida East Coast Railway train arrived on April 13, 1896, according to the state historical marker for Julia Tuttle.

Who founded Miami?

Julia Tuttle, called the Mother of Miami on her state historical marker, persuaded Henry Flagler to extend his railroad to Biscayne Bay after the freezes of 1894 and 1895, and gave him land for a terminal, a hotel and city blocks.

How many National Register historic places are in Miami?

68 National Register listings sit at addresses inside the City of Miami, by our count of the National Park Service’s May 2026 file, from Vizcaya (1970) to Masjid al-Ansar (2026). Four are also National Historic Landmarks.

What are Miami’s National Historic Landmarks?

Vizcaya (designated 1994), the Freedom Tower (2008), the Miami Circle at Brickell Point (2009) and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas House in Coconut Grove (2015).

Is Miami City Hall historic?

Yes. City Hall at 3500 Pan American Drive is the former Pan American Seaplane Base and Terminal Building, listed on the National Register in 1975.