South Miami

 

It was incorporated just a year after its neighbor, Coral Gables. South Dixie Highway better known as US 1, and now the Metrorail, runs through the middle of South Miami’s 2.5 square miles, providing easy access to the shopping and other amenities available in the area. To the east of US 1, on the corner of Red Road and Sunset Drive, is the Shops at Sunset Place, a modern shopping center with a large open courtyard surrounded by four levels of retail, restaurant, and entertainment options. South Miami’s current population as of 2017 is 12,281.

 

South Miami is not only a popular up-and-coming city but also full of rich history. In 1898 Wilson Larkin built the first general store on what is currently known today as “Cocoplum Circle” and as the community grew, he established a post office in the community. A depot was placed along the Florida East Coast Railway in 1904, and in the same year, John Moses Dowling built the first house within what is now South Miami city limits. In 1926, area residents wanted to incorporate their area, and because of the booming city to the north of them, they chose the name “Town of South Miami”. In that same year, South Miami had the first incoming class of freshmen at the newly chartered University of Miami. Other prominent historic families have historic buildings and streets named for them, such as Dorn Avenue located on SW 59th Avenue, and the Shelley Building, among others. In 1925, the Dorn brothers built the Riviera Theatre at 5700 South Dixie Highway, in 1934, Charles T. Fuchs moved his Holsum Bakery from Homestead to South Miami on the land where the Riviera Theatre had been.

 

At the street level, casual and fine dining choices abound in South Miami, including Town Kitchen and Bar, Rok Burger, Whisk, and Shula’s 347 restaurants. With so many dining and boutique options there is plenty of parking for those who’d love to drop off their car and take a stroll along Sunset Mall and its adjacent streets. New mid-rise and resort-style condominium and apartment complexes, as well as single-family homes sitting on shady, tree-lined streets ensure that South Miami has something to offer for everyone, at many price points. Besides being convenient to the University of Miami, South Miami has a Metrorail station located on Sunset Drive and US1 that offers fast access to the Downtown and Brickell areas, and is just five miles from Miami International Airport.