Miami Attractions

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts offers state of the art facilities, access to many cultures, and a range of performing arts.

The American Airlines Arena is the home of the NBA's Miami Heat. It is also the main venue for large concerts and other special events, including top name singers and performers. It can hold more than 19,000 people.

The structure itself, opened in 1999 has been awarded the Leed Green Building Certification for being an energy efficient building. It stands out prominently on the waterfront in a modern and developing area of downtown.

ATTRACTION HAS CLOSED - MOVED TO TITUSVILLE.

This site honors the thousands of police officers who have been killed on duty and offers visitors a chance to learn about the history of policing in the U.S. There are exhibits of confiscated weapons, execution devices and an interactive game that invites visitors to play the role of a detective.

The Black Heritage Museum explores the history of African Americans and other Blacks in Florida and promotes racial harmony within the multicultural community of Metro-Dade County. The exhibits are divided into three different locations around the region but the directors are fundraising for a permanent home.

The 440 acre Deering Estate at Cutler property encompasses globally endangered pine rockland habitat, as well as coastal tropical hardwood rockland hammocks, mangrove forests, salt marshes, and a coastal dune island. The Deering Estate is home to the c1900 Richmond Cottage, which served as a hotel. Other historical buildings date from 1896 to 1922 and an American Indian burial ground dating from 1500.

The estate is named for Charles Deering, who owned the home. He, along with his brother James, was an art collector and accumulated a great number of works by the Old Masters. Deering himself also painted.

On site at the estate is the Artist Village which has become an important cultural center, featuring art and artists programs.

Visitors can stroll through the beautiful grounds and tour the houses or simply enjoy the view.

The Evangelization Plaza is a tribute to the early Jesuit missionaries and Spanish explorers who came to preach and convert the native Tequesta Indians to Christianity. There are five monuments that are dedicated to the martyrs and heroes of those early missions.

One of the most striking buildings on Biscayne Boulevard, Freedom Tower (1925), displays a "wedding-cake" style. It is one of the oldest skyscrapers in the south-eastern United States, and served for many years as the headquarters of the Miami Daily News.

Its name comes from its role as the immigration-processing center for hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees who arrived in the 1960's.

The Frost Art Museum features a large collection of American printmaking from the 1960s and '70s, Pre-Columbian objects exploring the historic Maya and Inca cultures, as well as Haitian and Brazilian folk art. Temporary exhibits include renowned women artists and student artworks.

Founded in the 1950's by the Miami Railroad Historical Society, the Gold Coast Railroad Museum has more than 30 antique railway cars. It features the "Ferdinand Magellan", the presidential railcar used by Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Truman and Reagan. Visitors can also see the California Zephyr cars, "Silver Crescent" and "Silver Stag".

The museum also houses an extensive model railroad section. Wooden train sets are on display for children to play with.

The Latin American Art Museum (formerly The Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin American Art) preserves, promotes and displays contemporary Spanish and Latin American artwork. Its focus is on 20th and 21st C art, and particularly artists from South Florida.

The museum also hosts touring exhibitions throughout the year.

Woodlawn Cemetery features a number of important graves and mausoleums. A black marble wall is a tribute to the "Unknown Cuban Freedom Fighter" who died in the Bay of Pigs invasion. Exiled Cuban presidents Gerardo Machado and Carlos Prío Socarras are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

The Miami Children's Museum was founded in 1983 and moved to its latest location in 2003. Educational and entertainment exhibits are designed to appeal to children's curiosity and creativity. Interactive exhibits at the Miami Children's Museum include a variety of themed galleries that revolve around arts, culture, community, and communication.

The museum is located in a 56,500 square-foot facility with galleries, a 200 seat auditorium, restaurant, and gift shop.

The headquarters of Miami's major daily newspaper and its Spanish counterpart, "El Nuevo Herald", was sold to a casino operator who plans to develop an entertainment / hotel complex on the property.

Monkey Jungle allows the visitor to see almost 400 primates living in large enclosed areas purportedly designed to resemble their natural habitats. There are 30 species of primates including chimpanzees, orangutans, a lowland gorilla named King, and a variety of monkeys from around the world. Daily shows are given, the most popular being feeding time for the Macaques who dive into pools for food.

A landmark of downtown Miami, the 52-storey NationsBank Tower (1987), is brilliantly floodlit in many colours at night. It was designed by I. M. Pei, America's best known contemporary architect, in association with Spillis Candela and Partners. The floodlighting scheme, with several hundred 1000-watt lamps and different colours for different occasions (for example green on St Patrick's Day and red on St Valentine's Day) was devised by Douglas Leigh.

One of several jai alai arenas (or frontons) around Miami where spectators can see this fast paced, 400 year-old game. Similar to handball, jai alai involves hurling a rock-hard ball against the front wall of three in the court and catching it in a wood, leather and reed basket attached to the wrist.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) opened in February, 1996. Temporary exhibitions of contemporary art showcase national, international and Florida artists. In the past it has featured a Keith Haring retrospective and a display of modern Mexican masterpieces. The permanent collection has over 400 works of art.

Our Lady of Charity Shrine was funded and built by Cuban refugees in 1966. It honors the Cuban patroness. Inside the shrine is a mural by Teok Carrasco that portrays the history of the Catholic Church in Cuba. Behind the shrine, facing Biscayne Bay, are the busts of Cuban patriots José Martí and Father Félix Varela.

The Rubell Family Collection houses contemporary works of art by artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Cindy Sherman and Jeff Koons, to name a few. Located in a former DEA confiscation facility, the gallery opened its doors in 1994 and has been a public gallery since 1996. The museum also features a New Media room, a bookstore, a gift shop and the Sculpture Garden.

The Southern Cross Astronomical Society began in 1922 attracting amateur astronomers. Today free star-watching with high powered telescopes is still available in various locations around the city. Educational programs and lectures are also offered on a regular basis.

Watson Park on the island of the same name is reached by crossing the MacArthur causeway. It has a Japanese Garden with a pagoda, teahouse waterfall and a Tivoli-style amusement park. A helicopter pad for sightseeing flights and a seaplane landing strip for excursions to the Bahamas are nearby.