This Month in Miami Beach History: How Miami Beach Began – a plat, a plan, a vision July 1912

This Month in Miami Beach History: How Miami Beach Began – a plat, a plan, a vision July 1912

Long before it became a world-renowned destination for art, architecture, and innovation, Miami Beach was little more than a wild sandbar dotted with mangroves, palmetto scrub, and a few scattered fishing camps. That began to change in July of 1912, when brothers John Newton Lummus and James Edward Lummus filed the first official plat to develop land on the barrier island across Biscayne Bay.

At the time, the island was largely inaccessible. Travel required a boat, and there was no bridge connecting the mainland. Still, the Lummus brothers, both prominent businessmen and former mayors of Miami, saw untapped potential. They partnered with entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, a pioneer of the American automobile industry and a skilled promoter, to establish the Ocean Beach Realty Company. Their goal was to transform the land into a premier resort destination.

Filing the plat allowed the company to begin subdividing the land for sale and development, marking the official beginning of Miami Beach as a planned community. Their vision was ambitious. They imagined a city that would attract wealthy visitors from the north, drawn by the promise of sunshine, sea breezes, and an escape from cold winters.

Construction of the Collins Bridge began shortly after and was completed in 1913, connecting Miami to the island and making the development accessible by road. This new connection catalyzed rapid growth. By March 26, 1915, the Town of Miami Beach was officially incorporated, with John N. Lummus serving as its first mayor.

In just two years, the area experienced such expansion that the town reincorporated as the City of Miami Beach on May 1, 1917. It had evolved from a speculative vision into an established and growing city with its own identity.

The filing of that plat in July 1912 represents more than the start of a legal process. It marks the moment when a wild and unstructured landscape was claimed for possibility. What followed was not just development but the creation of a city that would go on to inspire art, innovation, and generations of growth.