Downtown Miami

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Downtown Miami seen from the north.

Skyscrapers in Downtown, as seen from the east.

Skyscrapers in Downtown, as seen from the northeast.

Downtown Miami is the central business district of South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Miami, Florida. Brickell Avenue/Biscayne Boulevard is the main north-south road in downtown, and Flagler Street is the main east-west road in the Central Business District. As of 2006, there are approximately 31,881 year-round residents in Downtown. In contrast, there are approximately 17,500 residents in nearby Brickell. As of 2009, over 190,000 office employees work in Downtown and Brickell.^[1]

Downtown, or sometimes referred to as the "Central Business District", is the area north of Broadway, east of I-95, and south of 17th Terrace.^[2]^[3] Inside of this area includes Park West, the area due west of Bicentennial Park and northern Brickell. Other areas that are many times adjoined with Downtown is the area to the north: Midtown, which is north of 17th Terrace and Brickell to the south.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2000,^[4] Downtown Miami had a population of 13,932 residents, with 6,397 households, and 2,633 families residing in the city. The median household income was $38,702.66. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 64.27% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 9.17% Black or African American, 23.08% White (non-Hispanic), and 3.49% Other races (non-Hispanic).

2006 Census estimate, show over 31,881 residents, with 189,164 residents in the immediate Downtown/Brickell area. ^[5]

[edit] Transportation

Government Center Station is the main station in Downtown and is served by Metrorail and the Metromover.

Public Transportation in the downtown area is used more than in any other part of Miami and is a vital part of downtown life. Metrorail, Miami's heavy rail system, makes 3 stops in Downtown at the Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Station, Government Center Station, and the Brickell Station. In addition to Metrorail, the Metromover train system runs 3 lines throughout Downtown (the Downtown Loop, the Omni Loop, and the Brickell Loop). The Metromover is free and stations can be found at roughly every two blocks in Downtown and Brickell.

Metrorail has stops throughout Miami with connections to Miami International Airport, all Miami-Dade County bus lines, Tri-Rail and Amtrak. The main bus station in Downtown is located next to the Arsht Center at the Adrienne Arsht Center Station.

[edit] Parks

Bayfront Park

Bayfront Park- Biscayne Blvd from NE 3rd St to SE 2nd St
Bicentennial Park- Biscayne Blvd from NE 8th St to NE 12th St
Fort Dallas Park- SE 4th St and SE 1st Ave
Lummus Park- NW North River Dr and NW 2nd St
Paul S. Walker Urbanscape- 46 W Flagler St
Joan Lehman Sculpture Plaza- Flagler St and SW 1st Ave
Robert F. Clark Plaza- NW 1st Ave and NW 1st St

[edit] Government and infrastructure

Downtown is home to many city, county, state, and federal courthouses, jails, judge offices, and law firms. Some of the courthouses in Downtown are the Dade County Family Court, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge, U.S. District Court Clerk, Miami-Dade County Courthouse, Federal Courthouse, U.S. Magistrate Judge, City of Miami courthouses and many others.

The United States Postal Service operates three post offices in Downtown. One on 200 South Biscayne Blvd, one on 36 NE 1st Street, and the third one on 500 NW 2nd Avenue. ^[6]

[edit] Education and institutions

[edit] Elementary schools

Miami Art Museum

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the second-largest performing arts center in the U.S.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools operates area public schools:

Downtown Miami Charter School
Southside Elementary School
Ada Merritt Elementary School
Riverside Elementary School
Miami Children's Museum School

[edit] High schools

Young Women's Preparatory Academy
New World School of the Arts

[edit] Downtown Skyscrapers

The Metromover has three lines throughout Downtown and Brickell. There are Metromover stations at roughly every two blocks in the area, and is free.

An aerial view of Downtown and Brickell.

[edit] Office towers

[edit] Residential towers

Freedom Tower

[edit] Hotel towers

[edit] Places of interest

The American Airlines Arena, home of the Miami Heat

[edit] Economy

Before its dissolution, LTU International had its United States headquarters in Downtown Miami.^[7] Stanford Group Company and Stanford Fiduciary Investor Services, Inc., subsidiaries of Stanford Financial Group, had offices in Downtown Miami.^[8]

[edit] Diplomatic missions

Several countries have consulates- general based in Downtown Miami, many of which are located along Biscayne Boulevard. They include those of:

Argentina,^[9]
Bahamas,^[10]
Brazil,^[11]
Chile^[12]
Dominican Republic,^[13]
Ecuador,^[14]
France,^[15]
Germany,^[16]
Guatemala,^[17]
Haiti,^[18]
Israel (Consulate-General of Israel to Florida & Puerto Rico),^[19]
Jamaica,^[20]
Japan,^[21]
Netherlands,^[22]
Peru,^[23]
Peru,^[24]
United Kingdom,^[25] and
Venezuela.^[26]

[edit] Gallery

Bank of America Tower lit in pink	The Downtown Distributor aids the heavy traffic from I-95 with long ramps to various parts of downtown	Downtown skyline - September 2008	Downtown skyline- Dec. 2006
Biscayne Boulevard	Dade County Courthouse built in 1928	50 Biscayne Tower	Wachovia Financial Center
Marquis Miami on the Biscayne Wall	The tallest tower to the left is the Four Seasons Hotel Miami in Brickell. The tallest tower in the center is the Wachovia Financial Center in Downtown which borders Park West to the north, with the four towers. Park West leads into Midtown to the north where the large cluster of skyscrapers are to the far right.	Daytime view of downtown Miami looking South, 2008	Nighttime view of downtown Miami looking South, 2008