Allapattah

Allapattah is just the kind of Miami neighborhood that inspired this project. Located geographically as the very core of the city, and with an ethnic mix that is quintessentially Miami, Allapattah exists surprisingly unnoticed by many, if not most, Miamians. Certainly most of the people that I have asked, many who have lived here for years, had never even heard of it. Allapattah, which means “alligator” in Seminole, was home to a few Florida Cracker families and a group of Miccosukees until the 1920s, when African-American railroad workers settled in part of the neighborhood. During the 1940s, Allapattah was used by the military as a major training and housing center for the troops. After the war, the government used eminent domain to evict African-American families to make room for new homes and schools for Euro-Americans. By the late 1960s, western Allapattah was home to mainly Cubans, while the eastern section was heavily Puerto Rican. Throughout the seventies, the county claimed more and more of Allapattah for housing projects and detention centers. During the riots of 1980, much of the business center was burned down, and in the early eighties, many of the long-time residents gave up and moved to the suburbs. The neighborhood quickly took on a new flavor as new Miamians from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua moved in to fill the void. Today, Allapattah is sometimes called Dominican Town and the neighborhood certainly has a strong Dominican presence. Geographically and culturally, Allapattah connects Latino Miami with African-American Miami with Caribbean Miami and the diversity of Allapattah is truly amazing – and that it remains so non-chalant in its uniqueness is so fucking Miami.