Miami History

On August 7, 1956, the Orange Bowl Stadium hosted one of the most unusual baseball spectacles in Miami history, a game billed as the “World’s Greatest Baseball Party.”

Click on the link below to read more about this historic event conducted at the Orange Bowl.

World's Greatest Baseball Party in 1956 The first baseball game ever hosted in the Orange Bowl in 1956 featured Satchel Paige as the starting pitcher, musical acts, a charity fundraiser and was dubbed "The World's Greatest Baseball Party."

On August 5, 1968, the Republican National Convention opened at the Convention Center in Miami Beach. The four-day gathering placed South Florida at the center of American politics during one of the most turbulent years in the nation’s history.

Former Vice President Richard Nixon arrived as the frontrunner for the presidential nomination but faced challenges from New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and California Governor Ronald Reagan. An effort to prevent Nixon from securing the nomination collapsed, and he won on the first ballot on August 7 with 692 delegate votes. The convention subsequently selected Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew as his running mate.

On the final evening, August 8, Nixon formally accepted the nomination and presented himself as a candidate capable of restoring order, ending the war in Vietnam and unifying a deeply divided country. After a contentious contest for the nomination, Nixon declared that “a party that can unite itself will unite America.”

The convention brought delegates, journalists, television crews and political celebrities to Miami Beach. Actor John Wayne was among those who appeared at the podium during the opening day. The successful staging of the event helped establish Miami Beach as a major political-convention destination, and the city would host both the Republican and Democratic national conventions four years later in 1972.

On August 4, 1937, the stadium that would later be called the Orange Bowl was named Roddy Burdine Stadium in honor of Miami's Merchant Prince and president of Burdines Department Store.

Roddy died suddenly at the age of 49 on February 15, 1936.

Attached is a photo of the stadium in 1937. Courtesy of State of Florida Archives.

Click on the comment section to read more about Roddy Burdine Stadium, aka Orange Bowl Stadium.

On August 3, 1977, the city of Miami purchased Dr. James Jackson's surgical office, which was built in 1905 and moved to the Brickell neighborhood in 1916.

Dade Heritage Trust helped get the building historically designated and has leased and occupied the structure as their office since 1977.

Recently it was announced that Ken Griffin would purchase the bungalow from the City of Miami and would move the structure to Coconut Grove.

Attached is a photograph of the building in 1979. Courtesy of State of Florida Archives.

On August 3 and 4, 1956, Elvis Presley electrified downtown Miami with seven performances at the Olympia Theater over two unforgettable days.

The first image is a composite of the Miami Herald’s coverage of Elvis onstage and the near riot that erupted in the alley behind the theater. The stories appeared in the newspaper’s Saturday morning edition on August 4, 1956.

The second image features coverage from the Miami News, published that Saturday evening.

The final two photographs show Elvis cutting up a pair of pants that had been torn by enthusiastic fans during one of his performances. He later distributed pieces of the pants as souvenirs to the crowd gathered along Southeast Second Avenue on Friday evening, August 3.

Go to the comment section to read more.

The newest episode of the Miami History Podcast features a South Florida storyteller who has spent decades reporting the news and preserving the region’s past.

Veteran newsman Hank Tester arrived in South Florida in 1992, shortly before Hurricane Andrew devastated the region. Over the past 34 years, he has become a familiar presence at both WTVJ and CBS4, covering major news events while also producing memorable vignettes about South Florida history.

In this episode, Hank shares some of his favorite historical stories and explains how he identifies, researches and develops the compelling segments that have introduced viewers to the people, places and events that shaped our community.

Click the link to hear the full conversation. It is a longer episode, but one that South Florida history enthusiasts will not want to miss.

Click on the link to hear the full podcast episode. It is a lengthy segment, but well worth the listen. Otherwise, you can download the episode on Spotify, iTunes or Stitcher.

Hank Tester's Miami History Vignettes Listen now | This podcast episode features senior CBS reporter Hank Tester who shares his journey to sharing historical vignettes about his adopted City of Miami.

On August 1, 1945, Virginia Key Beach was officially dedicated and opened as a segregated beach for Black residents, following wade-in protests led by local civil rights activists.

At the time, Black Miamians were barred from accessing public beaches in South Florida prior to the opening of the Virginia Key beach.

Ferries transported bathers to and from the island. With the progress of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, public beaches across the region were desegregated, granting the Black community access to all coastal areas.

Virginia Key Beach was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 27, 2002, and is now managed by the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust to preserve its legacy.

Attached is the announcement of the beach’s opening in the Miami Herald on August 2, 1945.

On July 30, 1936, Burdines purchased the Biscayne Hotel, which was the only thing keeping the Burdines Miami store from expanding west to Miami Avenue.

It would allow the store to cover a large section of the block from Flagler Street south to SE First Street.

Attached is a photograph of the Biscayne Hotel on the corner of Flagler Street and Miami Avenue in 1930. Courtesy of the State of Florida Archives.

Who remembers the Wolpert Apartments at 2500 Biscayne Boulevard?

The original structure in the complex was constructed by the Wolpert Realty and Improvement Company in 1924 and opened on January 1, 1925, at 275 NE 25th Street. See ad in the Miami Herald announcing the opening.

The front entrance originally faced 25th Street, but after the apartment complex was renovated and enlarged beginning in 1927, the main entrance faced Biscayne Boulevard and the address changed to 2500 Biscayne Boulevard. Third image was an ad from the Miami Herald on November 22, 1931.

The entire building was initially historically designated in 2003 but was later amended after an appeal to only protect the 1927 addition facing Biscayne Boulevard. The fifth photo is of the building in 2013.

The portion that was designated still stands and was incorporated into the new apartment building that was constructed at 2500 Biscayne Boulevard in 2017. The last photo was taken on July 12, 2026, by Casey Piket.

On July 29, 1956, local Channel 7 news station WSVN started broadcasting. It was then known under the call letters WCKT.

The station began operating on a man-made island alongside the 79th street causeway and shared an antenna with WIOD when it first launched.