Overtown Miami

A little history

Overtown is one of Miami's oldest neighborhoods. It grew up alongside the city's founding in 1896 as the community where Black residents, many of whom helped build and incorporate Miami, were required to live. By the mid-20th century it was a thriving center of Black business and entertainment, sometimes called the "Harlem of the South", home to landmarks like the Lyric Theater. Highway construction in the 1960s cut through the neighborhood and displaced thousands of residents, a history that still shapes redevelopment debates today.