Downtown Miami Rising – Skyline Evolution Video (1925-2019)

The Miami metropolitan statistical area (MSA) ranks among the country’s 10 largest MSAs, with a population currently estimated at more than 6 million. But, 100 years ago, the city skyline was just a collection of low buildings mainly huddled around Flagler Street. Since then, it has expanded into a sprawling collection of more than 300 high-rises and skyscrapers. COMMERCIALCafe tracked the rise of the Downtown Miami skyline—the country’s third-tallest—in the most recent installment of its video series. Check out the video below:

The city’s first building to rise above 200 feet was the Freedom Tower, completed in 1925. Known at the time as the Miami News and Metropolis Building, the tower rose 17 stories above Biscayne Boulevard. Its height (256 feet) was surpassed three years later upon the completion of the Miami-Dade Courthouse (361 feet) in 1928; this 28-story Flagler Street high-rise offered the best view in town for nearly four decades.

Skyscraper construction took off in the 1970s and carried on well into the following decade — expanding Miami office space. Before Miami’s tallest structures were condos and hotels, office towers reigned over the skyline. The booming business days of the ’80s prompted the construction of skyline staples that still stand out today, including 100 Biscayne Tower (358 feet), One Biscayne Tower (492 feet), the Miami Tower (625 feet), and the Southeast Financial Center (764 feet). What’s more, the building boom that spanned the continent during the 1980s was notably fruitful for Miami developers, as well: 21 towers taller than 200 feet were completed in Downtown Miami alone.

The respite of the 1990s meant fewer skyscrapers were built compared to the previous two decades, but it was the proverbial calm before the building storm—53 buildings taller than 200 feet were completed in Downtown Miami during the first 10 years of the new millennium. These projects included the 789-foot-tall Four Seasons Hotel and Tower, in addition to skyscraper condo projects like the One Miami towers (more than 400 feet tall), Vizcayne (more than 530 feet tall) and the Icon towers, standing nearly 600 feet tall.

Read the full article on COMMERCIALCafe and see the striking pace at which the Downtown Miami skyline continues to grow.

COMMERCIALCafe’s methodology for this article focused on the Downtown Miami area, defined as located between SW 15th Road to the south, Interstate 95 to the west, NW 17th Street to the north, and Dodge Island to the east. The video only includes completed and delivered buildings that are located within the aforementioned boundaries and that have a height of at least 200 feet. The height was considered to be from base to tip, regardless of material and function of the highest element. No building classes were excluded.