Interesting Facts on South Beach

This area was the first section of Miami Beach to be developed, starting in the 1910s, due to the development efforts of Carl G. Fisher, the Brothers, and John S. Collins, the latter of whose construction of the Collins Bridge provided the first vital land link between mainland Miami and the beaches.

The area has gone through numerous artificial and natural changes over the years, including a booming regional economy, increased tourism, and the 1926 hurricane, which destroyed much of the area. As of 2010, 39,186 people lived in South Beach.

In both daytime and at nightfall, the South Beach section of Miami Beach is a major entertainment destination with hundreds of nightclubs, restaurants, boutiques and hotels. The area is popular with tourists from Canada, Europe, Israel and the entire Western Hemisphere, with some having permanent or second homes there. South Beach has also been visited by many American and foreign tourists, evidenced by the fact that the practice of topless sunbathing by women on the beach and in a few hotel pools on Miami Beach has been considered by the local citizens as being more permissive than on most beaches of the United States, and despite the fact that the practice has not been officially legalized by the local government, it continues to be adopted in large scale

South Beach's residents' varied backgrounds are evident in the many languages spoken. In 2000, 55% of residents of the city of Miami Beach spoke Spanish as a first language, while English was the first language for 33% of the population. Portuguese (mainly Brazilian Portuguese) was spoken by 3% of residents, while French (including Canadian French) was spoken by 2%, and German by 1%. Italian, Russian, Yiddish and Hebrew were all spoken by less than 1%.

Another unique aesthetic attribute of South Beach is the presence of several colorful and unique stands used by Miami Beach's lifeguards on South Beach. After Hurricane Andrew, Architect William Lane donated his design services to the city and added new stops on design tours in the form of lifeguard towers. His towers instantly became symbols of the revived City of Miami Beach.

Controversy

In 2009, the ACLU began looking into instances of Miami Beach Police targeting gay men for harassment. In February 2010, ACLU announced that it would sue the City of Miami Beach for an ongoing targeting and arrests of gay men in public. According to the ACLU, Miami Beach police have a history of arresting gay men for simply looking "too gay". 

At the meeting with the local gay leaders, Miami Beach Police Chief Carlos Noriega claimed that the incidents were isolated, and promised increased diversity training for police officers. He also announced that a captain, who is a lesbian, would soon be reassigned to internal affairs to handle complaints about police officers accused of harassing gays. Some members of the committee were skeptical of Noriega's assertion that the recent case wasn't indicative of a larger problem in the MBPD, and provided examples of other cases.

Geography

South Beach is traversed by numerical streets which run east–west, starting with Biscayne Street, now popularly known as South Point Drive, one block south of First Street and the largely pedestrianized Lincoln Road (running parallel between 16th and 17th streets). It also has 13 principal roads and avenues running north–south, which, from the Biscayne Bay side, are Bay Road, West Avenue, Alton Road, Avenue, Michigan Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, Meridian Avenue, Euclid Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Drexel Avenue, Washington Avenue, Collins Avenue (State Road A1A), and Ocean Drive. There are three smaller avenues (that do not run the entire length of South Beach) in the Collins Park area, named Park, Liberty, and James. Most locals agree that South Beach's northern boundary runs along Dade Boulevard from Lincoln Road on the bay side of the island, and heads east-north-east until it connects with 24th Street, which forms the northern boundary on the ocean side.

Neighborhoods and islands

City Center

Flamingo

South of Fifth

Transportation

South Beach, along with a handful of other neighborhoods in Greater Miami (Downtown), is one of the areas where a car-free lifestyle is commonplace. Many South Beach residents get around by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, trolley, bus, or taxi as the neighborhood is very urban and pedestrian-friendly. Lincoln Road, Ocean Drive, Washington Avenue, and Collins Avenue are popular shopping, eating, and entertainment streets for pedestrians. Lincoln Road is a pedestrian-only shopping street, and Collins Avenue around 5th Street is mostly upscale retail.

Automobile congestion in the area is frequent, so getting around in South Beach by car can often prove more difficult than simply walking or bicycling. Recently, Miami Beach has begun bicycle initiatives promoting citywide bike parking and bike lanes that have made bicycling much more popular for residents and tourists. The Venetian Causeway, for example, is a popular bicycle commuter route that connects South Beach to Downtown.

Public transportation in South Beach, along with Downtown and Brickell, is heavily used, and is a vital part of South Beach life. Although South Beach has no direct Metro rail stations, numerous Metro bus lines (operated by Miami-Dade Transit), connect to Downtown Miami and Metro rail (e.g, Metro bus lines S and 120). The Miami International Airport can be reached quickly from several bus stops in South Beach via the Airport-Beach Express (Metro bus line 150). That ride costs $2.35 and runs every 30 minutes from 6:00 a.m to 11:00 p.m seven days a week.

Various City of Miami Beach-operated trolley routes provide free rides throughout South Beach and connect it to the other major areas of Miami Beach: South Beach Loop travels throughout South Beach, Middle Beach Loop connects South Beach to Mid-Beach's main street (41st Street) via State Road A1A and along 41st Street, and Collins Express connects South Beach to Mid-Beach and North Beach via State Road A1A. Using Collins Express to connect to the North Beach Loop allows free travel from South Beach to several areas of North Beach. All four trolley lines operate from 8 a.m to midnight on Sunday and from 6 a.m to midnight the rest of the week